The Yarn Spinner

  Keyed-Up Emotions   Elisha Gray and Margaret Dearth met on-line. Elisha Gray, born   in Barnesville, Ohio, had an unconventional upbringing that contributed to his future success as an inventor. Gray had a limited formal education but showed an early interest in mechanical and electrical inventions. As a child, he was known for his curiosity and aptitude for building things. He became an electrical engineer and co-founded the company Gray and Barton with another engineer Enos Barton. The company was located in Cleveland, Ohio and   specialized in developing   electro-mechanical equipment. Cleveland was a key center for technological innovation during this period, and Gray and Barton’s work in the city contributed significantly to advancements in electrical engineering. Born and raised in Newburgh, New York, Margaret came from   a family steeped in arts and education. She   earned a degree in education, and she was known for her social graces ...

  Your Carry-Ons   After the end of WW II, there were still   a great many Nazi sympathizers in Germany, despite the process of denazification. They harbored resentment towards the Allied powers and   downplayed Germany's responsibility for the war and the Holocaust. These individuals embraced a sense of intense nationalism   characterized by a potent blend of historical grievances and years of ideological indoctrination. The sense of nationalism   was deeply intertwined with the ideology of the Nazi regime, which emphasized notions of racial superiority, expansionism, and the absolute glorification of the German nation. Germany as a superior civilization destined to dominate Europe became ingrained in collective memory – a memory that endured among some for a half- century – more. This was unchecked “ baggage” on some of the thousands of Lufthansa flights that brought over 600,000 German immigrants to the U.S. in the decade following the end of W...

  Just Suck it Up     So how does it work, a vacuum cleaner? Inside an electric motor turns a fan causing it   to spin rapidly. The movement of the fan blades pushes air out of the vacuum cleaner, creating a low-pressure area inside the machine. Since the pressure inside the vacuum cleaner is lower than the pressure outside, air from the environment rushes into the vacuum cleaner to equalize the pressure.   Simple right? Yes, but it took a while before this housework helper evolved into the machine in your hall closet. Earlier versions required the machine to be parked in front of your house and not in it – like the Stanley Steemer truck cleaning your duct work. These early machines…you know, “sucked,”    John Thurman’s gasoline-powered pneumatic carpet renovator was   a large, one horse-drawn contraption that traveled from house to house. In 1899 Thurman charged $4 per visit, a considerable sum at the time. A few years later, Cecil Boot...

  August 6, 1945     Compliments of Dan Rostenkowski   It was a gift from our local congressman. A nice ballpoint pen? A travel mug? Calendar? An inexpensive tchotchke? No. It was a paperback book? Light reading maybe?   Not really. This was 1968 in Chicago, Illinois, a quarter century before the Cold War was to end (1991). The book is titled “In Time of Emergency. A Citizens Handbook on Nuclear Attack, Natural Disasters” and three quarters of it addressed just nuclear attack.   “A nuclear attack against the United States would take a high toll on lives. But our losses would be much less if people prepared to meet the emergency, knew what actions to take, and took them.”   At first, I thought all this was true, we should be prepared, but then I recalled hiding under my desk years earlier when I was in grade school and Civil Defense conducted its monthly test. The spine-tingling wail of air-raid sirens filled the air sending waxing...

  Roll Call   No statutes have been erected to honor him, but   we owe this man a sincere debt of gratitude and much more than a mere   tip-of-the-hat. His invention personally touches us   in everyday life, especially when we are on the “go.” Yet few know the inventor’s name   nor what he did   in the name of personal hygiene. Joesph Gayetty invented what we know today as modern day toilet paper. It was 1857 and his toilet paper came in flat sheets like the flushable wipes available today. The Scott Paper Company put the paper on a roll in 1890 and since then, a   surprisingly extensive variety of toilet paper has become available catering to different needs and preferences. Here are some common types:   1-Ply Toilet Paper: Single layer of paper, usually less expensive and often used in commercial settings. 2-Ply Toilet Paper: Two layers of paper, providing more softness and absorbency compared to 1-ply. 3-Ply Toilet Paper: Three...