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Very early automobile…
August 27, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
This “Warrington’s Road Engine” appeared in the Jan. 1, 1881 issue of “Scientific American” magazine with a related article headed: “Novel Road Engine”. It predates the work of Karl Benz, generally accepted as the creator of the modern-day automobile, who produced some of his earlier work around 1885.
The article notes that: “…the fuel, which is at the same time the motive agent, is common illuminating gas which is mixed with a certain proportion of air & exploded in the cylinder in the manner common to well known gas engines…”.
A marvelous development in engineering (?)…
August 8, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Sometimes the simple reports we find in newspapers lead to a much more fascinating back story than was anticipated. Such was the case with an interesting report in “The Cleveland Leader” of May 17, 1875, which contained a very lengthy & detailed article headed: “A Wonderful Discovery!” “A New Motor!” “The Days of Steam Probably Numbered”. Not knowing of any new motor created in the 1870’s I did some exploring and learned much about Mr. John Keely and the great hoax he perpetrated on the public.
See the hyperlink on Mr. Keely for the full story along with the following:
The Traveler… first land, now from the sea… just skating by…
January 27, 2011 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I decided to travel to the 20th century and found The Atlanta Constitution dated January 27, 1911. In this issue was coverage of the first American seaplane. This marvelous feat took place in San Diego and was flown by Glenn Curtiss, landing it lightly on the water in front of the hanger-on shore.
Another article of “transportation” that made big front page news was “Skaters, Beware! How About Autos?” which featured a large cartoon illustration. It seems that side-walk skating by the children in Atlanta was against the law and the police had been threatening to arrest them. The children took matters into their hands, writing to the Mayor expressing their concerns on the terrible auto driving that was occurring but nothing being done about it. The Mayor was introducing a revision to the ordinance so that the children could skate again. Look what happens when youth put their minds to it!
~The Traveler