My Science School

Have you seen pictures of totem poles? They are large wooden poles that are beautifully carved with many symbols. The totem pole of the Red Indians, or American Indians, provided a means of communicating their stories, myths and legends. They were generally carved from giant trees, and were made up of an arrangement of symbols.The symbols on the totem pole told a story or recalled an event. These messages and stories tell us a lot about the Red Indians, their culture and their way of life. Some poles were erected to celebrate cultural beliefs; others were just an artistic presentation. Certain poles also contained graves within them. But whatever their purpose, totem poles with their huge size, subdued colours, and intricate carvings covered with magnificent symbols are both awesome and mysterious at the same time.

In America, the first newspaper appeared in Boston in 1690, entitled ‘public Occurrence’. But it was immediately suppressed, and all copies were destroyed. The first successful newspaper was the ‘Boston News Letter’, begun by postmaster John Campbell in 1704. But it had only a very limited circulation. By   the eve of the Revolutionary War, some two dozen papers were issued at all the colonies. Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania would remain the centres of American printing for many years.  By the war’s end in 1783, there were forty-three newspapers in print. The press played a vital role in the affairs of the new nation. Many more newspapers were started, representing all shades of political opinion.  The top five daily newspapers in the USA today are the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post. The total daily and Sunday papers amount to more than 2,300. This figure represents the highest number of newspapers, with the highest total circulation for any country in the world.

Every morning, without fail, the newspaper arrives at your home. But 400 years ago, there were no newspapers at all. During the Middle Ages in Europe, handwritten newsletters were circulated privately among merchants, passing along information about everything from wars and economic conditions to social customs and human interest The first printed forerunners of the newspaper appeared in Germany in the late 1400’s in the form of news pamphlets or broadsides. They often had highly sensational content. It was between 1605 and 1610 that publications with topical information began appearing on a fairly regular basis. These publications appeared first in Europe, and were the first true newspapers.  In the English – speaking world, the earliest predecessors of the newspaper were ‘corantos’, small news pamphlets produced only when some event worthy of notice occurred. The first successively published title was ‘The Weekly News’ of 1622.

A typewriter is a device that allows letters to be printed on a document when certain keys are pressed. Typewriter can be mechanical, electromechanical or electronic.   Like the light bulb and the telephone, the insights and inventions of a number of people eventually produced the first commercially successful typewriters. Henry Mill, Pellegrino Turri and William Austin Burt all experimented with different types of ‘writing machines’. But these writing machines were bulky, and much slower than writing by hand. Some of these typewriters were made of wood, some were made of wood and knives and some even looked like pin cushions!  The first typewriter to be commercially successful was invented in 1867 by Christopher Sholes, Carlos Glidden and Samuel W. Soule. However, they sold the patent for $12,000 to Dens more and Yost, who made an agreement with E. Remington and Sons, a manufacture of sewing machines. Remington started production of their first typewriter on March 1, 1873, in Ilion, New York. Another early typewriter manufacturer was Underwood. Typewriters have come a long way since then. The first electric typewriter was made in 1902. Electrical typewriter designs removed the direct mechanical connection between the keys and the element that struck the paper. IBM and Remington Rand electric typewriters were the leading models in the field. The final major development of the typewriter was the ‘electronic’ typewriter. It relied on integrated circuits and multiple electromechanical components. Today of course, the typewriter is being replaced by the computer.Did you know that the famous author Mark Twain enjoyed experimenting with new inventions, and that he was the first author to submit a typewritten manuscript to his publisher?

Shorthand is any system of rapid handwriting, which can be used to transcribe the spoken word. Shorthand, which has been used in England since the 16th century, has been used since Greek and Roman times. One of the most widely known forms of shorthand is the Pitman method, developed by Isaac Pitman in 1837. This system, gradually improved over time, has been adapted for many different languages. The system was very popular with secretaries, reporters and writers in the UK and USA, till the invention of pocket tape recorders, which   proved more useful for recording speech.   Another popular shorthand system   is that of Gregg’s shorthand system, developed by John Robert Gregg in 1888.