Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
October 19, 1875 In the northern part of Michigan, a lighthouse built on Menagerie Island within the northwest corner of Lake Superior was first lit. Menagerie Island is a small island off the southern coast of Isle Royale, which is the largest natural island in Lake Superior, the second largest island in all of the... Continue Reading →
Since 2024, Dina Contella has served as International Space Station (ISS) deputy program manager at NASA. Her considerable responsibilities, which are handled here on Earth, involve helping with the day-to-day management and overall operations of that habitable satellite and microgravity laboratory. ISS, which resides in low Earth orbit (LEO), has the distinction of being both... Continue Reading →
June 11, 1764 Operations began for a lighthouse built about 500 feet (150 meters) from the tip of Sandy Hook, a barrier spit located within what was then the British royal colony of New Jersey and at the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay. This lighthouse had been constructed to help guide mariners traveling... Continue Reading →
April 23, 1854 A construction crew assigned to build a lighthouse sailed via the Chesapeake Bay from Baltimore to the site of the project along Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Most of the foundation, superstructure, and ironwork for this lighthouse had been assembled in Philadelphia and were transported with the crew. The specific location for the newest... Continue Reading →
April 14, 1927 The first automobile to be manufactured by the newly formed Swedish manufacturer Volvo made its public debut. Volvo was established as a subsidiary of SKF, a bearing and seal manufacturing company based in the city of Gothenburg on Sweden’s western coast. In 1915, SKF had registered the trademark Volvo -- the Latin... Continue Reading →
For nearly 15 years, Sarah A. Cleverly Atwood (1837-1920) was part of a select few among American women who served as lighthouse keepers during the 19th century. She was born in the town of Wellfleet on Cape Cod in southeastern Massachusetts. Her parents were William Cleverly (1797-1887) and Hannah Pierce Cleverly (1808-1893). On February 4,... Continue Reading →
March 19, 1964 The Great St Bernard Tunnel joining Switzerland and Italy was officially opened to vehicular traffic. This tunnel became the first one running through the formidable Alps for automobiles, and it is a major link between the municipality of Martigny in southwestern Switzerland and the comune of Aosta in northwestern Italy. The tunnel... Continue Reading →
March 18, 1897 A pilot boat named New York was launched at the shipyards of the transportation manufacturing firm Harlan & Hollingsworth Company in Wilmington, Delaware. This type of vessel operates in the vicinity of a port and is used to transport maritime pilots to ships in the area. While on board a ship, the... Continue Reading →
February 23. 1984 On the Australian island state of Tasmania, the Bowen Bridge in the city of Hobart was dedicated. This 3,202-foot (976-meter)-long segmental cantilever bridge carries Goodwood Road (Route B35) across the River Derwent. The Bowen Bridge serves a key link for motor vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists traveling between the eastern and western areas... Continue Reading →
February 20, 2020 Operations began for the first two sets of four-car 8100 class trains that had been recently acquired by the Philippine National Railways (PNR) as part of its efforts to improve commuter services in Metro Manila (the National Capital Region), the largest metropolitan area of that Southeast Asian archipelagic country. These diesel multiple... Continue Reading →
