January 26, 2016 by Kayla Pollard 3 Comments

Every November up until 6^th grade marked the beginning of Thanksgiving celebrations and history in our classes. When hearing the stories we were provided with pictures of cartoon characters, the pilgrims had large black hats and the native Americans were always wearing tan clothing and had huge colorful feathers decorating their hair. We were taught that the first Thanksgiving was for the pilgrims to thank the Native Americans for their aid in successfully growing crops after a harsh winter. The feast lasted for several days as a celebration to show thanks for everything that they had.

The activities we did in class for Thanksgiving mostly included crafts. These crafts were tracing our hands and decorating them as turkeys, coloring in feathers and the hats the pilgrims wore. We also made paper cornucopias and put pictures of our favorite foods in it. The day before we had Thanksgiving Break we would have a potluck in class, the teacher would bring turkey and the whole class would bring side dishes to eat. As we were eating we would go around and share what we were thankful for.

https://www.engineeringthepast.com/619-2/

January 23, 2016 by Kayla Pollard 4 Comments

This object is four or five inches in height. It is made out of what appears to be thin metal rods painted a metallic purple. The metal curves into two separate handles that have small holes at the end, maybe to put fingers into, comparable to scissor handles. Connecting the two handles is a metal joint that allows for movement. Connected to the two handles is is curved platform. When the arms of the devices are separated the platforms separate. When separated there is a small plastic cushioning in between the platforms. The object is used my humans, seeing as there is a place for fingers. Based on the color the device might be geared more towards women. The curved platform suggests that it might be used on an area that has curves. The person using this could be using it to enhance a feature. Seeing as it was found it a woman’s makeup bag it is likely that it is for enhancing eyelashes. The person using this is probably above the age of 13, responsible enough to make sure she doesn’t accidentally poke something.

How did the person using this device know how to use it?
Has the device changed over time?
Why and when was this device invented?

Pennington, Meli. “Beauty Inventions: The Eyelash Curler.” Wild Beauty RSS. February 5, 2013. Accessed January 23, 2016. http://wildbeautyworld.com/2013/02/05/beauty-inventions-the-eyelash-curler/.

In this article it says the eyelash curler was first invented in 1925, and continued to be changed and improved throughout time. As women were getting more close ups in films it caused the general public to want to achieve the same look they saw on the silver screen. This helped women achieve that goal.

Ramasamy, Balasubramanian, and Stewart Armstrong. 2010. “Penetrating eye injury caused by eyelash curlers—a cause for concern?” Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology : Incorporating German Journal of Ophthalmology. 248 (3): 301-303.

This article speaks about the dangers of the eyelash curler, and briefly touches on the history. Eyelash curlers have evolved throughout time but there is still danger in using them. The case study is about a 19 year old girl who had poked her self in the left eye many times while curling her eyelashes.

Pennington did not show too much similarity to Prown, she did look and try to discover why things because they way they were through speculation. Much of the information provided were names and dates that applied to the eyelash curler. Ramasamy looked into how an eyelash curler could cause damage to the person using it, which aligned with what I was inferring about the device being for an older audience by using deductions.

https://www.engineeringthepast.com/519-2/

Bridges

January 17, 2016 by Kayla Pollard 3 Comments

When photographed both the Golden Gate Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge are admired for their architecture. While scrolling through pictures on Flickr it became apparent that the Golden Gate Bridge is admired for its color and how it appears in the bay. On this specific website there were no photographs that were taken on the bridge itself, always from a distance. On the other hand, there were many more photographs of the Brooklyn Bridge from a pedestrian’s point of view, the many different cables on the bridge create very interesting photographs. From looking at the photographs of the two bridges, the Golden Gate Bridge appeared to symbolize a gateway to either the bay or the ocean on the other side. When looking at the Brooklyn Bridge it seemed that the connection of two important cities was the main focus.

The Brooklyn Bridge, having opened in 1883, was very sturdy for its time. Roebling had designed the bridge to be stronger than it needed to be because the science of bridge building had not been figured out yet. I think that if the science had been better during the developing we would not have the iconic bridge, with many cables and huge towers, that we do today. In comparison to the Brooklyn Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge is just as breathe taking but much sleeker. The opening for the Golden Gate was just over 50 years later, and engineers began to have a greater understanding of bridges. It was designed to be more flexible, to withstand the wind it would encounter. Had the bridge been built at the same time as the Brooklyn Bridge it is possible that the design would have been bulkier and not as iconic.

Both bridges have had minimal changes through the years, none of them effecting the overall appearance. By both New York City and San Francisco deciding to keep their historical images they are appreciating their city’s past, and our country’s past. Even being on opposite sides of the country both cities are places of innovation and change, but they know it is important to celebrate history and to be proud of what came first.