Railroad timepieces and the push for accuracy in rails
Railroads demand precise watches to synchronize dispatchers, conductors, and station masters. A typical system uses lever-set railroad watches adjusted for heat cold and three positions, with regular inspections by local jeweler/watchmakers. Eight different manufacturers supply the watches, forming a costly, standardized timekeeping network. An aside recounts a London clock inscription warning “Go about your business” carved by a clockmaker after a judge’s remark.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Scientific American
Old Temple
London
Commons
Harper's Weekly
Length of swords in Elizabethan England
During Elizabeth I's era when tavern brawls were common, authorities in London cut longer swords to the legal limit of thirty six inches to ensure fair combat. The practice, conducted at city gates with a smith on standby, aimed to equalize weapons among gallants and reduce dueling excesses.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Engand
London
Sixtus V salad and quaint proverbs in old notes
The excerpt pairs a tale about Sixtus V sending lettuce with money hidden in the hearts as a proverb about need. It adds a breakfast anecdote about Herbert Spencer eating jam to vary meals. It cites a playful exchange on a ships deck and a quip about poetry length, reflecting light humor in early 20th century clippings.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sixtus V
Salad
Rome
Sixtus
The Exceptional Young Man in Business
Jason Swett Marden in Success Magazine defines the exceptional young man as one who treats the employer’s interests as his own, pursues self improvement, finishes tasks, and goes beyond duties. He studies the business, reads its literature, and seeks improvements to rise to higher positions.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jason Swett Marden
Success Magazine
al- Wars
Labrador's Short Summer on Labrador Highlands
Hesketh Prichard notes a brief Labrador summer with snow melting in July and a lush midsummer. Grasses grow, berries ripen, loons cry, ptarmigan call, and a butterfly appears as mosquitos breed. By late August warmth fades and the season swiftly shifts to another.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Labrador
Hesketh Prichard
Southerner Prods Hotel Waiter About Racial Roles
A visiting southerner in St. Louis asks a hotel dining room megro about the “neat Black person.” The waiter, towering in pomp, declares no Black people exist in St. Louis and boasts he is the head waiter, as the southerner eyes a $100 bill and contemplates long stays.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Louis
Weil
Where Bluebeard Lived in a Bosporus Fortress
The piece cites a Wide World Magazine account about a fortress on the Bosporus near Constantinople known as Bluebeard's castle. It claims the site housed a cruel old pasha whose rumored habits sparked the Bluebeard tale.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bluebeard
Bosporus
Constantinople
Pasha
Wide World Magazine
First Calculating Machine by Blaise Pascal In 1642
The first calculating machine was invented by Blaise Pascal at age nineteen in 1642 with one worker, presented to the chancellor of France, later found in a Bordeaux junk shop during the revolution, and now owned by M Bougouin. It demonstrates all four arithmetic operations and hints at metal flow experiments.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Blaise Pascal
Bur
France
Bordeaux
M. Bougouin
Dr Franz Mueller Heroic Death From Bubonic Plague
The Vienna physician Dr Franz Mueller died in 1897 after contracting bubonic plague during early bacteriological work. He isolated himself in a room, warned others not to send a doctor, and died within four to five days. He wrote a farewell letter to his parents, burned the original, and left a message for those outside to copy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Franz Mueller
Frederick Rowland Marvin
Vienna
Mueller
Vanilla beans misnamed pods show tiny seed cargo
Vanila planifolia, the vanilla orchid, climbs trees to feed on bark. The pods called vanilla beans lack true beans. seeds inside are fine dust, used by chefs who grind the seed rather than extract. Vanilla grows wild in the Bahamas and Central America, is exported from Madagascar, and American vouille is noted as best in Harper's Weekly report.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bahamas
West Indies
Central America
Madagascar
Harper's Weekly
Proposed constitutional amendments submitted for voter approval
General Assembly of Pennsylvania submits proposed amendments to the Constitution for citizen approval or rejection. Published by order of the Secretary of the Commonwealth under Article XVIII of the Constitution.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Commonwealth
General Assembly of
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Secretary of the Commonwealth
Amendment consolidating Allegheny County courts
A joint resolution proposes constitutional amendments for Allegheny and Philadelphia counties. It details merging district courts and five or more courts of common pleas in Philadelphia into a single system with three judges each, expanded by law, and directs appointment by law. It also covers a reform of debt limits for counties and cities, with exceptions for Philadelphia transit and port projects, and maintains sinking funds.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Courts of Common Pleas
Allegheny County
Senate
House of Representatives
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
District Courts
Court of
Comma Pleas
County of Allegheny
Court of Common Pleas
Kiw
Eid Court
Robert McArn
The
Commonwealth
Iao
Robert Weafn
Local Address for W M Grube on Main Street Lititz
A brief notice identifies W M Grube located on East Main Street in Lititz Pennsylvania. The item provides street address details without additional context or actions attached.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
W. H. Bollinger
East Main Street
Lititz
Also Mentioned on This Page
Wault
Herbert Spencer
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Foot
Birmingham Age-Herald
Fitz
Suburbia
Fr. S
New York Journal
Fire
Steele
Oxfords
Habecker
Habecker the Baker
A. G. Hershey
Old Mill
Front Street
John H. Tshndy
John ¥. Schleith
W. M. Grube
Square Deal
E. Main Street
Lititz, PA
Bell
the Bell Telephone Co
Pouna
H. H. Witmer
Mgr
Lancaster, Pa
A. H. Kreider
W. Vine ST
Lancaster
C. N. Derr
Joseph Dreifus
Lifitz
PENNA
Schleibh
John F. Schleith
Spruce St
Ind
Graul’s Bread
Graham
Tye
D. D, Graul
Geest
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