Newsletter for Tuesday 5 January.

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TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY

NEWSLETTER • 5 JANUARY

Feature for Today

Book of the Day

On 5 Jan 1855, King Camp Gillette was born, American inventor of the safety razor blade with which he became the father of the disposable economy razor business. He survived many shaves with financial ruin. Today's book pick is: King C. Gillette, the man and his wonderful shaving device, by Russell B Adams. Read how Gillette's success was the result of a struggle to develop, finance and market his invention. He was also a utopian, who wrote four books translating his business experience into social theories. This book traces the history of the Gillette Company, from the glory days of the 1920s through the ruinous Depression, from the “Calvacade of Sports” and the Super Blue Blade, through the advent of stainless steel blades. It is the story of a durable and highly competitive enterprise that has changed and prospered beyond this founder's wildest dreams.

It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $198.87. Used from $74.27. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)

Quotations for Today

	[The screw machine] was on the principle of the guage or sliding lathe now in every workshop throughout the world; the perfection of which consists in that most faithful agent gravity, making the joint, and that almighty perfect number three, which is in harmony itself. I was young when I learned that principle. I had never seen my grandmother putting a chip under a three-legged milking-stool; but she always had to put a chip under a four-legged table, to keep it steady. I cut screws of all dimensions by this machine, and did them perfectly. (1846) — David Wilkinson, American inventor and manufacturer (born 5 Jan 1771).
	Above all, I regret that scientific experiments—some of them mine—should have produced such a terrible weapon as the hydrogen bomb. Regret, with all my soul, but not guilt. — Harold C. Urey, American chemist (died 5 Jan 1981).
	There is no other article for individual use so universally known or widely distributed. In my travels I have found [the safety razor] in the most northern town in Norway and in the heart of the Sahara Desert. — King C. Gillette, American inventor and manufacturer (born 5 Jan 1855).

Quiz

Before you look at today's web page, see if you can answer some of these questions about the events that happened on this day. Some of the names are very familiar. Others will likely stump you. Tickle your curiosity with these questions, then check your answers on today's web page.
Births
	On 5 Jan 1914, Aaron “Bunny” Lapin was born, the inventor who put whipped cream in a spray can and called it Reddi-Wip, a dessert topping. In 1998, Time magazine listed Reddi-Wip as one of the century's 100 great things for consumers, along with the pop-top can and Spam. In which decade was Reddi-Wip invented?
	King Camp Gillette, born 5 Jan 1855, was an American inventor and manufacturer who invented and manufactured the safety razor with disposable blades. In the year his patent was issued, he sold 90,000 razors and over 12 million blades. In which decade did Gillette patent his safety razor blade?
Deaths
	George Washington Carver (1861-1943) was an American agricultural chemist, agronomist, and experimenter who helped revolutionize the agricultural economy of the South. Carver demonstrated to farmers how fertility could be restored to their land. In all he is reported to have developed over 300 new products from one of the products he recommended the farmers should plant, and over 100 products from sweet potatoes. Which crop did he convert into 300 products?
	Baron Joseph von Mering (1849-1908) was a German physiologist, physician, pharmacologist, and experimental pathologist. Jointly with Oskar Minkowski, he discovered that removal of the pancreas in dogs produces the symptoms of a certain disease. This was an important step towards others finding a way to treat the disease in humans. The research dog developed symptoms of which disease?
Events
	On 5 Jan of a certain year, an Austrian newspaper, Wiener Presse, published the first public account of a discovery by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen, the form of radiation that became known as X-rays. In which decade was this news published?
	On 5 Jan 1933, work began on a famous suspension bridge, the first in the U.S. to have piers built in open ocean. It was also first to span the outer mouth of a major ocean harbour. What is the name of this bridge?

Answers

When you have your answers ready to all the questions above, you'll find all the information to check them, and more, on the January 5 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers.

Fast answers for the previous newsletter for January 4: “night writing” to silently pass instructions in war trenches • The Declaration of Independence • that continents rise higher on the Earth's surface by virtue of their less dense crustal rock, whereas ocean basins are denser material • Austrian • Sputnik • white nose syndrome.

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