Newsletter for Tuesday 8 June.

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TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY

NEWSLETTER • 8 JUNE

Feature for Today

On 8 Jun 1786, the first American advertisement for commercially-made ice cream appeared in the New York Post Boy. Other details of the history of ice cream in American vary depending on the source, but books seems to agree on the fact of the date of the advertisement.

A Harper's Bazaar article on the Origin of Ice Cream (1899) provides some more information.

Book of the Day

On 8 Jun 1955, Tim Berners-Lee was born, the English computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web when he thought “Suppose all the information stored on computers everywhere were linked?” Today's book pick is: Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web, by Tim Berners-Lee, in which he provides a lucid but impersonal memoir and conveys some of the vital history and intriguing philosophy concerning the Internet. He coined the acronyms URL, HTML and the “World Wide Web.” Who better to write on this subject?

It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $6.58. Used from $1.25. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)

Quotations for Today

	The major credit I think Jim and I deserve … is for selecting the right problem and sticking to it. It’s true that by blundering about we stumbled on gold, but the fact remains that we were looking for gold. Both of us had decided, quite independently of each other, that the central problem in molecular biology was the chemical structure of the gene. … We could not see what the answer was, but we considered it so important that we were determined to think about it long and hard, from any relevant point of view. — Francis Crick, English biochemist and biophysicist (born 8 Jun 1916).
	I never know whether to be more surprised at Darwin himself for making so much of natural selection, or at his opponents for making so little of it. — Robert Stevenson, , Scottish civil engineer (born 8 Jun 1772).
	The web is more a social creation than a technical one. I designed it for a social effect—to help people work together—and not as a technical toy. The ultimate goal of the Web is to support and improve our weblike existence in the world. We clump into families, associations, and companies. We develop trust across the miles and distrust around the corner. — Tim Berners-Lee, English computer scientist (born 8 Jun 1955).

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
	Francis Crick was the British biophysicist, born 8 Jun 1916, who shared with James Watson, a Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. It was awarded for their determination of the molecular structure of DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is the chemical substance ultimately responsible for hereditary control of life functions. This accomplishment became a cornerstone of genetics and was widely regarded as one of the most important discoveries of 20th-century biology. In which decade was the Nobel Prize awarded to Crick and Watson?
	John Smeaton, born 8 Jun 1724, an English civil engineer and designer, is regarded as the father of civil engineering in Britain. In 1756-59 he built the third lighthouse at Plymouth, Devon, using dovetailed blocks of portland stone. He was the first to recognize what constitutes a hydraulic lime when he discovered the best mortar for underwater construction to be limestone with a high proportion of clay. Smeaton also constructed a canal, built bridges, completed Ramsgate harbour, improved the safety of the diving bell, and introduced cast-iron shafts and gearing for wind and water mills. What is the name of the Plymouth lighthouse (known in a song)?
Deaths
	Joseph Paxton (1801-1865) was an English architect, designer of the architect of the building for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. The building was remarkable for its major use glass in its construction. Can you name this building?
	Walter Hunt died on 8 Jun 1859. He was the American inventor of what he called a “dress pin” on his patent. He sold the patent for $400 at a time of financial need. That was his sole benefit from the patent, although his pin was manufactured in vast numbers, and still is in the present day. By what name do we now know his invention?
Events
	On 8 Jun of a certain year, creation of element 93, neptunium (symbol Np) was announced by Edwin M. McMillan and Philip H. Abelson working at the University of California at Berkeley. In what decade was neptunium made?
	On 8 Jun 1937, the world's largest flower bloomed in New York Botanical Garden; it was a giant Sumatran calla lily measuring 8.5 feet high and 4 feet in diameter. It has a distinctive fragrance. What does this fragrance imitate?

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 June 8 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers.

Fast answers for the previous newsletter for June 7: a method of evaluating an infant shortly after birth to assess its well-being • chloroform • artificial intelligence • Joseph von Fraunhofer • solar power • the decade including the year 1870 • the decade including the year 1954.

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