The Great Geek Manual

79
In the Bay of Naples, Mount Vesuvius erupts, killing roughly 16,000 to 20,000 people and burying the cities of Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabiae beneath ash and magma. Pliny the Elder, one of Rome’s greatest scientists, dies in the incident.

1456
The printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed. Although it is not the first book to be printed by Gutenberg’s new movable type system, it will be the work for which Gutenberg will be remembered, it will mark the advent of the “Gutenberg Revolution” and the “Age of the Printed Book.”

1831
Charles Darwin is invited to travel aboard the HMS Beagle.

1853
The first potato chips are prepared by Chef George Crum, an American Indian, at Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York. According to later accounts, railroad magnate Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt was dining at the resteraunt, but he sent his fried potatoes back to the kitchen, complaining that they were “too thick.” The chef, George Crum retaliated by slicing paper thin strips of potatoes and frying them to a crisp. Vanderbilt loved these “Saratoga Chips,” and they became an immediate success.
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How can carbon atoms string themselves into amino acids, which entwine into proteins, which compose living cells of great complexity — and the cells form an algae, or a cricket, or a person? How can a combination of amino acids write a symphony, or draft the Bill of Rights, or achieve a moon landing, or feel patriotism for a segment of Earth’s crust likewise made of atoms?

- The Dreams of which Stuff is Made by James A. Haught, Sunday Gazette-Mail, January 10, 1993.

Book: Seeing is Believing
ISBN-13: 978-1893951457

Series: Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Publisher: Ripley Publishing
Genre: Non-Fiction / Trivia
Release: August 4, 2009
Length: 256 pages (Hardcover)

Verdict

Ripley’s latest offering is an supersized coffee table book of photos and infobytes that looks as if it were designed for kids with A.D.D. and reads like a Twitter feed. It’s eye-catching design makes it all but impossible not to pick up, and it’s thousands of bits of trivia make it a real page-turner. Though it’s aimed at a younger audience, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Seeing Is Believing would be a great centerpiece for coffee tables, waiting rooms, or anywhere else you frequently need to kill time and stave off boredom.

As a long time fan of the franchise, I’m confident in saying that this installment is definitely one of the better Ripley’s collection, the entire hardback series (of which this is the sixth) is a vast improvement over the old paperback series, even it does look like it should be a pop-up book, judging from the cover.

Synopsis

Official: This all new 6th title in the best selling Ripley’s Believe It or Not! annual series, is a compendium of incredible bizarre facts, stories, interviews and features all presented in a stunning bright new design.

This year’s book also features icons that guide readers to astounding video clips on our new fully-integrated website, where they can see some of our subjects in action. Also, a dramatic eight-page gatefold section presents some extraordinary performers of the past, and additional black and white Ripley archive photographs feature throughout the book.

Be amazed at the dentist with no arms, the snake that swallowed a wallaby, an underwater sculptor and a four-eared cat! For the legions of dedicated Ripley’s fans, and anyone else on the planet who loves unbelievable facts and jaw-dropping images, the latest annual in this successful series is a feast of delights.
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A great book provides escapism for me. The artistry and the creativity in a story are better than any drugs.

- Wentworth Miller

1609
Galileo Galilei first demonstrates his telescope.

1889
The first ship-to-shore wireless message received in the US is, “Sherman is sighted.” The message, sent from Lightship No. 70, announces the arrival of the US Army troopship Sherman from the battlefields of the Spanish-American War to a crowd assembled at the Cliff House in San Francisco. This is the first nineteenth century use of wireless telegraphy, which will later be known as radio, outside of England.

1956
Bell Laboratories announces their experiment with a “picture phone” transmission that sends pictures along with sound over regular telephone lines.

1962
First live television connection between the United States and Europe, via the Telstar satellite.

1966
The robotic Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon.
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When you can’t do something smart, do something right.

- Serenity, 2005
Character: Jayne Cobb

565
St. Columba allegedly saves the life of a Pict who was being attacked by a monster in Loch Ness. The account will later be recorded in the book Life of St. Columba by Adamnan. It is the beginning of the Loch Ness Monster myth. Adamnan recounts the event in the book, “…(He) raised his holy hand, while all the rest, brethren as well as strangers, were stupefied with terror, and, invoking the name of God, formed the saving sign of the cross in the air, and commanded the ferocious monster, saying, “Thou shalt go no further, nor touch the man; go back with all speed.” Then at the voice of the saint, the monster was terrified, and fled more quickly than if it had been pulled back with ropes, though it had just got so near to Lugne, as he swam, that there was not more than the length of a spear-staff between the man and the beast.”

1901
The Cadillac Motor Company is founded.

1906
The Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, New Jersey, manufactures its first Victrola record player. The devices, including the hand cranked unit and horn cabinet will sell for US$200. It stands out from other phonographs with its elegant wooden cabinet, which conceals the device’s horn and turntable while providing storage space for records. The cabinet, which is available is several contemporary styles, is an innovation that will be imitated by later entertainment systems, including radios and televisions.

1911
The theft of the Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa from the Louvre museum in Paris, France the previous night is discovered.
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