Cheers to the Three Day Weekend (I'll drink to that)

Happy Presidents day tomorrow everyone. It should be a good one since most people are off of work. If only my college would get the memo. Most people do not know that President's day is more about our first president than any others. Washington's birthday is tomorrow, congratulations George. Today, the tradition for President's day is more of a shopping extravaganza, with many sales being held. Either way. Happy president's day.

Gustav

Asa Gray

Whenever you think about a famous scientist or you hear the word scientist who do you picture? Newton? Galileo? Darwin? Einstein? Maxwell? Hawking? I'm sure you probably are thinking about at least one of these esteemed folks (tell me who I missed in the comments). What are their nationalities? English. Italian. English. German. Scottish. And English. Not a single American. Its odd, but not if you think about it. America has been around for only a few centuries. Yet not one brand name American scientist. But I do beleive that there is one you should know of. One that was a prominent figure. Asa Gray. Gray was an American botanist and a man who improved science in America more than any one else in the early 19th century. A little known fact is that Gray was instrumental is Darwin's Origin of Species. Darwin wrote many letters to Gray asking about plants and botanical patterns. Darwin respected Gray's scientific prowess a lot and Gray helped shape the mind of Darwin. Gray was the center of debate involving evolution in America in 1859, yet most have probably never heard his name.

-Gustav

Alchemy

To fulfill some of my non-engineering undergraduate degree requirements, I must take so many history credits, which is fine by me. This semester I'm taking a class called History of Science in America, which by America it means the United States, not North and South America, a distinction that is all to often overlooked. Anyway, the first day or so we spent an extensive amount of time establishing the events that lead up to the real emergence of Western Science, including alchemy. Now alchemy is pretty cool if you ask me, its like chemistry without understanding the principles, which is where I would be at if I was an alchemist. It wasn't a science, more of a guided trial and error that focused on polishing off their recipes. Much of it was based on unproven assumptions and theories which doesn't constitute science. Remember, a lot of people died from the quote unquote wisdom of ancient alchemists. One good example is Huangdi, the first emperor of China who died after drinking a supposed elixir of life tainted with mercury. Alchemy was chaotic and mostly trial and error, which is not good science or science at all.

-Gustav

Bathroom Book

I've done it! At last, I've found a good bathroom book whose substance is history! Too often I am at a friend or family's house and in the bathroom I see a rack or a basket with a carefully placed bathroom reader/book. As much as I love reading pointless and random stories, I always have wanted something more. Its a book called Stupid History by Leland Gregory. This little gem is chuck full of short, interesting, stupid history stories. And by stupid, the author means things that inconsequentially affected history, or things that happened because of an odd circumstance. The good history stories are still here folks. The book is a good read, and should definitely be in your bathroom.

-Gustav

Adding to Your Library

Hello all, please excuse me from my brief absence from consistent blogging over the holidays, they have been one of the busiest in memory for me and my family. I picked up some new books for myself over Christmas, and my brother-in-law got me a Barnes and Nobles gift card which gave me another perfect excuse to buy some new books. I picked up two books by Stephen Hawking and the theories regarding the origin of the universe, a complete guide to the Roman Empire, a couple WW2 books, and a history of cryptology book. Anyway, if you are looking to expand your library and pick up some good quality books for a lowish price, check out the Bargain Books at Barnes and Nobles. They have a few sections called Bargain Books and thats where I usually exclusively buy from these days. Now, after the holiday season you will find even more deals and bargains than usual, which makes it a great time to expand your library and stock up on some history reading material!

Happy New Year!
-Gustav