TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER • 19 AUGUST
On 19 Aug 1856, Gail Borden was issued a U.S. Patent for his process of making condensed milk. His product was important, because condensed milk could be preserved for long periods of storage, and in this form milk became more readily available in large cities than had been possible before.
His company’s advertising slogan “The milk from contented cows” was one of the great American advertising campaigns. The Borden company is today one of the largest dairy product concerns in the world.
Not only is the familiar Borden condensed milk named after the real person who founded the company, but Elsie the iconic cartoon cow on the label was modelled on a real cow (though named Lobelia), selected from a group of bovine beauties that represented the Borden company at the 1939 World’s Fair.
A page of links to articles and patent descriptions for Gail Borden and his Inventions, includes more than his famous milk product. His first invention was a meat biscuit that preserved meat extracts in a form for travellers and sailors, that not only kept in good condition for longer periods of time than fresh meat, but also reduced the size of a month's provisions to fit a small container.
On 19 Aug 1968, George Gamow died, a Russian-born American nuclear physicist, cosmologist and writer who was one of the foremost advocates of the big-bang theory. His legacy includes a classic whimsical, but scientifically based, classic book in which he introduces a clear explanation of the central concepts in modern physics, through the fantastic adventures of a bank clerk Today's book pick is: Mr. Tompkins in Paperback, by George Gamow, which reprints jointly the Adventures of Mr Tompkins in Wonderland and Mr Tompkins Explores the Atom. This entertaining book is a gem of writing that has captivated the imagination of generations of readers. For example, Mr Tompkins illustrates the result of being in a room where the speed of light has been reduced to 100 mph. It makes the meaning of relativity accessible to students from Year 9 and up, and will still hold the interest of a graduate student, or a lay reader interested in science. This reprint includes a new foreword to shed light from the current developments in physics today. Your webmaster read Gamow's books more years ago than is willing to admit to, and they remain memorable. If somehow you haven't read it yet, it's time it was a favorite on your bookshelf!
It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $6.17. Used from $1.11. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)
 | It took less than an hour to make the atoms, a few hundred million years to make the stars and planets, but five billion years to make man! — George Gamow, Russian-American nuclear physicist, cosmologist and writer (died 19 Aug 1968).  |
 | La puissance des mouches. Elles gagnent des batailles, empêchent notre âme d’agir, mangent notre corps. Flies are so mighty that they win battles, paralyse our minds, eat up our bodies. — Blaise Pascal, French mathematician and physicist (died 19 Aug 1662). |
 | Botany,—the science of the vegetable kingdom, is one of the most attractive, most useful, and most extensive departments of human knowledge. It is, above every other, the science of beauty. — Samuel Griswold Goodrich, American author and publisher (born 19 Aug 1793). |
 | I think if we had not repaired the telescope, it would have been the end of the space station, because space station requires a huge number of space walks. I think it was fair to use the Hubble space telescope as a test case for space walks, to say, “Can NASA really do what they say they can do up there?” — Story Musgrave, American surgeon and astronaut (born 19 Aug 1935). |
| 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 | |
 | Philo T. Farnsworth, born 19 Aug 1906, was the co-inventor of the electronic television set. What TV manufacturer was named after him? |
 | John Flamsteed, born 19 Aug 1646, was an English astronomer who was one of a group of scientists who convinced King Charles II to build a national observatory. He was appointed the first Astronomer Royal (1675-1719). Which national observatory did he help establish? |
| Deaths | |
 | A Scottish engineer invented the first type of stationary steam engine with the important improvement of a separate steam condenser. He died near Birmingham, England, on 19 Aug 1819. Can you name this man? |
| | Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a French mathematician, physicist and child prodigy. He invented the first digital calculator to help his father with his work collecting taxes. Which of the following did he also accomplish? Theory of probabilities; Law of pressure; Invented the hydraulic press. |
| Events | |
 | On 19 Aug 1960, Sputnik 5 was launched into space and was later retrieved with its live animal passengers. What animals were these, first to be retrieved after a space journey? |
 | On 19 Aug 1839, the first process to allow an image to be chemically fixed as a permanent picture was announced. What is the name of this photographic process? |
Fast answers for the previous newsletter for August 18: Cuba • William Siemens • paper chromatography • 3000 feet • the decade including 1891 • helium.
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