Professor Walter's History Lessons

What's in a name?

In 1989 Apple Computer release the most expandable of the original black and white Macintosh's. This new computer was based on the Macintosh SE chassis.  The SE stood for System Expansion.  The new Macintosh was essentially a Macintosh IIx.  The x was included to note the addition of a 68030 microprocessor in the computer.  The logical name for the new Macintosh, which was an SE with a 68030 processor, would be the Macintosh SEx.  Apple was, understandably, reluctant to name their new computer the Macintosh SEx.  The final decision was to abbreviate 68030 to 30 for the naming convention and call the new computer the Macintosh SE/30.

-Professor Walter

Don't be a square, it could kill you

After WWII it was the dawn of a world of new technology, but one innovation was devised in 1929 that saw the light of day in the 1950s.  Frank Whittle, an office of the Royal Air Force, proposed powering an airplane with a gas turbine engine.  It took eleven years for his idea to reach fruition with Britain's first jet fighter the Gloster Meteor.  But, it was in 1952 that the de Havilland Comet would make history as the world's first commercial jetliner.  

The Comet has the ability to fly at speeds of up to 490 miles per hour while the fastest propeller planes could only go 315.  The cabin was pressurized and the plane could fly above storms rather than through them.  The new jetliner was a hit and soon everyone was aware that Great Britain would lead the world in commercial jetliners.  American Aviation Magazine said:

    "Whether we like it or not, the British are giving the U.S. a drubbing in jet transport."

Then on October 26th 1952 a Comet failed to get airborne and crashed on takeoff.  No one had major injuries, but the plane was a loss.  The blame was placed on pilot error.  That March another Comet crashed on takeoff becoming the first time anyone had died in a jetliner incident.  Once again pilot error was blamed.  But on January 10th 1954 it was clear that pilot error was not a factor when a Comet crashed into the Mediterranean.  The pilot was in the process or radioing "Did you get my ..." then it cut off.  Fishermen saw the pieces of the plane falling into the sea.

Immediately all the Comets were grounded and a massive investigation was launched.  Unfortunately the wreckage was 500 feet below the water so that the investigation was not complete when 50 recommendations were made to correct the problem, which had not been determined.  The Comet was cleared to fly again, until April 8th 1954 when another Comet went down in the ocean.  By that time more wreckage had been recovered from the first water crash and there were some odd findings.  The tail stabilizer had blue marking on it.  Analysis determined that they were from the seats hitting the stabilizer at high speeds.  Just what had happened?  The Ministry of Civil Aviation came up with a novel method of finding out.

They constructed a massive water tank and put the fuselage of a Comet into it.  The wings were connected to hydraulics to provide vibrations similar to what would be felt at high altitude cruising.  Then the tank was filled with water to a pressure that would match the 33,000 feet cruising altitude of the Comet.  After the testing was complete they opened the tank and were shocked at what they found.  There was a split in the fuselage starting from an escape hatch that stretched eight feet.  Eight months later when more wreckage was pulled from the sea of the second crash a similar fracture was found.  The real problem was metal fatigue.  The cause was the square windows.  A round window distributes the pressure, but a square one puts too much stress on single points at the corners.  To make matters worse the rivets were punch driven stressing the metal more, and the windows had been designed to be glued and riveted, but they were just riveted.  Every Comet was declared unsafe to fly.  It would take four years for the Comet to be redesigned with oval windows and thicker metal skin.  By that time the Boeing 707 had been released with the ability to carry twice as many passengers twice the distance.  The Comet would remain a major contender in the commercial jet liner market, but would never fully recover from the loss of market share. 

The blame for the failure to detect the problems before the plane took flight fell to he testers.  They had tested the fuselage in a stationary pressurized room without any of the other stresses the plane would encounter during use.  If the plane had been properly tested the disaster could have been averted. In the United States the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Administration which was the predecessor to the FAA was not comfortable with the square windows and refused to grant it an air-worthiness certificate.  Without the certificate the Comet never flew in the U.S. with square windows.  One good thing that came out of this disaster was the development of the modern "Black Box" data recorder.  The disaster inspired Australian engineer Dr. David Warren to create a device that would record the instruments and the cockpit voices. 

-Professor Walter

Charles F. Kettering - Protecting the people's hands

Charles F. Kettering was born in Loudonville, Ohio on May 8th 1876.  Despite his poor eyesight, he earned a degree from Ohio State University in electrical engineering in 1904.  His life would be rife with innovations, but one of his greatest would eliminate hand injuries, broken arms and deaths.

In the early days of the automobile the internal combustion engine was started via a hand crank.  If the engine backfired or misfired, the handle could kickback and break a thumb or even worse the person in question could be killed.  In 1899 Clyde J. Coleman filed the first patent for an automatic starter but it wasn't suitable for regular automotive use.  It wasn't until Charles F Kettering of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO) invented the first reliable and useful electric starter.  In 1912 the Cadillac was the first vehicle to carry the innovation.

That single innovation saved more thumbs and arms than can ever be counted, but it also had another great impact.  Women were considered too fragile and weak to operate the crank starter.  Suddenly women were the ones behind the wheel and soon brands such as Plymouth were marketed toward them.

-Professor Walter

Henrietta Lacks and her medical revolution

Henrietta Lacks was a born on August 1st 1920.  She grew up on the same land her ancestors had as slaves, she was poor and lived a hard life.  She had four children, and a husband.  She was a normal individual of the time who would be buried in an unmarked grave when she passed, but she would start a medical revolution beyond anyone's expectations.

On February 1, 1951 Lacks visited Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for painful "knot" and vaginal discharge.  That day she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, of the type the doctors had never seen before.  She was given the normal treatment of radiation and X-rays but, as the autopsy after death would show, the cancer had metastasized throughout her body.  On October 4, 1951 at the age of thirty-one she died.  But, that is not the end of her story, instead it is the beginning.

On her first visit, without her knowledge, her cancerous cells were collected for research purposes as was standard practice at the time.  Those cells did something that no other cells had ever done before outside the body.  They grew and thrived in a culture.  These new cells were dubbed HeLa cells and a factory was setup at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to produce more.  The factory started producing 3 trillion HeLa cells a week and sending them to researchers throughout the world.  The HeLa cells have been used for thousands of applications from the development of the polio vaccine to testing toxicity of glues.

No one really knows why the cells survived, or why they still are going strong.  Lacks had the human papillomavirus and syphilis which weakened her immune system.  There are theories that this may have allowed these "immortal" cells to develop.

In the 1970s her family learned that the cells were from their mother/wife when doctors contacted the family stating they wanted to test the children for cancer.  The family is poor and unable to afford the treatments that were generated with the cells.  To this day the family has never received any of the billions of dollars generated from the cells.  You can purchase a vial of HeLa cells today for $250.  As of today there have been over 50 million metric tons of HeLa cells produced.  Henrietta Lacks has been considered the most important person in medical history as a result of the cells.

-Professor Walter

USS PC-812 the jinxed sub-chaser

Built on October 10, 1942 at the Albina Engine and Machinery Works in Portland, Oregon the USS PC-812 was a US Navy submarine chaser that earned the name the jinxed sub-chaser.  On September 11th 1945 the USS PC-812 collided with the USS Laffey in San Diego and went down, but that is not what made her famous.  She is known by her first commander Lieutenant (j.g.) L. Ron Hubbard the founder of the Church of Scientology, and his actions.

The PC-812 was commissioned on April 20, 1943 and Lt. Hubbard was given command.  On May 19th 10 nautical miles off the shore of Cape Lookout in Oregon Lt. Hubbard detected what he was sure was one, and then two Imperial Japanese Navy submarines.  For the next 68 hours the PC-812 dropped 37 depth charges, assisted by US Navy blimps K-39 and K-33, US Coast Guard patrol boats Bonham and 78302, as well as US Navy sub-chasers USS SC-536 and USS SC-537 all called as reinforcements.  On May 21st the PC-812 was ordered back to base.

In Lt. Hubbard's 18 page report, Hubbard stated:

It is specifically claimed that one submarine, presumably Japanese, possibly a mine-layer, was damaged beyond ability to leave the scene and that one submarine, presumably Japanese, possibly a mine layer, was damaged beyond ability to return to its base.

Investigation after the event by Commander NW Sea Frontier, Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher was skeptical of Lt. Hubbard's claims.

An analysis of all reports convinces me that there was no submarine in the area. Lieutenant Commander Sullivan states that he was unable to obtain any evidence of a submarine except one bubble of air which is unexplained except by turbulence of water due to a depth charge explosion. The Commanding Officers of all ships except the PC-815 state they had no evidence of a submarine and do not think a submarine was in the area.

Fletcher went on to note that there was a magnetic anomaly in the area that may explain the situation and suggested that the crew of the PC-812 was not using the sonar correctly.  Hubbard never accepted Fletcher's assessment.

I dropped the I-76 or the Imperial Japanese Navy Trans-Pacific Submarine down into the mouth of the Columbia River, dead duck. And it went down with a resounding furor. And that was that. I never thought about it again particularly except to get mad at all the admirals I had to make reports to because of this thing, see? This was one out of seventy-nine separate actions that I had to do with. And it had no significance, see?

After that incident Lt. Hubbard and the PC-812 participated in naval exercises.  When the exercises ended early Lt. Hubbard took the extra time as an opportunity to drop anchor off of of the Mexican territory of South Coronado Island for an impromptu gunnery exercise.  The Mexican government  official protested to the US Government because no gunnery operations had been scheduled and the PC-812 had not been given permission to set anchor in Mexican territorial waters.

On June 30 a Board of Investigation was convened concerning the event and concluded that Lt. Hubbard had disregarded orders by his actions of gunnery practice and anchoring in Mexican territorial waters without proper authority.  Hubbard placed the blame on his crew stating they were inexperienced, it was foggy, and he was tired.  In his previous 18 page report he called the same crew experienced. 

Vice Admiral Fletcher, who both chaired the board gave Hubbard a rating of below average.

Consider this officer lacking in the essential qualities of judgment, leadership and cooperation. He acts without forethought as to probable results. He is believed to have been sincere in his efforts to make his ship efficient and ready. Not considered qualified for command or promotion at this time. Recommend duty on a large vessel where he can be properly supervised.

Hubbard was relieved of command effective July 7, 1943.

-Professor Walter

Kent Cigarettes - Now with asbestos filters!

The original cigarettes were unfiltered.  Most cigarettes changed to filtered when Reader's Digest published a report in 1952 titled "Cancer by the Carton".  In the article Reader's Digest told of the dangers of lung cancer with the use of cigarettes.  Kent was one of the first to make changes to their products by introducing the Micronite filter.  They were not the first with a filter, that distinction belongs to Viceroy in 1936, but they were the first and only one to attempt to create a new filter with the use of the flame retardant material known as blue asbestos.  From 1952 to 1956 they sold their new filtered cigarettes with the promise of being safer, but with the added risk of Mesothelioma (a cancer almost always induced by exposure to asbestos). 

Many who smoked the "safer" filtered cigarettes died later of cancer unrelated to the smoke, but instead related to the filter.  Even the workers who made the cigarettes were exposed and led much shorter lives.

-Professor Walter

The story of one WWII ship

During WWII the United States was producing many ships.  Each ship took an average of one week to complete and there were many shipyards working in unison on the war time project.  But, what happened to these ships after the war?  The Navy did not need that many ships, so quite a few were sold to the private industry.  This is the story of one of those ships.

In 1944 the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. built a US Navy standard ship type C3 named the USS Queens.  Then in 1948 she was purchased by American Export Lines for use as a Mediterranean cruise ship with the new name SS Excambion (II).  In 1958 she was returned to the Maritime Administration under a trade-in program.  She went to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Group.  There she sat until 1965 when she was loaned to the Texas Maritime Academy for use as a merchant marine officer training ship under the new name of USTS Texas Clipper.  She remained in that service until she was intentionally sunk on November 17th 2007 to be an artificial reef.

-Professor Walter

Balls to the wall!

In today's language the phrase "Balls to the wall" means to push the limit, to go full speed.  Many believe the phase has a "dirty" connotation, but that is not the case.  The phrase is actually a reference to the throttle on planes.  When you wanted to accelerate, the throttle would be pushed toward the firewall.  When you wanted to go as fast as possible you would push the throttle with it's ball all the way to the wall.  Hence, the phrase balls to the wall was born.  The first time it was used is believed to be during the Korean war, it is likely related to the phrase "balls-out" from WWII, which has the same meaning.

-Professor Walter

Worst Award Ceremony - Ever!

In July of 1991, the Clio Awards were set to be presented in Manhattan.  The Clio is the advertising industries version of the "Oscar" with awards going to the best and brightest in bronze, silver and gold.  The best and brightest in advertising were there on that Balmy Thursday, in 86 degree heat to see if they had won.  Many of the guests were from other countries, and all were dressed as one would expect for such an event.  There was one problem, no one from the Clio awards was there.

As they would later find out, Bill Evans the owner of the Clio, was in serious financial difficulty and his staff had left after missing one too many paychecks in the month of May.  Evans was not there either.  After an hour of waiting outside the doors were opened and everyone finally found their seat only to see an unfamiliar face at the podium, that of the head caterer.  While he did quite a good job, considering the circumstances, he never had a script and when clips were played, often out of focus or upside down, he had to ask people in the audience who made each clip.  Not to mention that no one had the winners list so no Clios were handed out.  Eventually he was booed off the stage.  Then things got worse.

A PR representative decided to take to the stage and continue the presentation, after one too many trips to the bar.  His lackluster performance turned the event into more of a circus, especially when he unexpectedly broke out in song when the band played a familiar Irish tune.  Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped.  The PR man mumbled something about being out of script and wondered off the stage.  The helpless band played Hello Dolly, for the fourth time that night.

The audience sat in stunned silence, the stage empty except for the microphone and the Clio awards.  Soon the audience, disgusted with the display, began to make their way toward the door when one man in a tuxedo broke away from the crowd and walked on stage and grabbed a Clio waving it in the air.  Some in the crowd gasped, others cheered, and more still ran up to get one for themselves.  In less than a minute the Clios were gone.

The Clio was purchased by an investment firm and sold to a Dutch firm now called the Nielsen Company which still puts on the ceremony every year.  But none so far have been as memorable as the one in 1991.

-Professor Walter

Jimmy Carter and the Swamp Rabbit Incident

On April 20, 1979 President Jimmy Carter had gone on a solo fishing trip in Plains, Georgia.  While fishing he was approached by a rabbit swimming toward him.  Press Secretary Jody Powell wrote this account of the creature in her book.

The animal was clearly in distress, or perhaps berserk. The President confessed to having had limited experience with enraged rabbits. He was unable to reach a definite conclusion about its state of mind. What was obvious, however, was that this large, wet animal, making strange hissing noises and gnashing its teeth, was intent upon climbing into the Presidential boat.

Eventually Carter was able to get the rabbit to swim away, but the press found the story too interesting to let go.  Soon Carter was being questioned about the incident at press conferences and town hall meetings.  There was even discussion of a suit being filed under the Freedom of Information Act to release a photo of the incident.  After Reagan took office a copy of the picture was released to the press.

-Professor Walter

Photo Courtesy of the Jimmy Carter Library