Did You Know: Before the Peterson Field Guides

Did you know that before the Peterson Field Guides, it was common practice to kill a bird so that the specimen could be identified? After identification, the "skins" of the birds were preserved with arsenic. Some of the skins exist today. In fact, you can see many of them at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI) in Jamestown, New York.

Peterson grew up in Jamestown, NY. Located near Lake Erie, equidistant from Buffalo and Erie, NY, Jamestown was a perfect tangle of fields and forests for a boy as indifferent to formal education as Peterson. He roamed and explored on his own, satisfying his curiosity about all sorts of plants and animals. The only problem was that he couldn't get close enough to make an identification of the birds he saw.

That wasn't the most pressing issue on his mind. At least not until the day he reached out to touch what he thought was a dead woodpecker. Rather than yield to his touch, it flung its wings wide, revealing brilliant color and igniting what became Peterson's lifelong fascination with birds of every type.

An avid artist, Peterson sketched birds and noted the markings he could see from a distance. These would become known as field marks and their use in the books Peterson wrote would result in birders being able to identify birds without having to kill them. The result was a deeper interest and appreciation of birds and nature by the average American as well as a large step forward in the conservation movement.

The first Peterson Guide was published in 1934. Today there are Peterson Guides for all sorts of animals and plants. Each of them is designed for quick identification by an amateur at a distance. In solving the problem of identification, Peterson came up with a solution that changed the way people around the world interact with nature to this day.

Did You Know: Standardized Fire Hose Couplings

Did you know that one of the first things to be standardized in the US was --- the diameter of hose couplings for fire hoses? I know. Who knows, let alone cares about that sort of detail? None other than yours truly. Since I'm certain you now also want to know the scoop, I'll fill you in.

The Port of Baltimore (in Maryland) was founded as a tobacco port in 1706. It played a part in the Revolution and the War of 1812. While in Baltimore Francis Scott Key wrote a poem, The Star Spangled Banner, about a battle held at Fort McHenry. It went on to be set to music and become our National Anthem. Baltimore was also a port of significance during the Civil War.

Being such an old city, Baltimore has been the site of countless technological innovations. Among the most impressive is the standardization of the fire hose coupling. In 1904, a massive fire decimated over 1500 buildings in Baltimore in the course of 30 hours. Engine companies from up and down the coast made their way to Baltimore to help. When they arrived, they were unable to connect their hoses to the water supplies and tankers. They had no choice but to stand by and watch the city burn.



As a result, a move was made to standardize hose couplings so that all fire companies could work together. Some variances remain but the bulk of the couplings are made to spec, allowing fire companies today to respond and do more than watch helplessly.

Did You Know...

Did you know that William Froude was the 19th English civil engineer and visionary who proved that the results of tests run on scale models would be applicable to full-sized vessels of the same design?