Chili Peppers: A History of Hot

I am being overwhelmed by current events and keep trying to find posts and videos of things more "normal" to calm my brain. So, I share the occasional item that falls into this category to help everyone else having similar needs.

Cambridge, where I live, and Massachusetts in general is sitting on the front lines of the battle with Trump in regards to foreign students, immigrant rights, ICE False Arrests, Constitutional Rights, Consumer Rights, Non-Profit Organizations involved in Health Care and Research, etc. Daily it seems there is a news story that makes me want to scream or a beloved business or non-profit that shuts down due to persecution or threat of such or ever rising costs of doing business that involves imported goods.

#Food #History #Chili #Peppers #BreakfastVideo

Happy birthday to Dr. Cecilia Payne! Her 1925 PhD thesis has been described as “the most brilliant ever written in astronomy.”

At a time when few women entered academia, Payne discovered what the universe is made of. Her work began a revolution in astrophysics & more should know her name. #science #history

I don't know the source or year.

Labeled "Beatrix Potter and Xarifa" 🙂 💕

#BeatrixPotter and her pet #mouse #history

Beatrix Potter is best remembered for her charming tales of Peter Rabbit, but did you know she also studied #science?

Potter collected & examined beetles, butterflies, plants, bird eggs, shells, rocks, fossils & especially fungi. She conducted experiments & wrote a scientific paper with her own illustrations, presented at the Linnean Society of London. However, as a woman in the Victorian era, she couldn’t even attend the meeting.#history #art #books

There are currently over 8 billion people on Earth. Yes, that’s a lot BUT there are about 1.4 billion insects for every human. Combined, they weigh about 70x more than all of us.

And insects have been around for over 350 million years. That's longer than the dinosaurs. Modern humans only showed up between 200-300,000 years ago.

We need insects to survive. They don't need us. This is their world. #science #history

The history of Earth as the length of a human’s outstretched arm - representing 4.5 billion years of time.

At this scale, humans emerged so recently that we could be filed off from a microscopic slice at the very tip of a fingernail.

Infographic by Katie Scott. #science #history

Born in 1914, Hedy Lamarr was a famous American actress who pioneered the technology that would lead to WiFi, GPS, cell phones & Bluetooth communication.

Lamarr was brilliant. Among many fascinating inventions, she developed a new communication system with composer George Antheil that used “frequency hopping” among radio waves.

Once called the “most beautiful woman in the world," Lamarr is now remembered as "the mother of Wi-Fi."

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/thank-world-war-ii-era-film-star-your-wi-fi-180971584/ #science #history

#OnThisDay, 8 Apr 1959, Mary K Hawes initiates a project to create the first universal programming language for computers used by businesses and government. Grace Hopper led the team that then created COBOL. Some mainframes are still using it.

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #WomenInSTEM #Histodons

About 250M years ago, 90% of species on Earth died during the Permian extinction. All of that loss created a lot of vacant niches to fill.

And not long after, the first mammals, our ancestors, appeared.

Life on this pale blue dot will be resilient - whether we’re part of it or not. #science #nature #history

David Navarro and Martyna Sobecka have traveled the width and breadth of Eastern Europe, photographing the region’s unique brutalist architecture. "Eastern Blocks II," the duo's new book, captures some of these stark scenes.

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/04/eastern-blocks-ii/

#books #brutalism #design #architecture #europe #photography #history

#OnThisDay, 24 Feb 1968, Jocelyn Bell Burnell - along with her male supervisor and three other men - published a paper confirming the discovery of pulsars. She had built the array, picked up the signal and argued it was not an anomaly. Hewish received the Nobel prize for it in 1974: Bell Burnell did not.

In 2018 Bell Burnell received a £3m prize for her work. She's used it to set up a foundation to improve the diversity in STEM.

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #Histodons

The father of evolutionary biology, Charles Darwin, was born on this day in 1809.

Happy Darwin Day!
#science #history

Bella Ciao Then And Now

#Music #History #BellaCiao

How the highlighter was invented in Cambridge by Carter’s Ink, an innovator back to the 1800s

A Piece Of Cambridge MA History Most Folks Didn't Know

#History #LocalHistory #Highlighters #Invention #Cambridge #MA

Tiffany & Company - Liars or Time Travellers

About Silver Standards

#History #Tiffany #Silver

AGC is the 60s computer that made history.

https://itsfoss.com/apollo-guidance-computer/

#history

Going Retro With AGC: Smart Computer That Powered Apollo Missions in the 60s

The computer that made the Apollo missions possible.

^{Bill Dyer (It's FOSS)}

Vivian Maier was a nanny who, for decades, took photos she never expected anyone to see. She rarely looked at them herself, often didn't develop the negatives and kept the pictures in storage lockers that she eventually stopped paying for so the contents were auctioned off. @Smithsonianmag tells the story of how she came to be considered one of the great street photographers of the 20th century, with a major retrospective on view now at Fotografiska New York.

Link: https://flip.it/aadovS

#Photography #Photos #History @histodons #Culture

I simply adore this photo of James Earl Jones & Big Bird.

Yes, he played a lot of memorable dads from Darth Vader to Mufasa to King Jaffe Joffer + countless other incredible roles on & offscreen.

And Mr. Jones also happened to be the very first celebrity guest on Sesame Street. #history #media #art

In case you need some inspiration, Mister Rogers, Julia Child, LeVar Burton, Bob Ross & the wonderful folks at PBS have you covered.

https://www.pbs.org/show/pbs-remixed/extras/more/ #art #tv #history

The Vice Presidents That America Forgot

Some Vice-President Facts

#History #USA #VPs

The hidden story of how ancient India shaped the west

"The flow of knowledge to Europe on maths, astronomy and much more has gone unacknowledged by historians"

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/sep/01/hidden-story-ancient-india-west-maths-astronomy-historians?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

#astronomy #mathematics #history

‘In Britain, we are still astonishingly ignorant’: the hidden story of how ancient India shaped the west

The flow of knowledge from India to Europe on everything from maths to astronomy has gone unacknowledged by historians

^{William Dalrymple (The Guardian)}

Happy Bell Riots Day to all who celebrate 🖖🏼

#BellRiots #StarTrek #history

Born in 1805 in Jamaica, Mary Seacole was a pioneering nurse.

As a child, Mary learned traditional healing methods from her mother. Her mixed race family had few civil rights & could not vote, hold public office or enter many professions.

Known as 'Mother Seacole’ during the Crimean War, Mary helped wounded soldiers heal & find comfort.

In 1857, she published her memoirs, 'The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands'. https://www.maryseacoletrust.org.uk/learn-about-mary/ #HistoryRemix #history #science

Pioneering geologist & oceanographer Marie Tharp changed our understanding of the ocean.

When Tharp sought a geology job at Columbia in 1948, women couldn’t go on research ships. So she was hired to assist male grad students.

Back then, many scientists still assumed the bottom of the ocean was featureless. Tharp figured out how to use data to create sketches of the ocean floor. Her hand-drawn maps helped develop plate tectonic theory. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/marie-tharp #science #history

Born in 1894, physicist Marietta Blau’s research led to a way to capture the tracks of speeding subatomic particles.

In 1937, Blau & Hertha Wambacher made a discovery that launched the field of particle physics. But she was forced to pause her work in 1938 bc of the Nazis.

Blau was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize but never won. Cecil F. Powell later built on her work & earned the Nobel Prize in Physics. https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-dark-stars-of-marietta-blau/ #history #science #historyremix

Born in 1750, Caroline Herschel worked as assistant to her astronomer brother William. But she also made her own discoveries of nebulae, stars & 8(!) comets.

In 1787, King George III employed Caroline as her brother's assistant, including a small salary that made her one of the first women paid for their contributions to #science.

Caroline submitted over 550 stars to the existing star catalog & received honorary membership in the Royal Society. https://www.space.com/17439-caroline-herschel.html #history

Ben Barres was a trailblazing transgender neurobiologist who promoted equity & diversity.

His pioneering research on glial cells changed science & he became the 1st #trans person admitted into the National Academies of Science.

Barres was a strong advocate for women, early career scientists & the #LGBTQ+ community at a time when few people openly discussed gender identity. https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2017/12/28/mourning-ben-barres-the-transgender-scientist-who-changed-neuroscience/ #history #science

Excerpt from his autobiography: https://stanmed.stanford.edu/ben-barres-autobiography-transgender-scientist/

When I post about #science & #history, I tend to highlight the trailblazers we don’t usually read or hear about in #HistoryRemix.

But tonight I want to share this beautifully composed piece about Nikola Tesla.

While his inventions are legendary, you may not know how Tesla’s OCD shaped his approach to science & ultimately led to his world-changing ideas. It also left him isolated & alone. But he still experienced deep connection by caring for birds. https://nautil.us/teslas-pigeon-460446/

Beatrice ‘Tilly’ Shilling was born in 1909 in Hampshire. She became an aeronautical engineer & daredevil motorcycle racer.

In 1936, Shilling joined The Royal Aircraft Establishment. 5 yrs later, she led a team that designed a device to prevent Merlin plane engines from stalling during flight, which helped the Allies win WWII.

Shilling was also the 2nd woman to earn a Brooklands Gold Star for lapping the track at >100mph. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Shilling #science #history

“Engravings, first in Arabic script, then in Hebrew, tell the story of how knowledge was created, shared & developed by Islamic & Jewish scholars living & working side by side.”

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/05/extraordinary-islamic-and-jewish-science-merge-in-11th-century-astrolabe #history #science

Born in 1906, computer scientist Grace Hopper invented the first compiler for computer programming language & was among the first programmers of the Harvard Mk1 computer.

Hopper popularized the idea of machine-independent programming languages & paved the way to develop COBOL (an early high-level programming language). She originated the term "bug" to describe computer glitches & became a celebrated Rear Admiral in the US Navy. https://news.yale.edu/2017/02/10/grace-murray-hopper-1906-1992-legacy-innovation-and-service #science #history

So apparently the term "patch" in software development comes from punched paper tape.

"Small corrections to the programmed sequence could be done by patching over portions of the paper tape and re-punching the holes in that section."

https://chsi.harvard.edu/harvard-ibm-mark-1-language

#til #computers #development #language #history

Born in 1885, Clara Belle Williams became the 1st Black graduate of New Mexico College of Agriculture & Mechanic Arts (now NMSU).

While a student, many professors did not allow her into lecture halls so she took notes from the hallway. When she graduated in 1937, commencement ceremonies were canceled bc a group of students refused to walk with her.

Williams persevered despite discrimination, earning recognition as a teacher & lifelong learner. https://libexhibits.nmsu.edu/onlinexhibits/cbwilliams/index.html #HistoryRemix #history

Born in 1896, biochemist Gerty Theresa Cori became the 1st woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (and the 3rd to win a Nobel Prize).

Cori faced gender discrimination & was marginalized for years. But she never gave up.

With her husband Carl, she discovered how glycogen is broken down & eventually stored as an energy source (aka the “Cori cycle”). They also identified the Cori ester. http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/women/cori.htm #HistoryRemix #science #history

Born in 1919, Isabella Aiona Abbott became the first native Hawaiian woman to earn a PhD in #science.

A marine botanist, Abbott became the 1st woman & person of color to become a full professor in Stanford’s Biology dept.

She wrote 8 books, >150 articles & was awarded the Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal by the National Academy of Sciences.

In 2005, Abbott was named a “Living Treasure of Hawaii” by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii. https://woc.aises.org/content/isabella-aiona-abbott-becoming-“first-lady-limu” #history