Part 8: Ten Facts About the Invention of the Telescope, Radio, and Artificial Heating

     Hello everybody and welcome back to another edition of my 300 Fast Facts series. Today, I'll be taking a look at three different inventions, the telescope, the radio, and artificial heating. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's dive straight into it!

     The Telescope:

1. The telescope is thought to have been invented by a man named Hans Lippershey in 1608.
2. An old legend dictates that the telescope was actually invented by children playing with lenses in a spectacle-making shop.
3. Early telescopes were used by merchants to spot approaching trade ships in hopes of beating out competitors. 
4. Galileo was the first to use the telescope to look at the stars and planets.
5. Almost all observatories have to built on a mountaintop; otherwise, they won't function properly. 
6. This is due to the fact that the Irish built a huge telescope observatory in 1845, but wet weather kept it shut down almost all the time.
7. NASA launched the Hubble Telescope seven years late and $2 billion over budget. 
8. The Hooke Telescope proved that other galaxies existed, making it the most important telescopes of its time.
9. In the 1960s physicist, Raymond Davis Jr. used 100,000 gallons of dry-cleaning fluid to detect invisible neutrino particles as they stream in from the sun, making it one of the most bizarre telescopes.
10. It worked, and he earned a Nobel Prize for his contributions.

     Source(s): https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-telescopes

     The Radio:

1. Early developments in radio were called "wireless telegraphy".
2. Guglielmo Marconi made the first successful transatlantic transmission of radio waves in 1901 and 1902.
3. The word "broadcasting" originally used to mean the scattering of seeds.
4. In 1903, Marconi allowed President Roosevelt to send a message to Edward VII.
5. Other people claimed to have invented radio transmissions, such as Nikola Tesla, Oliver Lodge, and Heinrich Hertz.
6. From 1922 to 1971, you had to have a license to listen to the radio in the UK.
7. Marconi won a Nobel Prize for his invention.
8. 247 million people still listen to the radio every week.
9. Radio is the only form of information broadcast that hasn't declined over the years.
10. The audience for radio is still growing.

     Source(s): https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/top10facts/472231/Top-10-facts-about-radio

     http://www.radiomatters.org/index.php/2018/09/10/5-facts-and-radio/

     Artificial Heating:

1. The first form of central heating dates back to Roman times, where a system called a hypocaust was maintained. A furnace was located in the ground, and the hot air would waft up to the living levels.
2. Hypocausts were very difficult to maintain, so only the wealthiest Romans could afford one.
3. The Romans also invented heated floors.
4. The modern radiator was invented by Franz San-Gilli in the 1850s, although there is some controversy surrounding the fact if it really was him.
5. The name "radiator" is a misnomer. The machine doesn't radiate heat, it "convects" it, meaning that it moves hot and cold air around the room.
6. Old radiators were made out of cast iron and weighed 490 pounds per square foot.
7. The first water heater wasn't invented for human use, but for chickens!
8. Natural gas is odorless and colorless, but the gas companies add a chemical to make it easy to detect.
9. There are 300,000 miles of natural gas pipelines in the United States alone. 
10. Philadelphia Gas Works was the first government-owned gas company.

     Sources: https://www.designerradiatorsdirect.co.uk/blog/six-interesting-facts-about-radiators-yep-we-did-say-interesting/

     https://3thermo.uk/uncategorized/heating-facts/

     https://www.oliverheatcool.com/about/blog/news-for-homeowners/10-fun-facts-about-heating/