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A Brief History of the Panama Canal Railway

Construction on the Panama Canal began in 1881 as a project directed by France, and was completed in 1914 by the US. This 51-mile (82 km) waterway has served as a major facilitator of trans-oceanic trade since its existence. But before there was the Panama Canal, there was the Panama Canal Railway, a form of …

Fighting Against Dogma: Ignaz Semmelweis & the Study of Antisepsis

In a modern hospital, great care is taken to sterilize medical instruments and not to transfer infections between surgical patients. At one time, however, such antiseptic measures were not simply unknown to doctors, but actively fought against. The story of the man who tried to implement life-saving cleansing procedures at hospitals – encountering insurmountable resistance …

The Rainhill Trials & the Beginning of the Steam Age

It seems logical that with the advent of the railways that steam-powered locomotives were the shoe-in mechanism for hauling freight around on the iron rails. This seemingly sound conclusion, however, was not always so certain. In fact, a historic contest was held before the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway (the first steam-powered railway …

Teddy Roosevelt & the Progressive Party

In the modern era, it is hard to imagine anything but the two-party Duopoly in the US, at least at the federal level. Despite the fact that 62% of Americans support the idea of a third party in the abstract, third parties do not do well in national elections. Even in 2016, where the Libertarian …

Alice Hamilton: Your New Toxicologist Hero

Although workers have been exposed to harmful toxins as part of their work since early on in civilization, the field of industrial toxicology is a relatively new one. It wasn’t until late in the 18th century when scientists began to document the deleterious effects of chemicals on the individuals who worked with them, and measure …

A Roosevelt Bear Would not Have Had the Staying Power: the Origin of the Teddy Bear

The name of the blog somewhat gives away the teddy bear’s origin itself, but nevertheless, we will proceed! Theodore (often known as Teddy, even though he hated the nickname) Roosevelt was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901-1909. One of Roosevelt’s major accomplishments during his administration was the preservation of countless lands …

Magnus Volk & a Few of His Accomplishments

There are many more famous names in the realm of railway history than Magnus Volk, but this inventor and engineer still racked up a few notable accomplishments during his lifetime. This blog will take a look at a few of them. In 1851 in the city of Brighton, Magnus Volk was born to a German …

Cold War Bioweapons Testing in the US

We tend to associate the Cold War with a time of fear over nuclear weapons and the ultimate destruction that they might bring. Yet one type of weapon of concern from this time that is often overlooked by historical accounts is bioweapons. The 1925 Geneva Protocol was the first treaty to limit not only the …

Notes About Procter & Gamble and Soap

Here is a little blog that might be a bit incoherent, but if you read the title “Notes About Procter & Gamble and Soap” and are still reading, then perhaps that will be fine. Procter & Gamble, a consumer goods corporation now worth over $80 billion, was founded in 1837 in Cincinnati, Ohio. One of …

Thursday Trains Summer Series: The Amazing Southern Gauge Change Affair

Railway gauges, or the distance between the inside surfaces of the heads of the two rails, have not always been standard throughout history. The current standard gauge of 4 feet 8.5 inches first came from George Stephenson’s (often called the Father of Railways) 4 feet 8 inches that he used for the Stockton & Darlington …