How do radars work?
Radars work by “shining” a beam of energy (usually microwaves) at an object and measuring how much power gets reflected back. The object might be an airplane, precipitation in a thunderstorm, bugs in the atmosphere, etc. If the object is moving when the energy hits it, then the microwaves will be Doppler shifted after they have been reflected back, and we can partly measure the object’s velocity.
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Telephone Trivia:
Sometimes, early telephone operators would get to know their customers so well, the customers would ask for a reminder call when it was time to remove a cake from the oven, leave the phone off the hook near their sleeping child when they left the house, hoping the operator would hear any cries of distress, request a wake up call before taking a long nap.
Telephone is derived from two Greek words, tele + phone, meaning far off voice or sound.(Tele, far off + phone, voice or sound).
In Milan, Italy, when an operator dialed a wrong number, the phone company fined the operator.
Just like today’s computers, early telephones were very confusing to new users. Some became so frustrated with the new technology, they attacked the phone with an ax or ripped it out of the wall.
In the late 30’s, a man named Abe Pickens of Cleveland, Ohio, attempted to promote world peace by placing personal calls to various country leaders. He managed to contact Mussolini, Hirohito, Franco and Hitler (Hitler, who didn’t understand English, transferred him to an aide). He spent$10,000 to “give
peace a chance.”
In the Catholic church, St. Gabriel, an archangel, is the patron saint of telecommunications.
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“Stewardesses” is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.
The Baby Ruth candy bar was actually named after Grover Cleveland’s baby daughter, Ruth.
Armadillos have four babies at a time and they are always all the same sex.
Armadillos are the only animal besides humans that can get leprosy.
Most deaths in a hospital are between the times of 4pm and 6pm, the time when the human body is at its weakest.
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Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from Public Libraries.
A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off.
Dolphins sleep with one eye open.
7% of Americans don’t know the first nine words of the American anthem, but know the first seven of the Canadian anthem.
5% of Canadians don’t know the first seven words of the Canadian anthem, but know the first nine of the American anthem.
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The real name of television’s Mister Ed was Bamboo Harvester.
Jim Hogg, the governor of Texas from 1891 to 1895, named his only daughter “Ima.”
In 1930, Fred Newton became the only man to swim the Mississippi River – lengthwise (1,826 miles over a six-month period).
France’s King Louis XIV bathed only once a year.
Over 40 million Ritz crackers are purchased every day.
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In Portland, Oregon, a priest or a minister is not allowed to perform a wedding ceremony at a skating rink.
Barbers are not allowed to eat onions between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. in Waterloo, Nebraska.
It is against the law to sing out of tune in North Carolina.
It takes the average snail 115 days to travel a mile.
According to ancient Hindu law, the penalty for adultery was the removal of a person’s nose.
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The least-liked vegetable of all time is the turnip. Personally, I can’t stand them either!
A two-year test by the American Heart Association found that only 7 percent of nudist camp residents suffered from high blood pressure compared to a national average of 17 percent. I just want to know who in the world funds – and dreams up – these kind of studies?
Most snakes can go without eating for an entire year.
A termite can live 30 years. Better go see the Orkin Man soon.
Kilts originated in France, not Scotland.
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Most monkeys are nearsighted.
Hockey is called “shinney” in Scotland.
There are 88 keys on a piano – 52 white and 36 black.
The Manhattan cocktail, a mixture of whiskey and sweet vermouth, was invented by WInston Churchill’s mother.
Albert Einstein’s last words were spoken in German. As the nurse attending him didn’t speak the language, we’ll never know what he said.
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Human birth control pills work on gorillas.
The eagle has sex while going up to 60 mph. in flight, and it is common for both eagles to hit the ground before they finish.
John Wilkes Booth’s brother once saved the life of Abraham Lincoln’s son.
Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine are brother and sister.
Chocolate kills dogs! True, chocolate affects a dog’s heart and nervous system, and a few ounces are enough to kill a small-sized dog.
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The use of telephone answering machines became popular in 1974.
In the first month of the Bell Telephone Company’s existence in 1877, only six telephones were sold!
On December 23, 1947, Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, N.J., held a secret demonstration of the transistor which marked the foundation of modern electronics.
In 1953, Sony Corporation obtained a transistor license from Western Electric Co. that led to its development of the world’s first commercially successful transistor radio.
In the early days of the telephone, operators would pick up a call and use the phrase, “Well, are you there?”. It wasn’t until 1895 that someone suggested answering the phone with the phrase “number please?”
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Trivia of the Day 