Sloths are sluggish tree-dweller mammals of the rainforests of Central and South America. They are famous for their languid movements. Sloths spend most of their time hanging upside down in the tree branches and munching on leaves, twigs, and buds.
On August 12, 1977, NASA’s Space Shuttle Enterprise successfully made its first free flight test, as part of NASA’s Orbiter Approach and Landing Tests (ALT). The ALT program allowed shuttle pilots to explore the orbiter’s low-speed flight and landing characteristics.
On August 12, 1981, the Personal Computer, (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) was released. This machine (and its descendants) started the PC revolution. It was a very small machine that could not only process information faster than those millions-of-dollars huge computers of the 1960s but also hook up to the home TV set, process text and store more words than a huge cookbook, all for a price tag of less than $1,600.
Unsurprisingly, it suddenly shook the personal computer market. The specifications of the IBM PC became one of the most popular computer design standards in the world. Even today, The majority of modern personal computers (PCs) are distant descendants of the IBM PC.
A combination of dwindling oil reserves and increasing pollution means that the plastic industry must be urgently transformed before it’s too late. The efforts of researchers, including Dr. Jinwen Zhang and his colleagues at Washington State University, mean that solutions are becoming increasingly available. Through the development of malleable and self-healable plastics, created from both existing petrochemical and renewable chemical feedstocks, Dr. Zhang’s team is creating stronger, more resilient plastics that can be easily recycled.
On August 9, 1991, two STS-43 astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Shannon W. Lucid and James C. Adamson sent the first e-mail from space. The astronauts used an Apple Macintosh portable computer and AppleLink, a popular service for Mac and Apple IIGS users before the commercialization of the Internet, offered from 1986 to 1994.
The recipient of the first e-mail from space was addressed to fellow NASA astronaut Marsha S. Ivins at Johnson Space Center. The message text read:
“Hello Earth! Greetings from the STS-43 Crew. This is the first AppleLink from space. Having a GREAT time, wish you were here,…send cryo and RCS! Hasta la vista, baby,…we’ll be back!”
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The Unsuspecting Hazard of Fentanyl
Fentanyl has gained the attention of countless news sources in the past few years. In fact, this year dawned the first official Fentanyl Awareness Day, which took place on May 10, 2022. The official website created to promote the day states that this issue is so important because of the alarming death rates directly attributed to fentanyl. However, fentanyl is not only a deadly drug for those who participate in illicit drug use. It also is becoming a deadly substance that is impacting our environment at large. Here’s how.
On August 6, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov took the first photo of Earth from space taken by a person. It was also the first color image of Earth from space. Titov became the first photographer from space.
This spaceflight was the first crewed spaceflight lasting over 24 hours. Titov was also the first to suffer from space sickness.
On July 28, 1981, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) revealed its first desktop computer, System/23 Datamaster, a demonstration of IBM’s efforts to shrink the size and cost of computing.
Daylighting is a design technique architects and building designers use to make the most of the sun and increase a building’s appeal. They achieve this design using solar tubes to capture and reflect light throughout the building. Light shelves and skylights also increase the amount of sunlight in a room.
On July 26, 1963, Syncom 2 (for Synchronous Communication Satellite) was launched on top of a Delta B #20 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral.