Consumer Technology

The world was created in six days. On the seventh day there was Pac-Man.

OK, so it's not that extreme. But it does feel that way. Pac-Man goes back further than almost any other game in history. If you've never played Pac-Man (or one of its clones), you'll be hard-pressed to call yourself a "real" gamer. Now that I've insulted scores of video-game addicts around the world, I can sit back, relax, and wait for the flames to pour in.

This is not designed to be a course on the history of photography such as a resource to dip into. In addition to pen-portraits of many of the most important photographers of the period, it contains information on some of the most significant processes used during the early days of photography.

Louis Braille was born on 4th January, 1809, at Coupvray, near Paris. At three years of age an accident deprived him of his sight, and in 1819 he was sent to the Paris Blind School-which was originated by Valentin Hauy. Here he made rapid progress in all his studies. He learned to read by embossed Roman letter, which was exclusively used at the time and which continued popular for fifty years in that country and our own, and is still used in many schools in America.

In Colonial times, soap was made primarily from pork fat and a crude form of lye. The lye was tested for suitability by dropping an egg into it. If the egg floated, the lye was too strong. If it sank, the lye was too weak. It had to suspend or sink very slowly to be right. This doesn't quite compare to the computer generated formulas of today. However, it was the pork fat base (not the lye) that made this soap good for washing clothes, but often harsh to the skin

Heinrich Hertz - first to detect radio waves in 1887 by causing a spark to leap across a gap that generated electromagnetic waves - built oscillator and resonator by 1893
Oliver Lodge in Britain, Alexander Popov in Russia, Edward Brauley in France - filled a glass tube with metal filings that would cohere under electromagnetic waves and when the tube was tapped, the filings would collapse to break the circuit - built coherer to detect radio waves by 1894

William L. McKnight, who served as 3M chairman of the board from 1949 to 1966, encouraged 3M management to "delegate responsibility and encourage men and women to exercise their initiative."

His management theories are the guiding principles for 3M. Our heritage dates back nearly 100 years, and McKnight's principles will continue to accompany us in the 21st century.

From ancient times through the Middle Ages, and into the 13th century, man or animal power was the driving force behind hoisting devices.
By 1850 steam and hydraulic elevators had been introduced, but it was in 1852 that the landmark event in elevator history occurred: the invention of the world's first safety elevator by Elisha Graves Otis.
The first passenger elevator was installed by Otis in New York in 1857. After Otis' death in 1861, his sons, Charles and Norton, built on his heritage, creating Otis Brothers & Co. in 1867.

Much of the ancient history of fragrance is shrouded in mystery. Anthropologists speculate that primitive perfumery began with the burning of gums and resins for incense. Eventually, richly scented plants were incorporated into animal and vegetable oils to anoint the body for ceremony and pleasure. From 7000 to 4000 bc, the fatty oils of olive and sesame are thought to have been combined with fragrant plants to create the original Neolithic ointments. In 3000 bc, when the Egyptians were learning to write and make bricks, they were already importing large quantities of myrrh. The earliest items of commerce were most likely spices, gums and other fragrant plants, mostly reserved for religious purposes.