LightGrams December 10, 2020 Volume 24, Number 45 The hopes of hundreds of millions of people was lifted a few days ago when two different pharmaceutical companies announced they were ready to submit their vaccines for approval. The COVID-19 pandemic has dropped a heavy fog on our lives all year, and we so much want…
LightGrams December 3, 2020 Volume 24, Number 44 A piece of technology history is scheduled to be auctioned next week. An Apple-1 computer, one of only 200 that was produced in 1976, will have a starting bid of $50,000, and who knows how high the bidding will go? Making this item especially valuable is that…
LightGrams November 19, 2020 Volume 24, Number 42 Eleven years ago Anthony Capuano could have decided to take the path of least resistance. It was then that he was struck by a train, losing a leg in the accident. Fitted with a prosthetic leg, he might have given in to self-pity and settled for a…
LightGrams November 12, 2020 Volume 24, Number 41 A couple hiking near Ingersheim, a town in the Alsace region of France, recently found a small metal cylinder partially buried. They opened it and found a thin piece of paper with handwriting. It was dated 1910, but they couldn’t read the writing. A nearby museum consulted…
LightGrams October 29, 2020 Volume 24, Number 39 To see the longest bridge in the world you’ll need to visit China. The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge serves a high-speed railway, and was completed in 2010. The length of the bridge is 102.4 miles, and is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. Perhaps just as…
LightGrams October 22, 2020 Volume 24, Number 38 I remember going to carnivals in my growing-up years. I rode some of the classic rides: the Tilt-A-Whirl, Rock-O-Plane, Ferris Wheel, and others, and was thrilled on them – for a time. My limit was reached fairly soon, though, and I would think, “How much longer? Why…
LightGrams October 15, 2020 Volume 24, Number 37 Pompeii was the scene of a horrific tragedy in 79 AD Nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted, showering the nearby city with hot ashes, lava, and destruction. It happened so suddenly it essentially “froze” people and animals living there. Archaeologists have unearthed some chilling scenes of everyday life unexpectedly…
LightGrams October 8, 2020 Volume 24, Number 36 A story appeared on United Press International on October 1 about a rescue operation that took place in Amherst, New York earlier that day. Police were called to a resident’s home where a buck (a male deer) was found entangled in a hammock. The hammock, made of…
LightGrams October 1, 2020 Volume 24, Number 35 Darren Mayfield is on a mission. He and his wife run an online antiques business (“The Plastic Pendulum”) from their West Virginia home, and he has come across something quite intriguing to him: An approximately 100-year-old photo of a bridal party. Nine women of varying ages are…
LightGrams September 24, 2020 Volume 24, Number 34 The village of Aberhosan, Wales was completely frustrated. The residents had watched helplessly every morning for 18 months as their Internet signals went down. It happened each day at the same time: 7:00 a.m. What in the world was happening?! Engineers from Openreach, the company that maintains…