TheBadGuy Knife Giveaway

In 1907 Dr. De Forest patents the audion tube. Dr. Lee De Forest, widely regarded as the "father of radio and the grandfather of television," patented the Audion radio tube, which turned radio into a practical transmission device for voice and music. Previously, wireless technology was primarily used for telegraph signals. Unfortunately, De Forest's business partners were prone to fraud: The De Forest Radio Telephone Company began to collapse in 1909, leading to De Forest's indictment for promoting a "worthless device"--the Audion tube. De Forest was later acquitted. Several years later, De Forest devised a way to connect a series of Audion tubes in order to amplify radio signals far beyond what a single tube could do. This process was essential in the development of radio and long-distance telephone. De Forest, despairing of business success, sold his patents at bargain-basement prices to several companies, including American Telephone and Telegraph, which used the repeating Audion tube as a key component in long-distance telephone technology.

My number guess is: 313
 
The middle name of President Harry Truman was just the letter 'S.'

Thanks for the giveaway, Badguy! btw ur not such a bad guy after all :D

My Number: 813

thanks!
Mak
 
In the early days of Japanese kabuki theater, women were an important part of the shows...but their place eventually became highly questionable in its moral value, as many performers were prostitutes. The Tokugawa shogunate, being very suspicious, banned women's acting in 1629. The next alternative was to take young boys (wakashu) for the feminine roles, though they inevitably served the same roles as earlier prostitutes in onna (women) kabuki. As a result, they too were barred from the stage in 1652. This regulation was overcome by shaving the boys' front hair, socially declaring them adult men. However it deprived the wakashu of one of their most "enticing" features. Further decrees against highly erotic material forced actors to utilize more of a dramatic element in their performances. Kabuki's great tradition of onnagata (female impersonators) stems from what I thought to be an "interesting" sequence of "historical facts" :D :p

Number? Crap...this is the hard part! :D Umm... 620 (if nobody else took it).
 
The Shuttle fuel tank is covered in insulating foam that not only has to prevent ice from forming on the outside due to the -423 degree temperature of the liquid hydrogen but also has to not burn off due to aero heating of rocketing thru the atmosphere at 17,000 mph.

My number is....698
 
In 1865 August Kekulé intuited the ring structure of benzene while dozing in front of his fireplace. He saw the molecule as a snake that devoured its own tail. My number is 777. Thanks for the contest.
--Josh
 
Potatos are in the nightshade family, and contain the alkaloid solanine which is a neurotoxin. In humans, an oral dose of 28mg per kg of body weight can cause neurological impairment, gastrointestinal effects, and even death.

Solanine is a poison used by potatos to defend themselves against pests and infections. In large amounts, it causes potatos to have a bitter taste, and is especially strong in green and damaged potatos.

Taken from here.
"Most potatoes contain levels of about 2-13 mg solanine/100 g fresh weight of potato. However, when the potato starts to "green" these levels increase to as high as 80-100 mg/100 g fresh weight. Most experts suggest that 20 mg/100 g should be the upper limit to assure safety of the potato."

Apparently, there has not been a case of severe solanine poisoning in the US in 50 years. During the potato blight and resulting famine in Ireland between 1846-1850, solanine poisioning was far more common, due to the fact that people were starving and were eating green potatos, and that the potatos were producing more solanine to defend against the fungus.

My number: 477

Thanks for the contest!

-- Rob
 
11,000 years ago, there was an island nation somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Its name has become part of the myths and legends born in the mists of history.

Today we know of this place as Atlantis. It had since sunk in the abyss of the murky past. This story was told by Plato in 360 BC.

Today scientists are beginning to find evidence that the myth that was Atlantis may not be a fairy tale afterall.

When Atlantis re-surfaces, man may find the amazing origins of his golden past.

My number is 678.
 
In 1959 a man named Waylon Jennings, who at the time was a member of Buddy Holly's back up band named The Crickets, told a tired and sick J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper), "I hope your plane crashes". This is after J.P. had asked Waylon if he could take his spot on an airplane that Buddy had arranged for he and his band. Waylon didn't have a problem giving up his seat on the plane. J.P. was sick and needed to get to his destination so he could rest, and not to ride on a cold bus for hours on end. Waylon was being facetious when he made that comment, but it haunted him for the rest of his life because unfortunately that plane did crash.

Number 501
 
In the UK a taxi cab driver can be prosecuted if he fails to carry a bale of hay in his vehicle. Just one of many curious laws still on our statute books.


Thanks Badguy - I'll take 195.
 
Great Chinese Inventions.

Paper Money: China, Ninth Century AD. Its original name was 'flying money' because it was so light it could blow out of one's hand. As 'exchange certificates' used by merchants, paper money was quickly adopted by the government for forwarding tax payments. Real paper money, used as a medium of exchange and backed by deposited cash (a Chinese term for metal coins), apparently came into use in the tenth century. The first Western money was issued in Sweden in 1661. America followed in 1690, France in 1720, England in 1797, and Germany not until 1806.

Number:168
 
HISTORICALLY...I have sucked at guessing the right answer at these kind of contests;).

History will probably repeat itself here. I'll guess 723.

Mike
 
Even though there were stories concerning viking raids, there was never any actual archeological evidence to prove these raids were a fact until in the late 1800s, in Norway, archeologists began to find fragments of Christian treasures(reliquaries for holding the bones of saints and gilded pieces from the fronts of Gospel books, etc.) in burial grounds used by pagans which dated before the time Christianity came to the Norway region.

Oh, and my number: 662

Thanks for the contest! Good luck to all who enter!
 
First Zippo Lighter - 1932
George G. Blaisdell invented the Zippo lighter in 1932 in Bradford, Pennsylvania. You can even find the name of the manufacturing location, either Bradford or Niagara Falls, Canada, stamped on the bottom of every Zippo lighter. The name Zippo was chosen by Blaisdell because he liked the sound of the word "zipper" - which was patented around the same time in nearby Meadville, PA

my # guess is 914
 
Back in the days of the British East India Company, when the "upper crust" (see above) traveled to and from India, the VIP's were given the very best quarters on ship. Their tickets were annotated with P.O.S.H. - an acronym for Port Out Starboard Home - placing their cabins in the shade in the afternons while sailing the Indian Ocean...

Number: 101
 
In 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright conducted the first "powered flight" at Kitty Hawk, NC. My number is 375.
 
There is ample evidence of successful brain surgeries dating back to the Neolithic period (late Stone Age).

My pick is 333.
 
On January 14, 1870, the first recorded use of a donkey to represent the Democratic Party appears in Harper's Weekly.


492
 
Here's a little known historical fact, Dr Jarvick, inventor of the artificial heart, had made an important invention as a teenager, his dad was a surgeon and was complaining about how long sutured wounds took to heal, and how long it took to do them,(sutures) as a kid he had the bright idea to use staples and invented the surgical staple which is used world wide, and he did this as a kid before inventing the artificial heart.

My number 722 for my wedding anniversary.
 
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