An Obama guest, Lin-Manuel Miranda, pushes the envelope on gangsta rap, and history teaching:
You can’t use that in the classroom, teachers? Why not?
More:
Wikipedia notes of Miranda:
He is working on a hip-hop album based upon the life of Alexander Hamilton, entitled The Hamilton Mixtape.[5] He recently performed “The Hamilton Mixtape” at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word on May 12, 2009. Accompanied by Alex Lacamoire. [12]
Tip of the old scrub brush to Slashdot.
4 Comments | 
1787, A Good Story, America's founding, Economics, History, History and art, History Methods and Tools, Music, Video and film | Tagged: Alexander Hamilton, America's founding, Economics, History, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Music, Rap, video | 
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Posted by Ed Darrell
KERA Television has a marvelous short film profile of Jack Kilby, who won the Nobel in physics for his invention of what we now call “the computer chip.”
Late in his life, Jack Kilby holds his first integrated circuit, which is encased in plastic. Photo via Texas Instruments, via Earth & Sky
Teachers should check out the film and use it — it’s a great little chapter of Texas history, science history, and U.S. history. It’s an outstanding explanation of a technological development that revolutionized so much of our daily life, especially in the late 20th century. At 8 minutes and 37 seconds, the film is ideal for classroom use.
Alas! My technology won’t allow embedding the video here, and so far as I can tell it is only available in broadcast on KERA and at KERA’s website. So, go there and look at it! If you can download it for use, more power to you — and let us know in comments how you did it.
[2015 update: Good news! KERA put the film up on YouTube! Teachers, especially Texas history teachers, take note, and copy URL!]
2009 marks the 50th anniversary of Kilby’s filing for a patent on an integrated circuit. He’s been honored by the Inventor’s Hall of Fame. Despite the stupendous value of his invention, Kilby’s name is far from a household name even in North Dallas, home of Texas Instruments. Robert Noyce, who came up with almost exactly the same idea at almost exactly the same moment, is similarly ignored.
Shouldn’t today’s high school students know about Kilby and Noyce? Not a class period goes by that I don’t use a device powered by Kilby’s invention; nor does one pass that I don’t have to admonish at least one student for misuse of such a device, such as an iPod, MP3 player, or cell phone. It’s difficult to think of someone whose invention has greater influence on the life of these kids, hour by hour — but Kilby and his invention don’t get their due in any text I’ve seen.
It’s a great film — original and clever animation, good interviews, and it features Kilby’s charming daughter, and the great journalist and historian of technology T. R. Reid. Don’t you agree that it’s much better than most of the history stuff we have to show?
Texas history standards require kids to pay brief homage to inventors in the 20th century. Kilby is not named in the standards, however, and so he and his invention are ignored as subjects of history study. You ought to fix that in your classroom, teachers.
(Kilby was born and grew up in Great Bend, Kansas — Kansas teachers may want to take note. According to the KERA film, Kilby was a Boy Scout, making it at least to First Class.)
TI company video on Kilby featuring interviews from the 1990s, prior to his 2000 Nobel Physics Prize
Additional Resources
TI company video on the 2008 50th anniversary of the chip
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3 Comments | A Good Story, Biography, History, History of Science, History video sources, Science, Technology, Technology in the classroom, Television, Texas, Texas history, Video and film | Tagged: Computer Chip, History, Jack Kilby, Nobel Prize in Physics, Science, Science History, Technology, Texas, Texas history, Texas Instruments | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Six kids from Fort Bend, Texas, did what very few did. From their start in a Tiger Cub Scout den 11 years ago, all six stuck with Scouting — and all six earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank award offered by the boy Scouts of America.
Here is the story in its entirety from the online publication Fort BendNow.com.
September 24th, 2009 | by FortBendNow Staff | Published in News
Six young men, all members of the same Den 2 as Tiger Scouts, have earned the rank of Eagle Scout. The six boys began their scouting journey 11 years ago as they went through the Cub Scout program together then joined two different Boy Scout Troops.
Keith Wedelich, David Sackllah, Vincent Lau, Vijay Rajan, Edward Zhou, Bryan Parker at the Eagle Court of Honor Ceremony.
Keith Wedelich of Boy Scout Troop 1631, and Vincent Lau, Bryan Parker, Vijay Rajan, David Sackllah, and Edward Zhou of Boy Scout Troop 441 were honored at a special ceremony to recognize their achievement at Christ United Methodist Church. Family, friends, teachers, scouts, and adult volunteers attended the ceremony. Troop 441 is chartered by Christ United Methodist Church and Troop 1631 is chartered by the Optimist Club of Sugar Land.
Only 1 in 4 boys in America will become a Boy Scout, and of those only 2 percent earn the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest honor a Boy Scout can achieve.
The ceremony was opened by Dennis Olheiser, Tomahawk District Commissioner, with introductions, followed by Chris Roberts, Boy
Scout Troop 441, who led the flag ceremony and provided a blessing for the ceremony.
Keith Wedelich, David Sackllah, Vincent Lau, Vijay Rajan, Edward Zhou and Bryan Parker as Cub Scouts at Wolf Rank.
Jim Rice, former Chairman of the Tomahawk District, and member of the Board of Directors of the Sam Houston Area Council BSA, gave a history of scouting and provided an introduction to a video of the 100 years of Scouting in America.
Scott Icenhower, Tomahawk District Advancement Chair, spoke on the significance of the Eagle Scout Rank; and Louis Alexander, Committee Chairman for Troop 441, spoke on the responsibilities of an Eagle Scout.
B.J. Bonner and Susan Fredericksen both spoke on the Trail to Eagle for the six scouts who started the journey 11 years ago. A summary of their achievements and eagle projects were presented.
Rick Conley, Tomahawk District Chair, presented the Eagle Scout Rank Award to the Eagle Scouts and recognized the contributions of their parents. Each Eagle Scout then spoke to thank those that have helped them along their journey and to share highlights of their scouting career so far.
Remarks were provided by Debbie Wedelich, the Den Leader for Den 2 in Cub Scout Pack 631, Jerre Parker, former Scoutmaster at Troop 441, and Arun Rajan, Committee Member of Troop 441 also spoke on the eagle scouts and how Boy Scouts had a profound effect on the families as well as the Eagle Scouts.
Jim Rice provided final comments and the ceremony concluded with a benediction and flag ceremony. A reception was held immediately following the ceremony.
The Eagle Scouts
Keith Wedelich, Boy Scout Troop 1631, joined Cub Scouting in 1999 with Pack 631 and earned the Arrow of Light Award in December 2002, the highest award in Cub Scouts. He joined Boy Scout Troop 1631 in January 2003. Wedelich joined Troop 1631 as both of his brothers were members. Wedelich held various positions of leadership in his Troop including scribe, quartermaster, assistant senior patrol leader, and Order of the Arrow representative. He was elected by his Troop to the Order of the Arrow. On the trail to Eagle, he earned 30 merit badges.
Wedelich’s scouting career has included all three high adventure camps; more than 50 miles of hiking in the mountains at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, 75 miles of canoeing in the boundary waters of Canada at Northern Tier, and scuba diving in the Florida Keys at Florida Sea Base. He also attended the 2005 National Boy Scout Jamboree in Fort A.P. Hill Virginia. He has more than 124 nights of camping, 134 canoe miles, 129 hiking miles.
For his Eagle Scout Service Project, Wedelich designed and led a crew to build a horse barn for Morning Glory Ranch, an organization that provides equine therapy for mentally and physically handicapped youth. The horse barn is 12 foot by 12 foot and 10 feet tall. The barn was built in a small pasture area where new horses are held for quarantine or horses that are ill or about to foal can be closely monitored. Wedelich directed 20 people over six work days for a total of 320 man hours. He also provided more than 200 hours of service to the community on various service projects.
Wedelich is a senior at Clements High School and is involved in the Clements Robotics Team, National Honor Society, Academic Decathalon, JETS, Mu Alpha Theta, choir and the computer science club. His parents are Hank and Debbie Wedelich and he has one sister, Laura, 25, who earned the Girl Scout Gold Award. His two brothers, Jeffrey, 24, and David, 23, are also Eagle Scouts from Troop 1631.
Vincent Lau, Bryan Parker, Vijay Rajan, David Sackllah, and Edward Zhou of Boy Scout Troop 441 all joined Cub Scouting in 1999 with Pack 631 and earned the Arrow of Light Award in December 2002, the highest award in Cub Scouts. All then joined Boy Scout Troop 441 in January 2003.
Sackllah held various positions of leadership in Troop 441 including patrol leader, troop guide, and chaplain aide. He was elected by his Troop to the Order of the Arrow. On the trail to Eagle, he earned 22 merit badges.
Sackllah’s scouting career has included National Youth Leadership Training and he attended various summer camps. He was also part of Frog Patrol which earned National Honor Patrol recognition. David earned the God and Me Religious Award.
For his Eagle Scout Project, he wanted to create a friendly environment for the students using Settler’s Way Elementary Library. Sackllah designed, built, and painted 12 flower-shaped tables. He also re-shelved more than 10,000 books so the books would be in the correct order and easier to find. He directed 24 people for a total of 148 man hours.
Sackllah is a senior at Clements High School and is involved in Clements Varsity Football, Student Council, PALS, and the National Honor Society. He also volunteers as a “Dream League Angel” and is a volunteer coach for the First Colony Youth Basketball Association. His parents are and Jimmy and Tracy Sackllah.
Lau held various positions of leadership in Troop 441 including assistant patrol leader, patrol leader, historian, troop guide, instructor, and assistant senior patrol leader. Lau was elected by his Troop to the Order of the Arrow. On the trail to Eagle, he earned 35 merit badges.
Lau’s scouting career has included National Youth Leadership Training in 2006; the New River Adventure Camp in Virginia in 2006; National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience in 2007; and 73 miles of hiking in the mountains at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico in 2008. He was part of Frog Patrol which earned National Honor Patrol recognition. Vincent also earned the World Conservation, Winter Camper, and Mile Swim awards.
For his Eagle Project, Lau designed and constructed four 6’ x 3’ x 2’ shelves and a 6’ x 7’ x 2’ lockable cabinet for Colony Bend Elementary School. The shelves hold standardized storage bins filled with various props and musical equipment. The lockable cabinet provides secure storage for costumes. Lau brought together 20 volunteers over three work days to construct and install the shelves for a total of 390 man hours.
Lau is a senior at Clements High School and is involved in the robotics team, Clements Interact (currently hold Vice President position), Clements Earth, and ACES clubs. He is also a member of National Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, and National Eagle Scout Association. For the past three summers, he spent a total of 350 hours volunteering at Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) as an Ecoteen assisting the science summer camp counselors and giving science presentations to the public. For his volunteer efforts at HMNS, he earned the President’s Volunteer Service Silver Award in 2008. His parents are Lawrence and Linda Lau and he has a 15-year-old sister, Stacey.
Vijay Rajan held various positions of leadership in Troop 441 including patrol leader, troop guide, librarian, historian, and Order of the Arrow representative. He was elected by his Troop to the Order of the Arrow. On the trail to Eagle, he earned 38 merit badges.
Rajan’s scouting career has included an expedition at Philmont Scout Ranch, and various summer camps in Texas, and he earned the Mile Swim award. He was also part of Frog Patrol which earned National Honor Patrol recognition. Rajan earned the Dharma (Hindu) Religious Award as a Boy Scout.
For his Eagle Scout Project, Rajan planned and supervised landscaping for a garden courtyard and cleaning a pond for Kids Unlimited. This non-profit organization benefits children with cancer. Their 12-acre facility provides an atmosphere where their illness can be temporarily forgotten. He directed 22 people for a total of 131 man hours.
Rajan is a senior at Clements High School and is involved in DECA, Rotary Interact and Indian Cultural Organization clubs. He hopes to major in Engineering and Business at College.
His parents are Arun and Padmini Rajan.
Edward Zhou joined Cub Scouts in 1998, and then joined Pack 631 when the family moved to Texas. He held various positions of leadership in Troop 441 including patrol leader, troop guide, historian, and instructor. He was elected by his Troop to the Order of the Arrow. On the trail to Eagle, he earned 24 merit badges.
Zhou’s scouting career has included National Youth Leadership Training, two summer camps in Texas, and he earned the Mile Swim award. He was also part of Frog Patrol which earned National Honor Patrol recognition.
For his Eagle Scout Project, Zhou designed and built a pair of storage shelves for the Chinese Civic Center. The storage shelves were pre-built on the first day and then they were moved to the site, assembled and stocked. He directed 14 people for a total of 133 man hours.
Zhou is a senior at Clements High School and is an active member of Rotary Interact and his high school debate team. He is a National AP Scholar and a National Merit Semifinalist. He earned a “Distinguished Volunteer” award from the Chinese Civic Center in 2009. His parents are John and Tina, and his brother Oliver is a student at UT Austin.
Bryan Parker held various positions of leadership in Troop 441 including assistant patrol leader, patrol leader, quartermaster, instructor, and senior patrol leader. Parker was elected by his Troop to the Order of the Arrow. On the trail to Eagle, he earned 31 merit badges and camped over 135 nights. He has also earned an Eagle Gold Palm.
Parker’s scouting career has included National Youth Leadership Training, New River Adventure in Virginia, the 2005 National Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill Virginia, and hiking more than 150 miles during two treks at Philmont Scout Ranch including one selection as his trek’s crew leader. He was also part of Frog Patrol which earned National Honor Patrol recognition. Parker earned the God and Me Religious Award in 2001.
For his Eagle Project, Parker designed and constructed a storage cabinet for Colony Bend Elementary School to hold science equipment for various grades in a central, secure location. He directed 14 people for a total of 94 volunteer hours.
Parker is a senior at Clements High School and is a member of the National Honor Society. He plans to study Business at a major university next year. His parents are Jerre and Maureen Parker and he has one sister, Heather, who has earned the Girl Scout Silver award.
Do you like this story, this kind of news? Kindly spread the word:
2 Comments | A Good Story, Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout, Leadership | Tagged: Boy Scouts of America, Cub Scouts, Eagle Scout, Fort Bend Texas, Tiger Cubs | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
First, go here, and look at this painting by Cindy Procious. Never heard of her? She has some nice work, though, don’t you think?
Now, go here, and look at the cartoons, and here. (Recognize the guy?)
You now have most of the whole, artistically wonderful story.
5 Comments | A Good Story, Art, Cartoons, Journalism, Newspapers, Political cartoons | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Without editing, here’s the press release from Boy Scouts of America:
Minnesota Teen Named 2 Millionth Eagle Scout
Anthony Thomas to Represent 97 Years of Scouting Tradition and Honor, Serve as Youth Representative at BSA 100th Anniversary Events
Eagle Scout Anthony Thomas, Lakeville, Minn.
MINNEAPOLIS – June 17, 2009 – To describe one Minnesota teenager as “one in a million” is an understatement – by half. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) today announced that Anthony Thomas, 16, of Lakeville, Minn., has been named the 2 millionth Eagle Scout since the first Eagle badge was awarded in 1912.
Eagle Scout is the highest attainable rank in Boy Scouting and requires years of dedication and hard work. Scouts must demonstrate proficiency in leadership, service, and outdoor skills at multiple levels before achieving the Eagle rank. Fewer than 5 percent of Boy Scouts earn the Eagle badge.
Anthony, who will be a junior at Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minn., has been involved in Scouting since age 7. A member of the Northern Star Council’s Troop 471 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, Minn., he credits Scouting for his love of the outdoors and commitment to service. Adopted from Korea, Anthony volunteers as a counselor to Korean adoptees at Camp Choson. He also is active in his church and recently lettered in Service at his school. Anthony will spend part of his summer in New Orleans to help with ongoing cleanup work from Hurricane Katrina.
“Anthony represents everything that the Eagle badge stands for: character, integrity, leadership, and service to others,” said Bob Mazzuca, Chief Scout Executive, Boy Scouts of America. “It is fitting that we honor the 2 millionth Eagle as we prepare to celebrate 100 years of service to the nation.”
As the 2 millionth Eagle Scout, Anthony will serve as a youth ambassador for Scouting by participating in upcoming BSA’s 100th Anniversary events such as the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.; the BSA’s annual Report to the Nation in Washington, D.C.; and the National Scout Jamboree in 2010.
“I’m honored and humbled to be selected as the 2 millionth Eagle Scout,” Anthony said. “The Eagle rank represents excellence and leadership at every stage of life, and I will do my best to honor those Eagles who have come before me and to encourage other Scouts to pursue the Eagle Award.”
In addition to the 21 merit badges required to earn Eagle rank, each Scout must complete an extensive service project that he plans, organizes, leads, and manages before his 18th birthday. For his project, Anthony designed and constructed devices to help train service dogs for Helping Paws of Minnesota, which provides dogs for disabled persons to further their independence. A key component of his project was to raise awareness for the organization and its mission. He accomplished this by arranging a service dog demonstration for his troop and coordinating a kick-off drive to encourage his fellow Scouts to earn their Disabilities Awareness merit badge.
Anthony’s parents, Jim and Cheryl Thomas, are active Scouting volunteers. Anthony also has a younger sister, Allison. In addition to Scouting, Anthony enjoys snowboarding, track, soccer, and playing the guitar.
“The fellowship of Eagles celebrates the milestone of the 2 millionth Eagle Scout,” said Glenn Adams, president of the National Eagle Scout Association. “Each Eagle represents a life of service to others and to the communities where Eagles live and work. We congratulate Anthony Thomas and look forward to working with him to help encourage other Scouts to pursue their Eagle.”
About the Boy Scouts of America
Serving nearly 4.1 million young people between the ages of 7 and 20 with more than 300 local councils throughout the United States and its territories, the Boy Scouts of America is the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.scouting.org.###
Facts about Eagle Scouts
- The first Eagle badge was awarded in 1912.
- Fewer than 5 percent of all Boy Scouts earn the Eagle rank.
- The 1 millionth Eagle Scout milestone was reached in 1982.
- In 2008, a record-high 52,025 Scouts earned the Eagle badge.
In 2008, Eagle Scout service projects provided $16 million in service to communities across the nation (based on national volunteer hour value of $19.51).
Leave a Comment » | A Good Story, Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout, History, Patriotism | Tagged: Anthony Thomas, Boy Scouts of America, BSA Centennial, Eagle Scouts, History, Two Million Eagles | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
[Encore post from 2007.]
Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you.
Order of the Day, 6 June, 1944 (some sources list this as issued 2 June)
2 Comments | 1941-1945, A Good Story, D-Day, Dwight Eisenhower, Famous Battles, Famous quotes, Good Quotes, Historic documents, History, Leadership, Military History, Presidents, Quotes, Turning Points, War, World history, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, oil on canvas painting by Aaron Shikler, 1978 - Wikimedia image
Beginning in March 1974 I had the great pleasure and high honor of interning with the Secretary of the Senate, Francis R. Valeo. Valeo served because of his close relationship with the Majority Leader, Mike Mansfield, and working in Valeo’s office put one on the Mansfield team. In an era before serious security with magnetometers in Washington’s public buildings — we didn’t even have photo identification cards then — Mike Mansfield’s signature on my staff card got me anywhere I wanted to go in Washington, including the White House.
People who knew Mansfield held him in very high regard. I often tell people he was the best politician to work for, but in reality, he’s probably the best leader I ever worked with in any enterprise. He respected every senator as a representative of the people of one of the 50 states, and that respect was returned.
In his office one afternoon he met with the a couple of members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the big bigwigs from the Pentagon. Mansfield was a former sailor, marine and soldier — he had served in the Navy, Army and Marines. He lied about his age the first time. He had served in China and the Philippines, producing a life-long interest and deep expertise in U.S. affairs in the Pacific and Far East.
But this was 1974. Mansfield had turned against supporting corrupt Vietnamese politicians early in the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Originally a supporter of Nixon’s policies, by 1974 his opposition to the war was the chief part of their relationship. Still the military guys loved him. An Army Colonel accompanying the group was anxious to explain to the young intern part of the mystique.
“You should see Mansfield in the formal meetings. Everybody is always introduced, and their full rank is laid on the table. ‘General Muckamuck. West Point ’33, Columbia Law. Admiral Bigship. General Soandso, who recently got his third star.'”
“And then they get to Mansfield. He’s the Senate Majority Leader. And he introduces himself as ‘Mike Mansfield, Private First Class.'”
I asked Mansfield about it later. He smiled, and said he might have done that a time or two. He said that the big brass in the military need to remember as every senator does that they work for the American people. Rank doesn’t make you right, he said.
Looking up a minor fact on Mansfield this morning I ran into this statement, which I’d never heard [quoting now from Wikipedia]:
This gentleman went from snuffy to national and international prominence. And when he died in 2001, he was rightly buried in Arlington. If you want to visit his grave, don’t look for him near the “Kennedy Eternal Flame”, where so many politicians are laid to rest. Look for a small, common marker shared by the majority of our heroes. Look for the marker that says “Michael J. Mansfield, Pfc. U.S. Marine Corps.”
Remarks by Col. James Michael Lowe, USMC, October 20, 2004.
The burial plot of Senator and Mrs. Mansfield can be found in section 2, marker 49-69F of Arlington National Cemetery.
For the sake of accuracy, I would like to know the occasion of Col. Lowe’s remarks, and who Col. Lowe is. The link at Wikipedia is dead. Does anyone know?
Resources:
15 Comments | A Good Story, Good Quotes, Heroes, History, History and art, History images, Leadership, Military History, Quotes, U.S. Marines, U.S. Senate | Tagged: History, Humility, Leadership, Mike Mansfield, Quotes, U.S. Marines, U.S. Senate | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
May 15, 1953, saw the publication in Science of Stanley Miller’s dramatic experiment showing that essential chemicals of life rise spontaneously.
The late Prof. Stanley Miller. ISSOL photo
As usual, the real history is better and much more serendipitous than anyone could imagine in a fictional account; here’s an account from the International Astrobiology Society (ISSOL), from their 2003 celebration of the 50th anniversary of Miller’s paper’s publication:
The University of Chicago Chemistry Department seminars were held on Mondays in Kent Hall, an old building where the floors creaked and there was a smell of dust and mildew. Only the most distinguished scientists were invited to speak at this seminar, many had Nobel prizes or were to receive one, and the list included Franck, Urey, Calvin, Seaborg, Eigen, Libby and Taube.
But this day was different because a second year graduate student, Stanley Lloyd Miller, was speaking, and the room was full because the word had spread that something important was to be presented. In addition to the famous scientists and less famous but equally high-powered scientists was an undergraduate, Carl Sagan attending his first chemistry seminar. The topic was the synthesis of important biological compounds, using conditions thought to have existed on the primitive Earth.
Miller reported that by sending repeated electric sparks through a sealed flask containing a mixture of methane, ammonia, hydrogen, and water vapor, he had made some of the amino acids found in proteins. Perhaps, he suggested, this was how organic compounds were made on the ancient Earth before life existed.
While Miller was confident of his results, the rows of famous faces in his audience were, to say the least, intimidating. He was bombarded with questions. Were the analyses done correctly? Could there have been contamination? After the event, Miller thought that the questions had been constructive, but since the results were hard to believe, they had simply wanted to ensure that he had not made some mistake. However, Carl Sagan thought that Miller’s inquisitors seemed to be picky and did not appreciate the significance of the experiment. Even the relevance of Miller’s results to the origin of life were questioned. When someone asked Miller how he could really be sure this kind of process actually took place on the primitive Earth, Nobel Laureate Harold Urey, Miller’s research advisor, immediately interrupted, replying, “If God did not do it this way, then he missed a good bet.” The seminar ended amid the laughter, and the attendees filed out with some making complimentary remarks to Miller. Miller changed clothes, went back to the lab and started a paper chromatography run.
The events leading up to this dramatic seminar began two years earlier in October, 1951 when Urey presented the Chemistry Department seminar on the origin of the Solar system. In addition to the usual high powered scientists, the audience had contained the then first year graduate student, Stanley Miller.
Read “Prebiotic Soup—Revisiting the Miller Experiment” by Jeffrey Bada and Antonio Lazcano published in Science300 (2003) 745-726 in full text or as a PDF.
This is an abridged version of the Stanley Miller’s 70th Birthday published in Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere 30: 107-112, 2000 by Jeffrey Bada and Antonio Lazcano and The Spark of Life – Darwin and the Primeval Soup by Christopher Wills and Jeffrey Bada, Perseus Books, 2000.
More than 50 years ago scientists demonstrated that basic chemicals of life, thought previously by some to be too complex to arise naturally, could occur in nature spontaneously. Much of the misunderstanding and crank science behind creationism is devoted to hiding these facts.
Lift a glass to Stanley Miller and his experiment today, a toast to learning, a toast to the truth.
More Resources:
1 Comment | A Good Story, Astrobiology, Biography, Biology, Evolution, History, History images, Research, Science | Tagged: Abiogenesis, Astrobiology, Biochemistry, Carl Sagan, Evolution, Harold Urey, History, Origins of Life, Science, Stanley Miller | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Confused about intelligent design? Confused about how people with working brains could advocate intelligent design? Read this story — you could have an epiphany.
Leave a Comment » | A Good Story, Intelligent Design, Reason, Religion, Science | Tagged: Bedtime Story, Intelligent Design, Reason, Religion, Science, Scientific Method | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Bauer is fictional, Norris is mostly fictional.
Neither of them can hold a candle to the exploits of Thomas A. Baker.
This is one of the rewards of the study of history: Fiction cannot hold a candle to reality.
Older son Kenny and I were discussing fantastic things, and he mentioned the story of a “real life Rambo” he had heard about, a guy named Tom Baker. Baker’s heroism on Saipan, in the Marianas Islands, in the last months of World War II could not pass as fiction — no one would believe it true. Of course, it is true.
That’s what marks a winner of the Medal of Honor from other heroes in uniform, often. The things they do, under fire, with their lives on the line, so far exceed what we think humanly possible, that all we can do is marvel.
Take a deep breath, say a little prayer of thanks for those who go into harm’s way in defense of freedom, and read the Medal of Honor citation for Thomas A. Baker, whose medal was awarded posthumously:
*BAKER, THOMAS A.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company A, 105th Infantry, 27th Infantry Division. Place and date: Saipan, Mariana Islands, 19 June to 7 July 1944. Entered service at: Troy, N.Y. Birth: Troy, N.Y. G.O. No.: 35, 9 May 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty at Saipan, Mariana Islands, 19 June to 7 July 1944. When his entire company was held up by fire from automatic weapons and small-arms fire from strongly fortified enemy positions that commanded the view of the company, Sgt. (then Pvt.) Baker voluntarily took a bazooka and dashed alone to within 100 yards of the enemy. Through heavy rifle and machinegun fire that was directed at him by the enemy, he knocked out the strong point, enabling his company to assault the ridge. Some days later while his company advanced across the open field flanked with obstructions and places of concealment for the enemy, Sgt. Baker again voluntarily took up a position in the rear to protect the company against surprise attack and came upon 2 heavily fortified enemy pockets manned by 2 officers and 10 enlisted men which had been bypassed. Without regard for such superior numbers, he unhesitatingly attacked and killed all of them. Five hundred yards farther, he discovered 6 men of the enemy who had concealed themselves behind our lines and destroyed all of them. On 7 July 1944, the perimeter of which Sgt. Baker was a part was attacked from 3 sides by from 3,000 to 5,000 Japanese. During the early stages of this attack, Sgt. Baker was seriously wounded but he insisted on remaining in the line and fired at the enemy at ranges sometimes as close as 5 yards until his ammunition ran out. Without ammunition and with his own weapon battered to uselessness from hand-to-hand combat, he was carried about 50 yards to the rear by a comrade, who was then himself wounded. At this point Sgt. Baker refused to be moved any farther stating that he preferred to be left to die rather than risk the lives of any more of his friends. A short time later, at his request, he was placed in a sitting position against a small tree . Another comrade, withdrawing, offered assistance. Sgt. Baker refused, insisting that he be left alone and be given a soldier’s pistol with its remaining 8 rounds of ammunition. When last seen alive, Sgt. Baker was propped against a tree, pistol in hand, calmly facing the foe. Later Sgt. Baker’s body was found in the same position, gun empty, with 8 Japanese lying dead before him. His deeds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.
2 Comments | 1941-1945, A Good Story, Accuracy, Famous Battles, Heroes, History, Military History, World War II | Tagged: Good Story, Heroes, History, Thomas A. Baker, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
From Oceanside, Long Island, New York, we get brief reports of an Eagle Scout, Shawn Goldsmith, who earned all 121 merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America. He finished work on his last badge, for bugling, in November.
Eagle Scout Shawn Goldsmith, Troop 240, Greater New York Council - Goldsmith earned all 121 Merit Badges - Photo from GNY Council
From WBBH, Channel 2, an NBC affiliate television news operation on Long Island:
Goldsmith says he took about five years to earn his first 62 badges and then nearly doubled that number in a matter of months. He did it with the encouragement of his grandmother, who died shortly before he reached his goal. He was awarded his final badges on Dec. 19.
Goldsmith is a freshman at Binghamton University and hopes to become a businessman and politician.
Shawn is a member of Troop 240, Greater New York Council (Bronx), whose chartered organization is Riverdale Presbyterian Church. Shawn was editor of his high school’s newspaper, and he served as an intern in the Long Island office of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer.
More information:
Related posts at Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub:
Update – other mentions:
4 Comments | A Good Story, Boy Scouts of America, Citizenship, Eagle Scout, History, Leadership | Tagged: Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout, Merit Badges | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
91 years ago today, on December 28, 1917, this column by H. L. Mencken was published in The New York Evening Mail:
1927 Portrait of H. L. Mencken by Nikol Schattenstein; Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
A Neglected Anniversary
On December 20 there flitted past us, absolutely without public notice, one of the most important profane anniversaries in American history, to wit, the seventy-fifth anniversary of the introduction of the bathtub into These States. Not a plumber fired a salute or hung out a flag. Not a governor proclaimed a day of prayer. Not a newspaper called attention to the day.
True enough, it was not entirely forgotten. Eight or nine months ago one of the younger surgeons connected with the Public Health Service in Washington happened upon the facts while looking into the early history of public hygiene, and at his suggestion a committee was formed to celebrate the anniversary with a banquet. But before the plan was perfected Washington went dry (This was war-time Prohibition, preliminary to the main catastrophe. — HLM), and so the banquet had to be abandoned. As it was, the day passed wholly unmarked, even in the capital of the nation.
Bathtubs are so common today that it is almost impossible to imagine a world without them. They are familiar to nearly everyone in all incorporated towns; in most of the large cities it is unlawful to build a dwelling house without putting them in; even on the farm they have begun to come into use. And yet the first American bathtub was installed and dedicated so recently as December 20, 1842, and, for all I know to the contrary, it may still be in existence and in use.
Curiously enough, the scene of its setting up was Cincinnati, then a squalid frontier town, and even today surely no leader in culture. But Cincinnati, in those days as in these, contained many enterprising merchants, and one of them was a man named Adam Thompson, a dealer in cotton and grain. Thompson shipped his grain by steamboat down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans, and from there sent it to England in sailing vessels. This trade frequently took him to England, and in that country, during the ’30s, he acquired the habit of bathing.
The bathtub was then still a novelty in England. It had been introduced in 1828 by Lord John Russell and its use was yet confined to a small class of enthusiasts. Moreover, the English bathtub, then as now, was a puny and inconvenient contrivance — little more, in fact, than a glorified dishpan — and filling and emptying it required the attendance of a servant. Taking a bath, indeed, was a rather heavy ceremony, and Lord John in 1835 was said to be the only man in England who had yet come to doing it every day.
Thompson, who was of inventive fancy — he later devised the machine that is still used for bagging hams and bacon — conceived the notion that the English bathtub would be much improved if it were made large enough to admit the whole body of an adult man, and if its supply of water, instead of being hauled to the scene by a maid, were admitted by pipes from a central reservoir and run off by the same means. Accordingly, early in 1842 he set about building the first modern bathroom in his Cincinnati home — a large house with Doric pillars, standing near what is now the corner of Monastery and Orleans streets.
There was then, of course, no city water supply, at least in that part of the city, but Thompson had a large well in his garden, and he installed a pump to lift its water to the house. This pump, which was operated by six Negroes, much like an old-time fire engine, was connected by a pipe with a cypress tank in the garret of the house, and here the water was stored until needed. From the tank two other pipes ran to the bathroom. One, carrying cold water, was a direct line. The other, designed to provide warm water, ran down the great chimney of the kitchen, and was coiled inside it like a giant spring.
The tub itself was of new design, and became the grandfather of all the bathtubs of today. Thompson had it made by James Cullness, the leading Cincinnati cabinetmaker of those days, and its material was Nicaragua mahogany. It was nearly seven feet long and fully four feet wide. To make it water-tight, the interior was lined with sheet lead, carefully soldered at the joints. The whole contraption weighed about 1,750 pounds, and the floor of the room in which it was placed had to be reinforced to support it. The exterior was elaborately polished.
In this luxurious tub Thompson took two baths on December 20, 1842 — a cold one at 8 a.m. and a warm one some time during the afternoon. The warm water, heated by the kitchen fire, reached a temperature of 105 degrees. On Christmas day, having a party of gentlemen to dinner, he exhibited the new marvel to them and gave an exhibition of its use, and four of them, including a French visitor, Col. Duchanel, risked plunges into it. The next day all Cincinnati — then a town of about 100,000 people — had heard of it, and the local newspapers described it at length and opened their columns to violent discussions of it.
The thing, in fact, became a public matter, and before long there was bitter and double- headed opposition to the new invention, which had been promptly imitated by several other wealthy Cincinnatians. On the one hand it was denounced as an epicurean and obnoxious toy from England, designed to corrupt the democratic simplicity of the Republic, and on the other hand it was attacked by the medical faculty as dangerous to health and a certain inviter of “phthisic, rheumatic fevers, inflammation of the lungs and the whole category of zymotic diseases.” (I quote from the Western Medical Repository of April 23, 1843.)
The noise of the controversy soon reached other cities, and in more than one place medical opposition reached such strength that it was reflected in legislation. Late in 1843, for example, the Philadelphia Common Council considered an ordinance prohibiting bathing between November 1 and March 15, and it failed of passage by but two votes. During the same year the legislature of Virginia laid a tax of $30 a year on all bathtubs that might be set up, and in Hartford, Providence, Charleston and Wilmington (Del.) special and very heavy water rates were levied upon those who had them. Boston, very early in 1845, made bathing unlawful except upon medical advice, but the ordinance was never enforced and in 1862 it was repealed.
This legislation, I suspect, had some class feeling in it, for the Thompson bathtub was plainly too expensive to be owned by any save the wealthy; indeed, the common price for installing one in New York in 1845 was $500. Thus the low caste politicians of the time made capital by fulminating against it, and there is even some suspicion of political bias in many of the early medical denunciations. But the invention of the common pine bathtub, lined with zinc, in 1847, cut off this line of attack, and thereafter the bathtub made steady progress.
The zinc tub was devised by John F. Simpson, a Brooklyn plumber, and his efforts to protect it by a patent occupied the courts until 1855. But the decisions were steadily against him, and after 1848 all the plumbers of New York were equipped for putting in bathtubs. According to a writer in the Christian Register for July 17, 1857, the first one in New York was opened for traffic on September 12, 1847, and by the beginning of 1850 there were already nearly 1,000 in use in the big town.
After this medical opposition began to collapse, and among other eminent physicians Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes declared for the bathtub, and vigorously opposed the lingering movement against it in Boston. The American Medical Association held its annual meeting in Boston in 1849, and a poll of the members in attendance showed that nearly 55 per cent of them now regarded bathing as harmless, and that more than 20 per cent advocated it as beneficial. At its meeting in 1850 a resolution was formally passed giving the imprimatur of the faculty to the bathtub. The homeopaths followed with a like resolution in 1853.
But it was the example of President Millard Fillmore that, even more than the grudging medical approval, gave the bathtub recognition and respectability in the United States. While he was still Vice-President, in March, 1850, he visited Cincinnati on a stumping tour, and inspected the original Thompson tub. Thompson himself was now dead, but his bathroom was preserved by the gentlemen who had bought his house from the estate. Fillmore was entertained in this house and, according to Chamberlain, his biographer, took a bath in the tub. Experiencing no ill effects, he became an ardent advocate of the new invention, and on succeeding to the Presidency at Taylor’s death, July 9, 1850, he instructed his secretary of war, Gen. Charles M. Conrad, to invite tenders for the construction of a bathtub in the White House.
This action, for a moment, revived the old controversy, and its opponents made much of the fact that there was no bathtub at Mount Vernon, or at Monticello, and that all the Presidents and other magnificoes of the past had got along without any such monarchical luxuries. The elder Bennett, in the New York Herald, charged that Fillmore really aspired to buy and install in the White House a porphyry and alabaster bath that had been used by Louis Philippe at Versailles. But Conrad, disregarding all this clamor, duly called for bids, and the contract was presently awarded to Harper & Gillespie, a firm of Philadelphia engineers, who proposed to furnish a tub of thin cast iron, capable of floating the largest man.
This was installed early in 1851, and remained in service in the White House until the first Cleveland administration, when the present enameled tub was substituted. The example of the President soon broke down all that remained of the old opposition, and by 1860, according to the newspaper advertisements of the time, every hotel in New York had a bathtub, and some had two and even three. In 1862 bathing was introduced into the Army by Gen. McClellan, and in 1870 the first prison bathtub was set up at Moyamensing Prison, in Philadelphia.
So much for the history of the bathtub in America. One is astonished, on looking into it, to find that so little of it has been recorded. The literature, in fact, is almost nil. But perhaps this brief sketch will encourage other inquirers and so lay the foundation for an adequate celebration of the centennial in 1942.
(Text courtesy of Poor Mojo’s Almanac(k))
The entire history was a hoax composed by Mencken.
Even conservative wackoes appreciate the column.
Content with his private joke, Mencken remained silent about the hoax until a follow-up article, “Melancholy Reflections,” appeared in the Chicago Tribune on May 23, 1926, some eight years later. This was Mencken’s confession. It was also an appeal for reason to the American public.
His hoax was a joke gone bad. “A Neglected Anniversary” had been printed and reprinted hundreds of times in the intervening years. Mencken had been receiving letters of corroboration from some readers and requests for more details from others. His history of the bathtub had been cited repeatedly by other writers and was starting to find its way into reference works. As Mencken noted in “Melancholy Reflections,” his “facts” “began to be used by chiropractors and other such quacks as evidence of the stupidity of medical men. They began to be cited by medical men as proof of the progress of public hygiene.” And, because Fillmore’s presidency had been so uneventful, on the date of his birthday calendars often included the only interesting tidbit of information they could find: Fillmore had introduced the bathtub into the White House. (Even the later scholarly disclosure that Andrew Jackson had a bathtub installed there in 1834—years before Mencken claimed it was even invented—did not diminish America’s conviction that Fillmore was responsible.)
(No, dear reader, probably not correct; surely John Adams brought a bathtub with him when he moved into the White House, then called the President’s Mansion. Plumbing, hot water, and finally hot water to a bathtub in the president’s residence, were installed between 1830 and 1853, as best I can determine.)
Mencken wrote an introduction to the piece in a later book, A Mencken Chrestomathy (Alfred A. Knopf, 1949):
The success of this idle hoax, done in time of war, when more serious writing was impossible, vastly astonished me. It was taken gravely by a great many other newspapers, and presently made its way into medical literature and into standard reference books. It had, of course, no truth in it whatsoever, and I more than once confessed publicly that it was only a jocosity… Scarcely a month goes by that I do not find the substance of it reprinted, not as foolishness but as fact, and not only in newspapers but in official documents and other works of the highest pretensions.
There’s a moral to the story: Strive for accuracy!
So, Dear Reader, check for accuracy, and question authority.
Resources:
8 Comments | A Good Story, Accuracy, H. L. Mencken, History, Hoaxes, Millard Fillmore, Newspapers, White House, World War I | Tagged: bathtubs, H. L. Mencken, Hoaxes, Millard Fillmore, Newspapers, White House | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
A smaller, less-highly regarded force of Athenians faced a larger, better trained, more experienced army of Persians. Sparta’s promised reinforcements had not yet arrived.
And yet the Greeks triumphed over the Persians at Marathon. How?
Two Greek generals followed the dictates of Santayana, whose ghost couldn’t exist because his corporeal existence was nearly 2,500 years in the future — they studied history, and they made plans to avoid the errors others had made in the past.
The two Athenian commanders, Callimachus and Miltiades (the latter having fought in the Persian army himself), used their knowledge of Persian battle tactics to turn the tide further in their favor. As the clatter of spears, swords and shields echoed through the valley, the Greeks had ensured that their best hoplites (heavily armed infantry) were on the flanks and that their ranks were thinned in the center. Persian battle doctrine dictated that their best troops, true Persians, fought in the center, while conscripts, pressed into service from tribute states, fought on the flanks. The Persian elite forces surged into the center of the fray, easily gaining the ascendancy. But this time it was a fatal mistake. The Persian conscripts whom the Hellenic hoplites faced on the flanks quickly broke into flight. The Greeks then made another crucial decision: Instead of pursuing their fleeing foes, they turned inward to aid their countrymen fighting in the center of the battle.
By then, the Persians were in a state of utter confusion. Their tactics had failed, their cavalry was absent and their archers were useless. Their more heavily armed and armored opponents, who could sense that victory was close, were attacking them from three sides and pushing them into the sea. The Persians fled back to their ships. Many of the Athenians, buoyed by their success, dragged several of the Persian vessels to shore, slaughtering those on board.
When the day was over, the Greeks had won one of history’s most famous victories, claiming to have killed about 6,400 Persians for the loss of only 192 Athenians. The Spartans eventually arrived, but only after the battle was long over. To assuage their disbelief in the Athenians’ victory, they toured the battlefield. To their amazement, they found the claim of victory was indeed true. The Athenians had defeated the most powerful empire in the Western world.
It was a great victory. The Athenians had been so certain of defeat, however, that they had made plans to burn Athens and have Athenians left behind commit suicide rather than be captured by the Persians. In order to prevent the plans from going through, they needed one more tremendous piece of history, and they called on their runner:
With time of the essence, the Athenians dispatched Pheidippides to inform Athens’ populace of their victory before the troops arrived. The tale goes that after running the 26 miles from Marathon to Athens, Pheidippides exclaimed: “Rejoice! We conquer!” then died from exhaustion. Whether true or not, that is the source of the modern-day marathon race; the distance of the modern race reflects the distance Pheidippides ran.
I opened world history this year asking how many had seen the movie “300.” It produced some excitement, which I was glad to see. Not enough students knew that it was based on a real battle. We recounted the story of the victories at Thermopylae and Salamis, and then told the story of the set up for that war, the Greek victory at Marathon. It was just after the Olympics closed — tying the battles to the last event of the Olympics, in honor of Pheidippides, made for a great class, for me. For the students? I hope so.
One of my intended learning points was that history is about the stories, not about memorizing dates and places. Stories, they like. Dates and places, not so much.
Another point: History is all around us, even when we play couch potato and just watch the Olympics.
I knew I’d scored when a student asked me after class whether I knew when this year’s marathon would be rebroadcast, so she could watch it.
2 Comments | A Good Story, Education, Famous Battles, Greece, Heroes, History, Leadership, Lessons of history, Teaching, Travel, World history | Tagged: Anniversaries, Athens, courage, Education, Famous Battles, History, Marathon, September 17, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Dan Bates served on the staff at Camp Maple Dell for at least the part of one summer when I was on junior staff there, in Utah’s Payson Canyon (1969? 1970?). Maple Dell is a Boy Scout camp operated by the Utah National Parks Council, B.S.A.
I remember Dan because he was one of those overachieving guys who had earned every possible merit badge — 121 at the time, if I recall correctly. By comparison, there are 21 merit badges necessary to earn Eagle Scout (which Dan is, also).
It didn’t go to his head at all. Dan was a great guy, from Heber, Utah, a small town up Provo Canyon in one of the world’s most beautiful valleys. Heber used to be separated from much of Utah by snow every year, but the roads are kept clear these days.
Once I asked Dan what possessed him to get every merit badge, and without pausing long, he said, “What else do you do in Heber in the winter?” It was a flip answer unexpected from the usually more sober Bates.
I think about Dan this time of year when the news stories start appearing about a new Scout, somewhere, who has earned every merit badge. One of the common themes of these stories: Has anyone else ever done it?
Eagle Scout Travis Cochran, California, holder of every merit badge
In The Press-Enterprise in San Bernardino, County, California, for example, the June 25 issue reports the achievements of Travis Cochran:
If Don Townsend was a betting man he’d put money on the fact that Travis Cochran is the only Boy Scout to have earned every merit badge and the Bronze and Silver Hornaday Medals.
Cochran, 18, of Cedarpines Park, earned 122 merit badges during his scouting career. Twenty-one merit badges must be earned to reach the rank of Eagle Scout.
There is a qualification in this story — Cochran also earned the Bronze and Silver Hornaday Conservation Medals — but you see the drift.
Alas, there is no central location for information about such achievements that I have ever found. Tracking the achievements of Boy Scouts, like the tremendous accomplishments of Scouts Dan Bates and Travis Cochran, generally falls to the local unit. Sometimes a local Boy Scout Council will have some information, but usually not.
History sneaks away so often because no one bothers to invite it to stick around.
Do you know of other Boy Scouts who earned every possible merit badge? We had one such Scout in the Circle 10 Council (Dallas) last year. How many others sneaked by without the hoopla they deserve?
Dan Bates, where are you these days?
Update, August 2009: Dan Bates has been found!
Dan wrote in from Mesa, Arizona, and the Grand Canyon Council — see his note in comments, below. Turns out I remembered it incorrectly — he had 100 merit badges, but not all of them. His brother got them all. Glad for the correction. Happier to have found Mr. Bates.
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18 Comments | 121 Merit Badge Club, A Good Story, Boy Scouts of America, Citizenship, Eagle Scout, Education, History | Tagged: 121 Merit Badge Club, Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout, Education, History, Scouting | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Quanah Parker, a Kwahadi Comanche chief; full-length, standing in front of tent.
Photographed by Lanney. Public Domain photo.
National Archives, “Pictures of Indians in the United States”
Photographs of Native Americans reside among the publicly and internet available materials of the National Archives. Images can be ordered in sets of slides, or as individual prints, though many are available in quality high enough for PowerPoint works and use on classroom materials. Many of the photos are 19th century.
Quanah Parker stands as one of the larger Native Americans in Texas history. This photo puts a face to a reputation in Texas history textbooks. Texas teachers may want to be certain to get a copy of the photo. His life story includes so many episodes that seem to come out of a Native American version of Idylls of the King that a fiction writer could not include them all, were they not real.
Quanah Parker in later life, as a successful businessman. Wikipedia image, public domain
Quanah Parker’s epitaph reads:
Resting Here Until Day Breaks
And Shadows Fall and Darkness Disappears is
Quanah Parker Last Chief of the Comanches
Born 1852
Died Feb. 23, 1911
Other Resources:
19 Comments | A Good Story, Education, Heroes, History, History images, Native Americans, Religion, Texas, Texas history | Tagged: Education, History images, National Archives, Native Americans, photography, Quanah Parker, Texas | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
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Ed Darrell on Texas's Colorado River
Come on in, the water's fine. Come often: Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
