Scott Allsop's Blog, page 231

2nd February 1925: Great Race of Mercy delivers diptheria antitoxin to Nome by dogsled relay

A potential diphtheria epidemic in Alaska was avoided after a dogsled relay transported vials of antitoxin 674 miles in five and a half days in “Great Race of Mercy”. The town of Nome lies just 2 degrees south of the Arctic Circle and, at the time of the diphtheria outbreak, approximately 10,000 people lived in and around the town. The town’s sole doctor, Curtis Welch, had ordered diphtheria antitoxin to replace the expired stocks in the hospital, but the shipment did not make it to Nome befo...

31st January 1983: It became compulsory for drivers in the UK to wear a seat belt

The modern 3-point seat belt was created by Swedish inventor Nils Bohlin, who was a safety engineer for car manufacturer Volvo. His creation was first fitted as a standard item to the Volvo 122 in 1959, after which the company made the patent available to other car manufacturers for free. Australia was the first country to mandate the wearing of seat belts. While all British cars manufactured after 1967 had to have seat belts fitted, it took twelve attempts for legislation to be passed throug...

29th January 1942: Desert Island Discs, the longest-running radio show in the UK, first broadcast

Desert Island Discs is Britain’s longest-running radio programme. Devised by the English radio broadcaster and producer Roy Plomley in November 1941, each episode of Desert Island Discs features an interview with a celebrity who imagines that they have been cast away on a desert island with only a limited number of home comforts. In the early years they were permitted to choose eight songs to take with them, although a few years after the programme’s inception castaways were also allowed to t...

27th January 1967: The Outer Space Treaty that is the basis for all space laws opened for signatures

The Outer Space Treaty, which provides the basic framework on international space law, was opened for signatures in the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. The full name of the agreement is “Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies”. The document was drawn up by the Legal Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space that had been established by t...

25th January 1947: Patent filed for the first interactive electronic game

Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr was the director of research at DuMont Laboratories in New Jersey where he was exploring the use of cathode ray tubes in television sets. It was during this period that he and Estle Ray Mann created their game, which was directly influenced by Second World War radar displays. The two scientists combined a cathode ray tube with an oscilloscope to allow a player to simulate launching an explosive shell at enemy targets in what they called The Cathode Ray Tube Amusement De...

23rd January 1900: British troops launch a nighttime attack on Spion Kop in the Second Boer War

The Second Boer War saw the British Empire fight against the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. The early months of the war saw the Boers inflict successive defeats on the British. After they began a crippling siege against the British at Ladysmith, a plan was made to attack the Boers and relieve the garrison. The Boers had established a defensive line along the Tugela River approximately 20 miles outside Ladysmith. The centre of their l...

21st January 1983: First DeLorean sports car produced (famous as the ‘Back to the Future’ car)

The DeLorean DMC-12 sports car was later used as the time machine in Back to the Future. The DeLorean Motor Company was founded by engineer and automobile executive John DeLorean in 1975. The prototype DeLorean Safety Vehicle was completed in October 1976 with initial investment from celebrities including Johnny Carson and Sammy Davies Jr. Meanwhile DeLorean secured significant financial incentives from the Northern Ireland Development Agency to build the manufacturing plant in Dunmurry, a su...

19th January 1917: 73 people killed in the Silvertown munitions factory explosion in London

The Brunner Mond chemical factory had been built in 1893 to manufacture caustic soda and soda crystals. However, declining demand for caustic soda meant that production ceased in 1912 and parts of the factory stood idle. Due to a crippling shell shortage following the onset of the First World War, the War Office chose to use the spare capacity at the Silvertown site to purify TNT for explosive shells. The chief scientist at the factory described the purification process as “manifestly very da...

17th January 1944: Allies launch the Battle of Monte Cassino during the Second World War

The Battle of Monte Cassino began when Allied forces launched the first of four attacks against the Gustav Line in Italy. The Gustav Line, which together with the Bernhardt and Hitler lines formed a series of defences known as the Winter Line, had been established by the Germans and Italians to defend Rome from a northern advance by the Allies. The Allied forces had secured a foothold in Italy in Operation Avalanche the previous September, having first captured Sicily. By early January 1944 t...

7th January 1785: First aerial crossing of the English Channel completed in a hydrogen balloon

The first aerial crossing of the English Channel was conducted by Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries in a gas-filled balloon. Born to a peasant family in Normandy, Blanchard fled to Paris as a...