Stories of Hope
- Thread starter dr_bates
- Start date
Geneva Convention
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162 years ago today, the businessman and activist Henry Dunant, a Swiss public health society commissioner Théodore Maunoir, lawyer and civic leader Gustave Moynier, field surgeon Louis Appia, and Swiss General Guillaume-Henri Dufour, came together in Geneva to form an “International Committee for Relief of Wounded in the event of War.” That year they organized the earliest summits that would come to be known as simply the Geneva Convention, which laid out rules for how to treat combatants and civilians in war.
Now if we can learn to avoid war in the first place.
162 years ago today, the businessman and activist Henry Dunant, a Swiss public health society commissioner Théodore Maunoir, lawyer and civic leader Gustave Moynier, field surgeon Louis Appia, and Swiss General Guillaume-Henri Dufour, came together in Geneva to form an “International Committee for Relief of Wounded in the event of War.” That year they organized the earliest summits that would come to be known as simply the Geneva Convention, which laid out rules for how to treat combatants and civilians in war.
Now if we can learn to avoid war in the first place.
Happy 53rd Birthday to guitarist and singer Billie Joe Armstrong who co-founded Green Day, the band whose anti-war album, American Idiot, won a Grammy and six other music awards.
He wrote his first song when he was five years old and met his future bandmate in the lunch room of his elementary school, a partner with whom he later achieved massive commercial success.
Checkmate
29 years ago today, Russian chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov completed his defeat of the IBM supercomputer ‘Deep Blue’ in a six-game chess match.
Kasparov had been the youngest-ever World Chess Champion in 1985 at the age of 22, a title he held for 15 years (another record). From 1984 until his retirement in 2005, Kasparov was ranked No.1 in the world—for 255 months overall, with a peak rating of 2851.
Considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time, Kasparov is also the author of How Life Imitates Chess, and other books.
He’s an outspoken activist for democracy and fair elections. Living in New York City and currently Chairman for the Human Rights Foundation, in 2017, he founded the Renew Democracy Initiative, an American political group promoting and defending liberal democracy worldwide.
![1739801672273.jpeg]( "1739801672273.jpeg")
29 years ago today, Russian chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov completed his defeat of the IBM supercomputer ‘Deep Blue’ in a six-game chess match.
Kasparov had been the youngest-ever World Chess Champion in 1985 at the age of 22, a title he held for 15 years (another record). From 1984 until his retirement in 2005, Kasparov was ranked No.1 in the world—for 255 months overall, with a peak rating of 2851.
Considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time, Kasparov is also the author of How Life Imitates Chess, and other books.
He’s an outspoken activist for democracy and fair elections. Living in New York City and currently Chairman for the Human Rights Foundation, in 2017, he founded the Renew Democracy Initiative, an American political group promoting and defending liberal democracy worldwide.
It was on this day in 1885 (140 years ago) Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first published.
It is a scathing satire on entrenched attitudes, particularly racism, and was among the first novels in major American literature to be written fully in regional vernacular English, which made it controversial, especially in the 20th century, because of its course language and use of racial slurs.
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
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56 years ago today, the children’s show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood debuted on public television. Created by Fred Rogers, a Presbyterian minister who was displeased with the way television addressed children, the show was produced at WQED-TV in Pittsburgh with new episodes every weekday on PBS for 33 years.
Mr. Rogers, who projected a kind-hearted, grandfatherly personality, not only hosted and wrote the show, but as a musician composed the music. Rogers (1928-2003) was the recipient of 2 Peabody Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and 4 Emmy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Even today, a number of PBS stations in America choose to continue airing the syndicated reruns, many of which taught children that feelings are ‘mentionable and manageable’. Full episodes can be viewed on YouTube, you can read books written by Rogers… and you can see Tom Hanks playing Fred Rogers in the film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.
56 years ago today, the children’s show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood debuted on public television. Created by Fred Rogers, a Presbyterian minister who was displeased with the way television addressed children, the show was produced at WQED-TV in Pittsburgh with new episodes every weekday on PBS for 33 years.
Mr. Rogers, who projected a kind-hearted, grandfatherly personality, not only hosted and wrote the show, but as a musician composed the music. Rogers (1928-2003) was the recipient of 2 Peabody Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and 4 Emmy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Even today, a number of PBS stations in America choose to continue airing the syndicated reruns, many of which taught children that feelings are ‘mentionable and manageable’. Full episodes can be viewed on YouTube, you can read books written by Rogers… and you can see Tom Hanks playing Fred Rogers in the film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.
Aluminum
Alum, as aluminum was called in the Middle Ages, was rare, but highly valued. The Ottoman Empire placed huge export taxes on its sale, and when large stores were discovered in Italy, they were described as “the death of the Turk,” and the Pope himself forbade its importation from the Ottomans in order to start a trade war. Dozens of prominent chemists over the years attempted to synthesize it and failed, until 300 years after it was established as a metal, Friedrich Wöhler managed to isolate it in a relatively pure form, albeit at double the cost per ounce of gold. Napoleon craved it for weaponry, and gave his most distinguished guests aluminum utensils instead of gold ones.
In a Roman era tale, the Emperor threw a metal cup to floor because it wasn't gold. Seeing the cup didn't break and could easily be returned to form with a hammer, the Emperor was eager to find the maker. The smith, who made the cup, was pleased to report that he alone knew how to produce the material. The Emperor ordered his execution so as not to diminish the price of gold.
139 years ago today, an American inventor used electrolysis to extract aluminum from aluminum oxide, a process that eventually resulted in reducing the price of aluminum by a factor of 200, making it affordable for many practical uses from soda cans to the Wright Flyer.
Today, more aluminum is produced than all other non-ferrous metals combined. The process was discovered by Charles Martin Hall.
![1740358379580.jpeg]( "1740358379580.jpeg")
Alum, as aluminum was called in the Middle Ages, was rare, but highly valued. The Ottoman Empire placed huge export taxes on its sale, and when large stores were discovered in Italy, they were described as “the death of the Turk,” and the Pope himself forbade its importation from the Ottomans in order to start a trade war. Dozens of prominent chemists over the years attempted to synthesize it and failed, until 300 years after it was established as a metal, Friedrich Wöhler managed to isolate it in a relatively pure form, albeit at double the cost per ounce of gold. Napoleon craved it for weaponry, and gave his most distinguished guests aluminum utensils instead of gold ones.
In a Roman era tale, the Emperor threw a metal cup to floor because it wasn't gold. Seeing the cup didn't break and could easily be returned to form with a hammer, the Emperor was eager to find the maker. The smith, who made the cup, was pleased to report that he alone knew how to produce the material. The Emperor ordered his execution so as not to diminish the price of gold.
139 years ago today, an American inventor used electrolysis to extract aluminum from aluminum oxide, a process that eventually resulted in reducing the price of aluminum by a factor of 200, making it affordable for many practical uses from soda cans to the Wright Flyer.
Today, more aluminum is produced than all other non-ferrous metals combined. The process was discovered by Charles Martin Hall.
Always New Things
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For the first time in fifty years a new species was discovered in a US national park. It the devil-horned sunflower.
There are always new things to discover.
For more:
'Devil'-like flower with 'horns' found in Texas is new species: Its location is secret
For the first time in fifty years a new species was discovered in a US national park. It the devil-horned sunflower.
There are always new things to discover.
For more:
'Devil'-like flower with 'horns' found in Texas is new species: Its location is secret
