9 Brilliant Inventors from the 18th Century

I plan to do three lists about inventors this year, each focusing on either the 18th, 19th or 20th centuries. Since I’m kind of a slave to chronology, I’ll start here in the 18th century (the 1700s for those of you still confused by all that). Home to a host of revolutions, both political and otherwise, the 18th century was both a time of chaos and development. While wars raged and monarchs rose and fell, men (pretty exclusively at this point unfortunately) were just beginning to delve into steam power, mechanical propulsion, mass production and other technologies that would improve efficiency and displace labor. Since I am not an engineer or scientist of any kind, these entries will focus on the inventors themselves and touch on their various inventions in layman’s terms. As always, I hope you enjoy.

1. Bartolomeo Cristofori

We begin our list in the land of the Renaissance. Bartolomeo was an Italian born inventor whose life is shrouded in mystery despite the fact that his most famous creation is known by all and beloved by many. The documents pertaining to his life and death amount to no more than his birth records, two versions of his will, some bills, a single interview (with accompanying notes) and his death records. What we do know is that Bartolomeo was a master musical instrument maker and came to be employed by the waning Medici family. While he crafted a number of conventional instruments for his Italian patrons, he also crafted one of his own design. The first recorded instance of Bartolomeo’s piano making an appearance in the Medici court can be traced to around 1700. By 1711 it is believed he may have built two more of these ‘proto-pianos’. These early models were lighter and more limited in musical range than the pianos we know today, but the invention seems to have kept Bartolomeo in the good graces of his patrons; he became custodian of the Medici musical collection in 1716. Unfortunately the fall of the Medici meant the fall of Cristofori as well. Out of the employ of the once powerful Medici’s, he spent the rest of his life perfecting his musical invention, even selling one to the King of Portugal. Eventually growing ill, he died at 75 in 1731, leaving everything to his caretakers. After his death, some came to believe that a German inventor had actually invented the piano, but later scholarship has corrected this untruth. Only three of Bartolomeo’s pianos exist today and the exact number he made during his lifetime is unknown.

9 of Earth’s Most Extreme Places

I know i said I was going to cover Expeditions today, but I found something a little better. Instead of covering important expeditions, I’ve decided to cover some of the most extreme places on earth. These are the highest, deepest, coldest, lowest, farthest and most insane places the human race has ever discovered, been to or lived in. I’ve tried to veer clear of things everyone has heard of and will add some cool and relevant links if I find them. Below are 9 of the most extreme places on the planet today. Enjoy.

9. Human Settlement with Highest Elevation:

La Rinconada, Peru

This city rests 16,732.28 feet above sea level high in the mountains of Peru. This little town is supported entirely by the mining of gold. Unfortunately, the company that owns the mine is running one of the shadiest operations I’ve ever heard of. Miners are required to work thirty days without pay and on the thirty first day are granted a small amount of ore to take home from the mine. The idea is that there may be gold in the ore to pay said miner. However, if your ore is just ore then you’re shit out of luck and back in the mines. On top of these poor wages, the town had no sanitation or sewage system and most of the water contains high levels of mercury from the bad mining practices. When I checked the population I was shocked to find that 50,000 people live in these terrible conditions. It is fitting that this is the highest city on earth, because you’d have to be high off your ass to go there.

8 Tremendous Natural Disasters

Most of us will hopefully never experience a major natural disaster. The idea that suddenly the planet could turn on us and wreak havoc on a biblical scale is an idea we associate with movies or far off places that pop up in the news once in awhile. Hurricanes, Tornados, Earthquakes and Tsunami’s grabs our attention every year not just because of the destruction they cause, but because of the tremendous power and ferocity of these events. Below are some of the lesser known natural disaster that occur around the world with videos if available.

8. Avalanches

Avalanches are terrifying. Every time I see one of those insane videos on youtube I realize that the only way you survive that shit is luck. Avalanches are actually routine occurrences on any mountain and happen when the snowpack takes on too much snow. Avalanche deaths are not uncommon and statistics show that generally the avalanches are caused by the people killed in them. Death by avalanche is not a good way to go either. If the impact doesn’t get you then you are just trapped under a ton of snow. I’m assuming you have no idea which way is up and will either suffocate or freeze. Count me out. Mountaineering is still an incredibly badass hobby, but I think avalanches have deterred me from trying it out.

6 Astounding Exoplanets

We all know that there are eight (sorry Pluto) planets in our solar system and that we are still exploring and learning about our celestial neighbors. That makes the fact that there are close to 100 billion planets in the Milky way alone mind boggling. For all of you waiting for serious space exploration, I’d get comfortable. This list concerns itself not with how we get these distant planets, but some of the more interesting planets themselves. From now on I will be referring to these bodies as exoplanets which simply means that they are planets that lie outside of our solar system. I urge anyone reading to remember that many of the details I share about these exoplanets are strictly theory and educated guess work. But hey, sometimes that’s when science is the most fun. Below are 6 of the most interesting exoplanets I could find. Enjoy.

6. Kepler 62-e

So these exoplanets are not named very memorably, but they are cool none the less. Located on 1,200 light years from earth (only being incredibly relative), this planet scores pretty well on the earth similarity index. This means that once we start trying to inhabit other planets, Kepler 62e will be a prime candidate. Being 60% larger than earth also makes the exoplanet ripe for habitation. Scientist also think that there is a high possibility that water will be found on Kepler 62e. In fact, some scientist believe that once we explore the galaxy a bit more, we will find a number of planets Kepler 62e’s size that are entirely covered in ocean.

13 Extraordinary Arctic & Antarctic Animals

With recent winter weather here in Nashville, I decided to cover some arctic animals in this weeks science article. The arctic is one of the harshest environments on earth, which makes the creatures that live there some of the most coolest and most unique around. I tried to keep the list short, but there were just too many that caught my eye. So settle in and relax; here are 13 extraordinary arctic (& antarctic) animals. Enjoy.

13. Arctic Stoat

A stoat is a weasel-like creature that can be found all over the world. The arctic variety are known for their dense silky winter coats like the one seen above. However, in the summer they shed these dense winter coats for a much cooler and short summer coat that is generally brown. The stoat is a voracious hunter and can bring down prey close to twice it’s size. They are such good hunters, that after being introduced into New Zealand to control the rabbit population, they wreaked havoc on the local birds as well, driving some species to near extinction. It’s no wonder that such a capable species has been able to not only survive, but thrive in the arctic. Below is a video of a stoat taking out a rabbit much larger than itself.

 

7 Examples of Native American Drugs

I decided to have a little fun with today’s posts. Up until now I’ve tried to focus on Native American history and various aspects of their culture. However, before Europeans showed up and ended their traditional ways of life, the Native Americans seem to have concocted a number of non-Western way to have a great time. The following list details a number of the powerful drugs that various tribes used regularly or for special rituals. This goes without saying, but don’t try any of these at home (even number #7). Enjoy.

7. Tobacco

Tobacco has been cultivated in North America since around 1000 BC and carries a number of meanings for various native tribes. For Eastern tribes, tobacco was a highly tradable commodity and was carried in pouches by many native tribesmen. It was also used in many different ceremonies and was smoked out of a piece pipe to seal a bargain between two tribes or traders. Some even believed that the smoke expelled from a pipe would carry the smoker’s prayers up to the spirits.

9 Obscure Native American Mythological Figures

This might be my favorite post for this week. I love mythology, but am tired of movies and TV beating Greek and Norse mythology to death. They’re cool, but there are literally as many stories and characters as there are cultures on the planet. Below are 9 obscure Native American mythological characters and a brief summary of their stories. The pictures are a little off since these are generally pretty obscure. Enjoy.

9. Kee-Wakw

This is a monster from the folklore of the Abenaki people of the NE United States. The story claims in that in the days before colonization, this creature would prowl the woodlands of modern-day New England. It was a half man, half animal monster that cannibalized its victims. Not sure how it counts as cannibalism if the thing is a monster, but a pretty cool native american creature.