by david allan van nostrand | Jun 30, 2025 | Fourth of July, Rituals, The Wayback Machine
Most people think the Chinese invented fireworks around 200 B.C. Technically, that’s not true because historians tell us it was an accident, not an invention. As it turns out, when the ancients tossed bamboo* sticks on the fire, they flickered and sputtered while they...
by david allan van nostrand | Jun 23, 2025 | Human Behavior, Organizational Behavior, The world around us
In 1821, well-known activist and Member of Parliament Colonel Richard Martin (King George IV called him Humanity Dick) accused fruit and vegetable peddler Bill Burns of being cruel to his donkey. Animal welfare influencer Martin shocked everyone when he had attendants...
by david allan van nostrand | Jun 16, 2025 | Human Behavior, Items in the News, The world around us
StoryFile is an a.i.-powered video company that sets up conversational interactions with dead people. No, not seance style, but on whichever screen you use to watch videos. I saw an ad of theirs featuring Captain Kirk as spokesman. We’ve still got a ways to go before...
by david allan van nostrand | Jun 9, 2025 | Case Study, Items in the News, The Wayback Machine
Long ago, people left their waste where it fell and moved on, just like the animals. Later on, they started disposing of it where the stink of rotting organic matter wouldn’t bother them. By law, residents of the city of Athens had to dump garbage one mile from...
by david allan van nostrand | Jun 2, 2025 | Items in the News, The iterative process, The Wayback Machine
Most sources say that László Bíró invented the ballpoint pen in 1938. What many don’t bother telling us is that he was the inventor of the modern ballpoint pen. Some sources tell us that John J. Loud was issued U.S. Patent #392,046 for a ballpoint pen 50 years earlier...
