April 2013

April has an important place in space history since two seminal events happened in this month. First, on April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, traveling aboard the Soviet spacecraft Vostok I to an altitude of 187 miles above the earth. Then, exactly twenty years later, on April 12, …

As we all know, Leonardo da Vinci was an artist extraordinaire. His art is legendary; especially the “Mona Lisa”, “The Last Supper” and “The Vitruvian Man.” On top of his artistic ability, da Vinci was also a musician, mathematician, engineer, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. His genius, perhaps more than that of any other …

They’ve existed in our collective geek dreams since the dawn of science fiction. Handheld weapons, much like pistols, Tasers or Super Soakers that have the ability to quash our foes in a barrage of highly focused light beams, leaving behind only a singed carcass and smoke. It’s been said that Archimedes used mirrors to concentrate …

Call us crazy, but we’re taking this nice stretch of weather as spring is here to stay.  Bring on fun in the sun! Of course, our pets are never far from any outdoor excitement and it’s National Pet Month; so, we’re taking a look at a refreshing invention that’s made quite a splash in the …

The home of cramped, aroma-filled family road trips and awkward teenage make outs, the automobile redefined American culture, travel and industry. At the center of the movement was Detroit, Michigan. The heart of the automotive industry, this Midwestern blast furnace of horsepower and torque was the nexus of modern transportation. So pay your respects as …

With the advent of Spring comes the much anticipated opening day of baseball. Baseball is the quintessential American game, so much so that it is linked in a triumvirate with Mom and Apple Pie as the essence of Americana. As April begins, now is the time to start rooting for the home team and dreaming …

If you asked a person on the street who the “father of the motion picture” was, they would probably say Thomas Edison, and they would be somewhat right. Edison did invent a way of recording successive images in a single camera and paved the way for the modern film industry as we know it today. …

People have been dreaming about it since Princess Leia pleaded for Obi-Wan Kenobi’s help, “You’re my only hope.” The hologram is a part of science-fiction history that may be a lot closer to reality than you’d think! Dr. Roel Vertegaal of Queen’s University’s School of Computing in Kingston, Ontario, is on the cutting edge of …

Not only has it finally started to feel a little bit more like spring, the time when we want everything to look and feel like new, April is National Car Care Month.  What better time to find out a little more about an invention that has transformed a common, yet flawed, mechanic’s tool?  Today, we …

Before people were irritated by digital albums crammed full of ill-prepared dinners and pre-club selfies on Facebook, people were irritated by celluloid-photo ambushes of Grand Canyon vacations and second cousins at dinner parties.   Stick it to FB friends and neighbors who over-share by soaking in some real photography, shot on real film, developed by …