Today in History – February 2, 1897 – Ice cream scoop patented by Alfred L. Cralle, the first African-American in Pittsburgh to receive a patent. His patent became the model for ice cream scoops in households soon after and the basis for many scoops today. Cralle was born in Lunenberg County, Virginia on September 4, [...]

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Today in History – February 1, 1972 – First scientific hand-held calculator, the HP-35, introduced for $395. I was an undergraduate in engineering when the HP-35 was released. I couldn’t afford to buy one and stuck with my slide rule. But the next year, I gave in and bought the next model, the HP-45 and [...]

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Today in History – January 3, 1957 – The world’s first electric wristwatch is released. The Hamilton watch company began research on an electric watch in 1946. Ten years later they released their watch with great success. Prior to this watch most watches kept time using a balance wheel that was kept in motion using [...]

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Today in History – January 1, 1853 – The world’s first practical steam-powered fire engine made its debut. In the spring of 1852, Abel Shawk, Alexander Bonner Latta, and Miles Greenwood began construction on the first practical steam-powered fire engine. While other fire engines had existed, theirs was significantly faster, being able to pump water [...]

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Today in History – December 22, 1885 – LaMarcus Thompson patents first Gravity Switchback Railway roller coaster. It was built at Coney Island and became the precursor to the modern roller coaster. At the top of one platform, riders climbed into cars and then rode them down a 600 foot track and up to another [...]

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