My Science School

When Gustave Eiffel’s company built Paris’ most recognizable monument for the 1889 World’s Fair, many regarded the massive iron structure with skepticism. Today, the Eiffel Tower, which continues to serve an important role in television and radio broadcasts, is considered an architectural wonder and attracts more visitors than any other paid tourist attraction in the world.

In 1889, Paris hosted an Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) to mark the 100-year anniversary of the French Revolution. More than 100 artists submitted competing plans for a monument to be built on the Champ-de-Mars, located in central Paris, and serve as the exposition’s entrance. The commission was granted to Eiffel et Compagnie, a consulting and construction firm owned by the acclaimed bridge builder, architect and metals expert Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. While Eiffel himself often receives full credit for the monument that bears his name, it was one of his employees—a structural engineer named Maurice Koechlin—who came up with and fine-tuned the concept. Several years earlier, the pair had collaborated on the Statue of Liberty’s metal armature.

Eiffel reportedly rejected Koechlin’s original plan for the tower, instructing him to add more ornate flourishes. The final design called for more than 18,000 pieces of puddle iron, a type of wrought iron used in construction, and 2.5 million rivets. Several hundred workers spent two years assembling the framework of the iconic lattice tower, which at its inauguration in March 1889 stood nearly 1,000 feet high and was the tallest structure in the world—a distinction it held until the completion of New York City’s Chrysler Building in 1930. (In 1957, an antenna was added that increased the structure’s height by 65 feet, making it taller than the Chrysler Building but not the Empire State Building, which had surpassed its neighbor in 1931.) Initially, only the Eiffel Tower’s second-floor platform was open to the public; later, all three levels, two of which now feature restaurants, would be reachable by stairway or one of eight elevators.

Millions of visitors during and after the World’s Fair marveled at Paris’ newly erected architectural wonder. Not all of the city’s inhabitants were as enthusiastic, however: Many Parisians either feared it was structurally unsound or considered it an eyesore. The novelist Guy de Maupassant, for example, allegedly hated the tower so much that he often ate lunch in the restaurant at its base, the only vantage point from which he could completely avoid glimpsing its looming silhouette.

Credit : History 

Picture Credit : Google

The bar was hardly the only sweet in the D-Day rations. Sugar was an easy way to pep up the troops, and the quick burst of energy it provided made a welcome addition to kit bags. Along with the D rations, troops received three days worth of K ration packs. These were devised more as meal replacements and not sustenance snacks like the D rations, and came complete with coffee, canned meats, processed cheese and tons of sugar. At various points during the war, men could find powdered orange or lemon drink, caramels, chewing gum and—of course—more chocolate. 

In addition to chocolate, Hershey also produced parts for naval anti-aircraft guns. And the company wasn't the only food titan of the era that joined the nationwide effort to support American troops. Heinz created self-heating cans that could be lit with a cigarette, Kellogg’s supplied K-Rations for soldiers' breakfasts.

Credit :  History 

Picture Credit : Google

Tradition tells of a chime that changed the world on July 8, 1776, with the Liberty Bell ringing out from the tower of Independence Hall summoning the citizens of Philadelphia to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.

The Pennsylvania Assembly ordered the Bell in 1751 to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges, Pennsylvania's original Constitution. It speaks of the rights and freedoms valued by people the world over. Particularly forward thinking were Penn's ideas on religious freedom, his liberal stance on Native American rights, and his inclusion of citizens in enacting laws.

The Liberty Bell gained iconic importance when abolitionists in their efforts to put an end to slavery throughout America adopted it as a symbol.

As the Bell was created to commemorate the golden anniversary of Penn's Charter, the quotation "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof," from Leviticus 25:10, was particularly apt. For the line in the Bible immediately preceding "proclaim liberty" is, "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year." What better way to pay homage to Penn and hallow the 50th year than with a bell proclaiming liberty?

Also inscribed on the Bell is the quotation, "By Order of the Assembly of the Province of Pensylvania for the State House in Philada." Note that the spelling of "Pennsylvania" was not at that time universally adopted. In fact, in the original Constitution, the name of the state is also spelled "Pensylvania." If you get a chance to visit the second floor of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, take a moment to look at the original maps on the wall. They, too, have the state name spelled "Pensylvania" (and the Atlantic Ocean called by the name of that day, "The Western Ocean"). The choice of the quotation was made by Quaker Isaac Norris, speaker of the Assembly.

Credit : US History 

Picture Credit : Google

On April 20, 2008, 26-year-old Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan, making her the first female winner in IndyCar racing history.

Danica Patrick was born on March 25, 1982, in Beloit, Wisconsin. She became involved in racing as a young girl and as a teenager moved to England in pursuit of better training opportunities. In 2002, after returning to the United States, she began driving for the Rahal Letterman Racing team, owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 champ Bobby Rahal and late-night talk-show host David Letterman. In 2005, Patrick started competing in IndyCar events, which include the famed Indianapolis 500 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana.

On May 29, 2005, Patrick made her Indy 500 debut, becoming just the fourth female driver ever to compete in the celebrated 500-mile race, which was first held in 1911 and today is considered one of auto racing’s premier events. (Driver Janet Guthrie first broke the gender barrier at the Indy 500 in 1977.) During Patrick’s inaugural Indy 500, she led the race for 19 laps, marking the first time a woman ever led a lap in the competition. In the end, the diminutive driver, who stands 5’2? and tips the scales at 100 pounds, finished the race in fourth place. She later earned Rookie of the Year honors for the Indy Racing League’s 2005 season and finished 12th in the overall standings.

During the 2006 season, Patrick finished in ninth place in the overall IndyCar standings, but didn’t win any major races. In 2007, she moved to the Andretti Green Racing team and finished the season seventh in the standings. On April 20, 2008, Patrick won the Indy Japan 300–her 50th IndyCar Series race–at Twin Ring Montegi, a 1.5-mile oval track, making her the first female winner of a major U.S.-sanctioned open-wheel race. She finished the 200-lap race 5.8594 seconds ahead of Helio Castroneves, then a two-time Indy 500 champ. At the 2009 Indy 500, Patrick came in third behind winner Castroneves and second-place finisher Dan Wheldon.

Credit : History

Picture Credit : Google

Just Dance 3 is a music video game released on the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 with Kinect and Move support respectively for the latter two. It is part of the Just Dance video game series published by Ubisoft originally on the Wii and the third main installment of the series. Just Dance 3 was announced shortly after the release of Just Dance 2 and was released on October 7, 2011 in North America and October 11, 2011 in Australia and Europe. Emiliana Torrini's song "Jungle Drum" was going to appear in the game, but it was later taken out for unknown reasons. Ubisoft released Just Dance 4 in October 2012.

Just Dance 3 received positive reviews from critics and is the best-selling third-party Wii game of all-time, with sales of 9.92 million.

Like its predecessors, up to four players can play to mirror on-screen dance choreography from over 40 songs, as they are judged on their ability to follow a dance routine to a chosen song. Along with solo and duet modes, Just Dance 3 features a Dance Crew mode which allows 4 players to dance together, each with their own unique choreography, as well as playlists that group songs into different categories. Players can unlock gifts such as new songs, game modes, as well as Dance Mashups which combines different dance routines in this game and the second Just Dance game into one song. Returning features in the game include Non-Stop Shuffle, Speed Shuffle, and Just Sweat Mode.

The Wii and PlayStation 3 versions have a Hold My Hand dance mode, where up to 8 players can share 4 Wii Remotes or PlayStation Move controllers to dance. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions also have a karaoke feature that uses the PlayStation Eye's microphone and the Kinect's voice recognition function, respectively, to sing along to the lyrics on-screen. The 360 version also has a Just Create mode in which players can create their own routines with the Kinect. They can be saved, shared with their friends online and be played just like any other Just Dance routine.

The Xbox 360 version ran at 30fps and the Wii and PS3 versions ran at 60fps.

Picture Credit : Google

In the story of Angry Birds, the pigs are stuck on a small island, and they are hungry and in need of something to eat. So – like many of us would! – they decided to eat some eggs that they found. This made the birds angry. 

With over 50 million downloads and 200 million minutes of game play each day, Angry Birds and its sequel Angry Birds 2 by Rovio have become two of the most addictive and popular mobile games of their time. While most other games struggle to maintain their place in the increasing app market competition, the two games are still top grossing.

With Angry Birds, Rovio has produced some of the most impressive mobile growth statistics in the industry – $12 billion in revenue in 2012 and an estimated $50 billion in 2017. According to Rovio, their titles received over 3.7 billion downloads!

But it wasn’t just the launch of Angry Birds that made them successful. Since 79% of their revenue is tied to the Angry Birds brand, the company had to work on diversifying its titles to fuel their growth consistently in the market.

When the competitors started releasing freemium games that made money through in game purchases, Rovio experienced an operating loss and had to downsize in 2015. But the growth started with the release of the Angry birds movie and some other games that were launched with the freemium model.

The mobile app growth of Angry Birds didn’t stop with gaming revenues. The brand became so popular that Rovio was able to expand it into merchandising and even launch the Angry Birds movie in theatres.

Credit : Get Social

Picture Credit : Google

Bryant, a five-time NBA champion for the Lakers, was previously the cover athlete for NBA 2K10 and NBA 2K17. He will have his career and legacy celebrated in the Mamba Forever Edition of NBA 2K21 that will feature two custom covers and will be available on both current-generation and next-gen consoles.

The covers will honor the span of Bryant’s career, from his days wearing the No. 8 Lakers jersey to the night of his final NBA game at the Staples Center in 2016.

“NBA 2K21 is a monumental leap forward for the franchise,” stated Greg Thomas, president of visual concepts at 2K. “We’re combining all of our experience and development expertise to craft the best game possible and for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. We are building the game from the ground up to take full advantage of next-gen power and technology.”

There will be more announcements regarding 2K21 in the coming months, including first looks at new gameplay.

NBA 2K21 drops Sept. 4 on PS4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One and will become available on PS5 and Xbox Series X upon their holiday season launch.

Credit : The Hollywood Reporter

Picture Credit : Google