Consumer Technology

Toaster Museum Foundation Homepage

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.toaster.org/

Author:

Eric Norcross

Excerpt:

The process of scorching bread to preserve it spread through many cultures. The word toast comes from the Latin Torrere, Tostum - to scorch or burn. The Romans, in their conquests, took their love of toasted bread with them and spread the custom farther, even up into Britain. Later, English colonists brought the tradition to the Americas.

Annotation:

The toaster Museum Foundation Homepage acts as a surprisingly informative collection of materials concerning a kitchen appliance whose impact, though trivial in some ways, has touched most Americans. The site gives some background on the history of toast and then consists mostly of images of various toasters throughout the years and brief summaries of their function, design, and historic context. Exerpts from ads, funny quotes and poems, and supplemental essays on specific models or product lines give additional flavor to the site. Some of the information is given in a toungue-in-cheek style, but the content is still usefull. The site is easily navigated and fun.

New Media Encyclopedia

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.newmedia-art.org

Author:

Centre Georges Pompidou, Museum Ludwig and Centre pour l'Image Contemporaine

Excerpt:

CITY OF ANGELS, TERRA DELLA DEA MADRE, TERMINAL GARDEN
The three parts of this video work entitled "CONTINENTAL VIDEOSERIES" incorporate elements of earlier works by Ulay/Abramovic: Firstly, they are shot in different locations in the eastern and western world: Bangkok, Sicily and Cambridge, whose ritual and traditional peculiarities are picked out as a central theme. The artists are working with the stylistic device of the "tableau vivant", combining it with speech in a way that creates the impression of ritual acts. The strings of speech cannot be deciphered, only in "Terra della dea madre" snatches of words seem to be Italian or Greek. The language is reminiscent of an ancient epos. With the exception of the "Cambridge" sequence, the singsong of the speaker’s voice and the undecipherable text in the remaining parts make the aspect of contents and narrative virtually disappear in favour of a pictorial whole that encompasses the peculiarities of the language system.

Annotation:

This site serves as a scholarly research tool for the study of new media's relationship with artistic expression. The site contains brief biographies of new media artists and critical descriptions of their works, which users may view with a RealPlayer or QuickTime plug-in. The site also includes a chronology by decade (1950 to the present), and a glossary and bibliography, each arranged alphabetically. The site can serve as an important online resource for understanding the development of new media arts and the progression of specific artists, their work, and their use of technology. Historians of technology and culture will find this site extremely useful.

Words & Deeds in American History: Selected Documents Celebrating the Manuscript Division's First 100 Years

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/mcchtml/corhome.html

Author:

Janice E. Ruth, Manuscript Division Project Director, Library of Congress

Excerpt:

In honor of the Manuscript Division's centennial, its staff has selected for online display approximately ninety representative documents spanning from the fifteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. Included are the papers of presidents, cabinet ministers, members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, military officers and diplomats, reformers and political activists, artists and writers, scientists and inventors, and other prominent Americans whose lives reflect our country's evolution. Most of the selected items fall within one of eight major themes or categories which reflect the division's strengths. Each of these themes is the focus of a separate essay containing links to digital reproductions of selected documents. A detailed description accompanies each document, and additional information about the parent collections may be obtained by following links to catalog records and finding aids.

Annotation:

A Library of Congress Manuscript Division online exhibit to celebrate the Manuscript Division's centenary, this site contains approximately 90 representative documents from the 15th to the mid-20th century. The selected documents include the papers of presidents, cabinet ministers, congressmen, Supereme Court justices, military officers, diplomats, reformers, artists, writers, scientists, and other Americans who made a mark in history. Most items fall with eight categories that reflect the division's strengths: "The Presidency"; "Congress, Law, and Politics"; "Military Affairs"; "Diplomacy and Foreign Policy"; "Arts and Literature"; "Science, Medicine, Exploration, and Invention"; "African-American History and Culture"; "Women's History"; and "Miscellany." Each theme contains a roughly 250-word essay with links to digital reproductions of selected documents. A detailed description (200 words) accompanies each document, and additional information about the collections from which a document came is available through links to the collection records and finding aids. The exhibit also includes roughly 25 images, primarily in the "Science, Medicine, Exploration and Invention" category. There is a special presentation entitled "Collecting, Preserving, and Researching History: A Peek into the Library of Congress Manuscript Division." This site provides a description of the division, its holdings, definitions of terms like "personal papers" and why they are important, how the Library of Congress acquires manuscripts, how the staff prepares, conserves, and stores them, and who uses the documents. The site also has links to the Library of Congress's ordering and reproduction policies, the American Memory site, and to the Library of Congress collection catalogs. This easily navigable site is keyword and subject searchable. This site is ideal for conducting research in many areas of American History, as well as answering the question: "What do archives do?"

Clara Barton Biography

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/whm/bio/barton_c.htm

Author:

Gale Publishing

Excerpt:

Clara Barton was born on December 25, 1821, in North Oxford, Massachusetts. She was the youngest child of Stephen Barton, a farmer and state legislator who had served in the Revolution under General Anthony Wayne; she later recalled that his tales made war early familiar to her

Annotation:

A short biography of Clara Barton with recommendations for further reading. Part of a larger site related to women's history.

Time 100: The Most Important People of the 20th Century

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.time.com/time/time100/

Author:

Time Magazine

Excerpt:

One century, 100 remarkable people. TIME has profiled those individuals who - for better or worse - most influenced the last 100 years. They are considered in five fields of endeavor, culminating with Person of the Century: Albert Einstein.

Annotation:

Time proposes the following to be the most important figures in science and thinking during the twentieth century: Leo Baekeland; Tim Berners-Lee; Rachel Carson; Francis Crick; James Watson; Albert Einstein; Philo Farnsworth; Enrico Fermi; Alexander Fleming; Sigmund Freud; Robert Goddard; Kurt Gödel; Edwin Hubble; John Maynard Keynes; Louis, Mary and Richard Leakey; Jean Piaget; Jonas Salk; William Shockley; Alan Turing; Ludwig Wittgenstein; and Wilbur and Orville Wright. They additionally identify twenty individuals as the twentieth century's most important Leaders and Revolutionaries; Artists and Entertainers; Builders and Titans; and Heroes and Icons. Each entry contains a biography and assessment of the individual's accomplishments, as well as links to related stories from Time's archives.

Whole Cloth: Discovering Science and Technology Through American Textile History

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://www.si.edu/lemelson/centerpieces/whole_cloth

Author:

Society for the History of Technology

Excerpt:

The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center was founded in 1995 at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, through a generous gift from the Lemelson Foundation. The Center's mission is to document, interpret, and disseminate information about invention and innovation, to encourage inventive creativity in young people, and to foster an appreciation for the central role invention and innovation play in the history of the United States.

Annotation:

This site, developed by the Society for the History of Technology, teaches the history of the production and consumption of textiles. Three completed "modular units," Early Industrialization, True Colors, and Synthetic Fibers, link the history of textile technology to issues of race and gender in American history. Five more units will be available soon. Web teaching materials include teacher and student essays, lesson plans, slide shows, videos, and documents. Other collaborators on the project include the National Science Foundation; the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution; and the Center for Children and Technology. The site is designed for middle and high school students and social studies teachers.

Alexander Graham Bell Institute of University College of Cape Breton

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://bell.uccb.ns.ca

Excerpt:

The Alexander Graham Bell family collection brings together a wide range of documents accumulated by Dr. Bell and his family during their time in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. The Alexander Graham Bell Institute has developed a comprehensive index of these materials. This index, with online access to several components of the Bell collection, can be accessed using the World Wide Web.

Annotation:

An online collection of portions of the Bell Institute's holdings, which are largely reproductions from the Library of Congress. Contains a vast amount of documentation on topics which include correspondence, the Aerial Experiment Association, and lab notes. These are accessible by browsing drop down menus which allow one to choose collection, volume, and page. It also can be searched using predefined or custom keywords. The Bell Family Archive also contains a an image gallery of photos ranging from telephones to kites to family members. A virtual tour of the Institute itself is available, as are a series of printable reproductions of games, diagrams, and experiments for children. An excellent resource for researchers interested in Bell.

Thomas Edison's Home Page

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://www.thomasedison.com/

Author:

Gerald Beals

Excerpt:

Contrary to popular belief, Thomas Edison was not born into poverty in a backwater mid-western town. Actually, he was born (on Feb. 11, 1847) to middle-class parents in the bustling port of Milan, Ohio, a community that - next to Odessa, Russia - was the largest wheat shipping center in the world. In 1854, his family moved to the vibrant community of Port Huron, Michigan, which ultimately surpassed the commercial preeminence of both Milan and Odessa....

Annotation:

This site includes a biography and timeline of Thomas Edison's life, as well as information about his experiments in the production and distribution of electric power in Brockton, Massachusetts. The site serves as a good summary of Edison's work and offers a useful background on the Brockton experiments which can be a starting point for further research.

Thomas Alva Edison

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://www.minot.k12.nd.us/mps/edison/aboutte.html

Author:

Edison Elementary School, Minot, North Dakota

Excerpt:

About Thomas Edison
Edison experts, we challenge you to test your Thomas Edison knowledge

Annotation:

Website maintained by the Edison Elementary School in Minot, North Dakota. Contains a biography geared toward children using Thomas Edison's work as illustrative lessons about success, failure, determination, and teamwork. Links are provided to other sites of Edison interest.

Thomas Alva Edison

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/50.html

Author:

Inventure Place, National Inventors Hall of Fame

Excerpt:

The National Inventors Hall of Fame honors the women and men responsible for the great technological advances that make human, social and economic progress possible.

Annotation:

Site contains a brief biography of Thomas Edison as well as a short essay about the invention of the electric lamp and its impact on society. Part of the National Inventors Hall of Fame's series about its inductees.