Much Ado About Love & Engineering Part I
February 2022 Events
We are already heading into the second month of 2022. Currently, at least 463 events are on the calendar for this month. With COVID-19 continuing, please ensure an in-person event is still occurring before going.
This is going to be a 2-part newsletter. Part II will come out in a week and focus on the science and engineering events in February, not tied to anniversaries.
SO WHAT IS GOING ON THIS MONTH? HERE ARE YOUR BIG EVENTS:
Black History Month: February 1-28
Champions: Multiple, including The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Black History Month focuses on the African American experience in the United States, its history, triumphs, and stories. The Black experience is unique, as many were forced to come here in chains and as slaves. But even at such odds, the African American community fought and won their rights and freedoms, and that fight continues today.
FEBRUARY ALSO INCLUDES:
Chinese New Year: February 1
The Winter Olympics (CN): February 4-20
Six Nations Rugby: Beginning February 5 through Mid-March
Super Bowl: February 13
Valentine's Day: February 14
Carnaval/Mardi Gras: February 25-March 1
ADDITIONAL THEMES IN FEBRUARY
February is far more than Valentine's Day and Black History Month. It's a big month for cardiac care and the industries related to heart care. The relationship industry has its big day on the 14th but carries that theme through most of February.
It's also a massive month for science, technology, and engineering, which I will focus on in this bifurcated issue.
Anniversary days are international. They mark a specific day in history an event occurred. Each of the following highlighted has something to do with technology, the sciences, or engineering. They include:
1) Periodic Table Day (1863): February 7
Champion: Historical Anniversary
Periodic Table Day marks the anniversary of publishing the first periodic table of elements by English chemist John Newlands on February 7, 1863.
2) Plimsoll Day (1824): February 10
Champion: Historical Anniversary
Plimsoll Day marks the birth of Samusailors'oll in 1824. Plimsoll was an advocate for sailors' safety. His work created Plimsoll's bill, which ended the practice of overloading ships, a hazard that increased the danger of capsizing and impeded the ability to navigate vessels safely. The bill passed in 1876, resulting in the institution of the Plimsoll Line, the mark you see on cargo ships indicating the weight displacement point when the line hits the water, that the vessel has reached its full capacity.
3) Be Electrific Day (1847): February 11
Champion: Historical Anniversary
Honoring the birth of Thomas Alva Edison and his contributions to our civilization. Edison invented the light bulb, phonograph, movie projector, and hundreds of other products we use daily.
4) International Darwin Day (1809): February 12
Champion: Historical Anniversary
Honoring the birth of Dr. Charles Robert Darwin, the thought leader in evolutionary biology. Darwin was born on February 12, 1809, in Shropshire, United Kingdom. He passed away on April 19, 1882, at 73.
5) Plum Pudding Day (1897): February 12
Champion: Historical Anniversary
Plum Pudding Day marks the anniversary of the creation of the model of the atom in 1897 by physicist JJ Thomson. Its resemblance to plum pudding is how people described it and remembered the model.
6) World Radio Day (1946): February 13
Champion: UNESCO
World Radio Day celebrates the audio medium. The day marks the anniversary of the establishment of United Nations Radio, February 13, 1946. Its purpose is to improve international cooperation between broadcasters, encourage major networks and community radio alike, to promote access to information, freedom of expression, and gender equality over the airwaves.
7) Ferris Wheel Day (1859): February 14
Champion: Historical Anniversary
Ferris Wheel Day honors George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., the inventor of the Ferris Wheel. Ferris was born on February 14, 1859. The first Ferris Wheel, built at the cost of $400,000, premiered at the Chicago Columbian Exhibition in 1893, just three years before his death. The first Ferris wheel carried over 2.5 million people during its lifetime, grossing US $1.25 million in sales over its 13-year history. It was demolished in 1906.
8) Kyoto Protocol Day (2005): February 16
Champion: United Nations
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It was created on December 11, 1997. It commits its parties to reduce energy, waste, and pollution by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets. Today is the anniversary of the day it became active, February 16, 2005.
The image for this event is taken from my room at the Taj Palace Hotel in the diplomatic quarter of New Delhi, India. You can see the window reflection in the photo. The hotel has, bar none, one of the most wonderful hotel staff I've ever encountered anywhere in the world. Phenomenal. The air, except in Hong Kong, is the worst pollution I have ever experienced. This picture was taken in July, at the height of summer humidity. The temperature is about 39C or 103F. It is around 1 PM, mid-day. No clouds. Clear skies...not a bit of blue to be seen. The city is choking.
9) Battery Day: February 18
Champion: Historical Anniversary
February 18, 1745, Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta was born in Como, Lombardy, Italy. Volta's contribution to life, the humble battery, impacts everything from cars to iPads. The Italian physicist developed the voltaic pile, the predecessor of the electric battery. The measurement units' volt’ and ‘voltage’ are named for him.
10) Pluto Discovered (1930): February 18
Champion: Historical Anniversary
Pluto was discovered on February 18, 1930. Percival Lowell inspired the search for it; a man ridiculed for his belief in Martians. He got the last laugh.
11) Diesel Engine Day (1893): February 23
Champion: Historical Anniversary
On February 23, 1893, Rudolph Diesel received a patent for the diesel engine. Born in Paris to Bavarian parents, Diesel created the first engine to use fuel oil rather than water or gasoline. It took him two years to further improve his engine, which ultimately surpassed the steam engine in efficiency.
12) Revolving Pistol Day (1836): February 25
Champion: Historical Anniversary
Revolving Pistol Day marks the anniversary of the patent of the Colt Revolver, February 25, 1836. This changed guns and warfare forever. Before the Colt Revolver, guns had to shoot and reload. Shoot and reload. The Colt Revolver changed everything, allowing a handgun to fire five to six rounds, in quick succession, without needing to be reloaded.
13) National Science Day, (IN)(1928): February 28
Champion: Government of India
In 1986 the government of India designated February 28 as National Science Day to celebrate Sir CV Raman’s 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for the Raman Effect.
The Raman Effect was announced on February 28, 1928; it describes how photons scatter based on the type of material used in dispersing them. This translates to a higher or lower energy use depending upon the material. It is a process used by chemists and physicists to analyze various materials. The method and tools used are called Raman Spectroscopy.
14) Canned Food Month (1809): February
Champion: Historical Anniversary
Canned Food Month celebrates the invention of the process for preserving foods in cans was invented in February 1809. Before cans, glass, pottery, and other materials were used with limited effect. Such materials were difficult to transport, broke if frozen, or they failed to prevent food spoilage. The tin can, now quite familiar, was a revolution in food responsible for preventing many food-borne diseases that were once commonplace.
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Another 11 events, not tied to anniversaries, focus on science, engineering, and technology, and I'll cover those in the next issue.
Interesting trivia fact, if you're a fan of Charlton Heston in the 1970s cult classic, "Soylent Green"; that film takes place in 2022. Fortunately, our diets do not match the screenwriters' vision, but some of the other predictions, based on the environment, appear to be coming true.
And no, that is not a good thing.