Name: How Did We Take the Leap and Fly Like a Bird
Uploaded: 2023-01-07T20:40:42+00:00
Description: Many interesting inventions have been thought up over the years to make this dream a reality.

People have been filled with the desire to fly ever since the dawn of time. While some have tried and failed, others established the groundwork for modern airplanes.

How Did We Take the Leap and Fly Like a Bird 2-17 screenshot.png

People have long dreamed of soaring through the skies, wings outstretched and free.Many interesting inventions have been thought up over the years to make this dream a reality.In 1783, French brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier designed a hot air balloon to float them toward the clouds. It managed to travel 5 miles in about half an hour. A short time later, Jacques Alexander Charles and Nicholas Louis Robert designed a balloon that managed to travel 22 miles in two hours. Then, almost 100 years later, an engineer named Henri Giffard invented the first steam-powered air flight. He designed a cigar-shaped airship powered by a 3-horsepower steam engine and driven by a three-bladed propeller. He traveled exactly 26 miles from Paris to Élancourt with this airship he named &quot;Giffard Dirigible.&quot; The flight was the first example that a steam-powered airship could be steered and controlled. Sadly, the design was abandoned because it was easily affected by weather conditions. I hear it was a pretty bumpy ride! However, it gave hope for a bigger, greater invention to follow: the airplane!Inspired by their predecessors, Orville and Wilbur Wright built the very first airplane in 1903. The American brothers accomplished the first gas-powered flight in history after taking off and flying for around 131 feet for 12 seconds.Of course, the first thing these marvelous machines were used for was war. The Germans and their allies used the newly-developed aircraft extensively as a combat tool during World War I.After the war, the race to develop faster, longer-flying, better airplanes was on!In 1947, Chuck Yeager broke the speed of sound, flying 662 miles per hour at an altitude of 40.000 with the plane named X-1, and opened a new era in the history of airplanes.And a few years later, in 1952, jet engines began to be used in passenger transport and for commercial purposes. Jet-powered airplanes have become one of the most popular and effective ways of travel. They have given us the freedom to get from point A to B in an incredibly quick and efficient way. We can even fly around the world! Something only dreamed of just a short time ago.

Many interesting inventions have been thought up over the years to make this dream a reality.

How Did We Take the Leap and Fly Like a Bird

How did we take the leap and fly like a bird

Watch How I met videos which explain the inventions in a funny way. such as the internet DNA, social media, space travel on Interesting Engineering

How I Met Videos | Interesting Engineering Original Videos

Do you remember when smartphones were unique and fun? Well, let’s get your memory refreshed.

How the iPhone Has Influenced.png

Sure, you have seen those unremarkable glass slabs with weird camera layouts and different logos, but have you actually seen the exciting stuff? Do you remember when smartphones were unique and fun? Well, let’s get your memory refreshed. The first smartphone, the “Simon Personal Communicator” was invented nearly 30 years ago in 1994 by IBM. More than just a phone, the device was designed as a pocket computer, with a calculator, calendar, and an agenda- features unheard of in a handheld device until then. Oh, it also had a touchscreen. You would be right to assume that the only lousy detail about it was its name. Not to be left behind, industry giant Nokia released the Nokia 9000 Communicator in 1996, staking its claim for being the first phone featuring a QWERTY keyboard. This triggered other major brands to join the race, with Ericsson raising Nokia’s move with their GS88 model, and Blackberry and Motorola bringing in their incredible designs. Although these were packed with innovations, they were not perfect. One could argue that these flaws, or rather quirks, brought about a sense of character to these models. However, the margin for error soon vanished with the introduction of the first iPhone model in 2007. Under the leadership of Steve Jobs, Apple’s newest product would set the benchmark for the rest of the industry to follow. The iPhone had a massive touchscreen and ran on the IOS operating system. Desperate to catch up with Apple, manufacturers diverted their attention from releasing interesting products to ones that just worked, with a major chunk of them turning to Google and its operating system Android, in a bid to focus on the hardware end. In 2008, HTC, a Taiwanese company was the first to release an Android phone. This set the ball rolling for features such as Google Maps, Youtube, and others to be essential parts of our daily lives. Samsung further shook the market, especially the Android side of it, and set sales records with its various phones aimed at different price points. Over the years, traditional players such as Nokia, Sony, and HTC became shadows of their glorious selves, while new stalwarts like Xiaomi, Huawei, and Oppo gained market share. While newer, advanced features fill their models at an impressive rate, most of these phones remain drab slabs, leaving us with nothing but memories of their characterful predecessors.

The first smartphone, the “Simon Personal Communicator” was invented nearly 30 years ago in 1994 by IBM.

Do you remember when smartphones were unique and fun?

How the iPhone has influenced the evolution of smartphones

In 1958, physicist William Higinbotham developed a video game called Tennis for Two. He made a basic controller and a button to play the game. It is the first video game in history.

How Did We Try to Count Numbers.png

For those of you, who underestimate gaming and gamers, here is a fact that will blow your mind. If you add up the annual revenue of both the film and music industries across the globe. This will still be nowhere close to the money produced by the gaming industry alone in a year. With an expected earning of more than $200 billion in 2022, gaming stands far bigger than Hollywood and music in terms of market valuation. Even if you’d look at the evolution of technology in games, you will realize that from Pac-Man to Counter-Strike and Fortnite, gaming has come very far. Would you like to know how it all started in the first place?Well, the very first video games emerged in the 1950s. They were created not for the purpose of entertainment but as tools to test the capabilities of the early room-sized computers. Tennis for Two was the first computer game that used graphical elements. It was developed by American physicist William Higinbotham in 1958. Interestingly, a couple of years later, a group of students at MIT also came up with another video game called Spacewar. This was the first electronic game that could be played on multiple computers.However, computers were still evolving then and they were far from the reach of the common man. This is why both Tennis for Two and Spacewar could be played only by researchers and people who had access to computers in Universities.German-American inventor Ralph Baer realized this problem and he came up with a unique solution. He decided to harness the popularity of television, which unlike the computer was a very common home appliance then. In 1972, he developed and launched a video game console called Magnavox Odyssey. For millions of television users in the US, this was the first time they experienced the super-exciting world of video-game. As expected, they went crazy for Odyssey, Baer sold over 700,000 units of his gaming console, and more importantly, he paved the path for a new groundbreaking industry. Odyssey’s success also gave rise to new players in the gaming market. The same year, the newly formed company Atari released Pong, the video game that made coin-operated arcade machines a sensation among teens. The long-lasting success of Pong gave Atari enough confidence to launch their own console in 1977. The Atari 2600 gaming console used to come with two joysticks and nine games. It introduced us to some of the most memorable video games of the 1980s such as Pacman, River Raid, Missile Command, and Space Invaders. However, the industry was yet to experience a blast, and it happened with the entry of players like Nintendo, Apple, and IBM. By the 1990s, personal computers arrived in households, and this led to the biggest rivalry in the gaming industry — PC gaming vs console gaming. While Nintendo shook the market with popular console games like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. PC games like Civilization and Battle City showed gamers that PC gaming is there to stay forever. Plus, with the rise of the internet, people were not able to play online games on PC as well.However, the competition became more intense with the launch of Sony’s PlayStation in 1994. This modern gaming console took the industry by storm with the release of games like Final Fantasy and Tekken 3. PlayStation somehow managed to introduce the most addictive and unforgettable video games in human history, and soon it almost sidelined Nintendo. However, this dominance didn’t last for long.The launch of Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s Wii consoles in the early 2000s made gaming a more immersive, interactive, and fun activity. PC games also witnessed steady growth during this phase, and now gamers had multiple options other than PlayStation.In the following years, consoles, computers, and games also evolved to a great extent. Users were now experiencing games with mesmerizing visuals, powerful sound quality, and captivating stories. All these developments established game development and distribution as one of the most profitable businesses in the technology sector. According to an estimate, currently, there are more than three billion gamers in the world. The credit for this also goes to smartphones which have made gaming more accessible than ever.While companies like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo still dominate the gaming industry, the underground rivalry between PC and console gaming also continues. Moreover, the pace at which games and related technologies are evolving, there is no doubt the gaming industry has a bright future.

In 1958, physicist William Higinbotham developed a video game called Tennis for Two. He made a basic controller and a button to play the game.

How Did We Come to the Playstation 5?

How did we come to the Playstation 5?

Would you believe me if I said calculators are actually the ancestors of computers?

How Did We Come to the Playstation 5_ 2-18 screenshot.png

In the age of computer chip-embedded toasters, smart glasses, and even humans with tiny processors under their skin, it might be hard for you to imagine a world without such computers, let alone the first one. Would you be shocked if I told you that it was an automatic calculator? Well, that was precisely what Charles Babbage envisioned in the 1820s. He called it the Difference Engine.Although a lack of funds prevented his invention from becoming real, Babbage strived on and soon created the Analytical Engine, capable of more complicated tasks, and even included input and output units and storage. The lack of advancements in technology saw his plans stay conceptual, however. His designs are said to be the inspiration for many later computers.By the 1890s, Herman Hollerith created an automatic data reading machine based on punch cards- one that did not require any human intervention- an early form of memory card, if you may. The punched card approach would also see its use in the Harvard Mark-1, in 1994, a machine over 49 ft (15 m) long, 6.56 ft (2 m) high, and 2 feet(60 cm) deep! Its ability to operate in logarithm and trigonometry played a part in its huge brain.The war saw a rise in the development of computers. Z3, the first programmable computer, and ENIAC considered the first modern computer, were a result of troubled times, times which also saw the destruction of Z3 in a bombing raid on Berlin. ENIAC is the result of John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert’s efforts to make a machine that could calculate the projectile trajectories of artillery shells. It also consumed 160 kilowatts of electrical power, and occupied 1,800 square feet!These huge, and thirsty computers would soon be replaced by compact machines once transistors replaced vacuum tubes, and integrated circuits and microprocessors became a reality. The first personal computer, the Altair 8800, was launched in 1975 and could be connected to a TV as a screen. This would be soon accompanied by cheaper and easier-to-use computers for individual users.The computers you see today came to be with the invention of the internet in 1989. Cellular phones and automobiles would soon become commonplace in schools, homes and workplaces. With such a rich past, computers and technology inspire nothing short of excitement within enthusiasts, one that is rewarded with the best advancements.

Would you believe me if I said calculators are actually the ancestors of computers? Of course, they have nothing to do with the computers we know today.

How did we try to count numbers and it turned into images?

The USA and the USSR raced each other to send satellites into space. They both wanted to outrun one another by completing a successful space journey.

How the Cold War Between USA and USSR Let Us Discover Space 0-33 screenshot.png

With a hot trending talk of the times being space journeys, one might wonder how it all started- how we’ve come to this point in time, where interplanetary travel and tourism seem realistic. The origins of space travel can be traced to the space race between the USA and the USSR. They both wanted to one-up each other by completing a space journey. The USSR seemed to have a lead over the USA, with feats of sending the first satellite to orbit the Earth, and the first living thing to space in its belt. Remember Laika? The Soviet space dog was a trained cosmonaut and consumed food and water in a gelatinized form. Much to the USA’s dismay, the USSR beat them again when they managed to send the first human to space. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin reached an altitude of 203 miles (327 kilometers) and returned after orbiting the Earth in the Vostok 1 Space Capsule. This achievement prompted U.S. President John F Kennedy to point to the moon as their new target on September 12, 1962. He promised to send humans to the moon within 10 years.Spurred on by his motivation, the Americans set upon designing a two-person space shuttle, the Gemini, and later, the three-person space shuttle Apollo. In December 1968, they demonstrated proof of this renewed spirit with the Apollo space shuttle orbiting the moon 10 times. Astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders became the first to leave the Earth’s orbit. NASA and the Americans did not have to wait further to taste more success. On July 21, 1969, Apollo 11, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins landed on the moon. Taking the first step of any human on the moon, Neil Armstrong famously said “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. America did not rest on its laurels, however. They carried on sending over 10 astronauts to the surface of the moon. But what about the space race between the USA and the USSR? Contrary to what you would’ve expected, both nations began working together on sending space shuttles into lunar orbit together. China, now a growing global power, set its sights on joining the space games and would eventually launch the Shenzhou 5 shuttle in 2003. The last 10 years have witnessed private companies make their foray into the space game. On 30th May 2020, SpaceX successfully sent a spacecraft piloted by two astronauts from the Kennedy Space Centre, USA to space. With talk about space tourism, and space habitat rife, it is just a matter of time before more private players make an entry. Perhaps we might witness the marvels of space for ourselves in this lifetime.

The origins of space travel can be traced to the space race between the USA and the USSR.

How the Cold War Between USA and USSR Let Us Discover Space

How the cold war between USA and USSR let us discover space

Any idea how long after the birth of the World Wide Web in 1991 it took to come up with the first social media site? And for extra points, what was it?

howImet.net.00_04_16_09.Still008.jpg

Any idea how long after the birth of the World Wide Web in 1991 it took to come up with the first social media site? And for extra points, what was it? Times up! The answer? A wapping six years – and in 1997, Six Degrees was established.Six Degrees was the first internet platform where you signed up with your email, created a profile, and added your friends to your network. It had around 1 million subscribers, but sadly, only three short years after its inception, people began to lose interest.Next up – Am I Hot or Not? (Yeah, I don’t remember it either.) Here, people submitted their photos to the site for others to vote on if they believed they were, in fact, hot or not! However disturbing that may sound, it is rumored that this site was the inspiration for YouTube and Facebook.In 2002, Friendster entered the scene, originally meant as a dating site to connect with friends of friends. Friendster improved upon Six Degrees by offering photo and video sharing. You could even leave comments on people’s profiles if they were in your network.Then comes the social media turning point of Myspace in 2003 and Facebook soon after. In 2006, Myspace was the most viewed website in history; however, Facebook was lurking around the corner and, by 2008, had overtaken Myspace’s popularity and sent it to the social media graveyard.YouTube was quick to follow in 2005, with its laughing babies and cute animal videos. This was the only platform that allowed you to create and share media.Twttr – or as we know it now – Twitter, changed the game. What started as people posting about what they were doing, eating, etc., became the hottest gossip/socially significant social media site to date. Then entered, Elon Musk into the Twitter boardroom. You know, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX. He was going to buy the social media platform, then not, then after a lawsuit, reluctantly bought it. He came in guns blazing - introducing the paid platform Twitter Blue, allowing any user to pay a small fee to get a blue ‘verified’ check mark on their account. Of course, people took advantage of this, and comical fake accounts were soon set up and verified. Lots of fake tweets and news were soon to follow.We can’t forget Instagram! This platform was a game changer for visual communication. Instagram collected all the popular features from other social media sites and really became an all-in-one platform. Oh, and TicToc. But maybe that one is better left for another day.Whatever will come up next? What will rival or replace Twitter or Instagram? Do you have any big ideas for the future of social media?

The Brief History of Social Media Before Elon Musk Ruined it

The brief history of social media before Elon Musk ruined it

Ever wondered how the internet was born? Well, believe it or not, we actually have the Cold War to thank for its inception. I know, crazy, right?

howImet.net.00_02_04_07.Still005.jpg

Ever wondered how the internet was born? Well, believe it or not, we actually have the Cold War to thank for its inception. I know, crazy, right?60% of the world’s population uses the internet, and it’s all thanks to the Soviets launching the first satellite into orbit – Sputnik! The U.S., believing they were leading the Russians in the space race, was shocked and feared the Soviet Union was up to something much more sinister than a satellite orbiting in space.In response, the Americans thought it best to create something even grander to take back the upper hand in technological superiority – the internet! Now that’s big!But first, NASA and the Department of Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) were created to further develop space and develop new technologies like space weapons, rocket ships, and computers.The Americans were afraid the Soviets would attack their communications systems, hense creating a new type of network line – a ‘galactic network’ where computers would talk to one another – the ARPANET! However, their first attempt of computer to computer communication wasn’t exactly a success. They tried to send the message ‘login’ from a computer at UCLA to one at Stanford University. The receiving computer only received ‘lo’ – close, but they were not quite there yet.This near success sparked passion in many determined scientists who kept trying – until 1971 when an engineer named Ray Tomlinson was able to get his entire message delivered. The incredible message read… ‘QWERTYUIOP’ – not exactly poetry but revolutionary nonetheless. Not only was this the first complete message ever sent, but also the first email!Many such networks like, ARPANET, sprung up, but it was difficult to collect them all into one worldwide network. Enter computer scientist Vincent Cerf. In the late 70s, he developed a network that would connect all the computers throughout the world. He did this to create a way for the deaf love of his life to be able to communicate with the rest of the world. Now that’s romantic!In 1991, Tim Berners Lee introduced us to the World Wide Web, which made it possible to send and receive images, data, and files. This is the internet as we know it today. It has progressed a great deal since 1991 and has changed our lives in countless ways. And just think, all of this thanks to love and war. Amazing!

60% of the world’s population uses the internet, and it’s all thanks to the Soviets launching the first satellite into orbit – Sputnik!

How did we take the leap and fly like a bird

Get the best tech, science, and engineering videos delivered weekly to your mailbox. Subscribe now.