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Smart News / Smart News Ideas & Innovations

Emmy Noether, mathematical genius

Mathematician Emmy Noether Should Be Your Hero

She revolutionized mathematics, and then was forgotten because she was a woman

Adolphe Sax made this alto saxophone in 1857, long after he had switched to brass. The sax is still a woodwind instrument, though.

The First Saxophone Was Made of Wood

The instrument was invented by–you guessed it–Adolphe Sax

A new VR game puts you inside a James Joyce novel.

Cool Finds

This Game Turns James Joyce’s Most Notorious Novel Into Virtual Reality

But will it make you want to finish Ulysses?

You know what he looks like, but you probably don't know his actual last name.

Chef Boyardee Was A Real Person

What’s more: Hector Boiardi was a respected chef who even helped cater Woodrow Wilson’s second wedding

This grapefruit-sized object is Vanguard TV-3, an exact replica of Vanguard 1 that failed to launch into orbit. It's now on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

The World’s First Solar-Powered Satellite is Still Up There After More Than 60 Years

This tiny grapefruit-sized satellite will still be up there well into the 2100s if we don’t take it down

Joseph Lister's work was influenced by Louis Pasteur's work on fermentation.

The Idea of Surgeons Washing Their Hands is Only 154 Years Old

The world of surgery before that was much grosser and less effective

Reddi-wip's aerosol canisters are a symbol of mid-century convenience culture.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This Patent Was the Hallmark of an Aerosol Whip Cream Empire

Aaron “Bunny” Lapin had already made Reddi-Wip a national concern when he finally received the patent for the aerosolizing whip cream nozzle

As part of his survival plan, Watney uses vacuum-packed potatoes to start his own farm on Mars.

Scientists Successfully Grow Potatoes in Mars-Like Soils

Can potatoes grow on the red planet? The International Potato Center is on the case

Bernard Fantus coined the term "blood bank" (and opened the world's first) in 1937.

The First-Ever Blood Bank Opened 80 Years Ago Today

Its inventor also coined the term “blood bank”

This 230-foot-tall antenna helped NASA locate a long-lost spacecraft.

Cool Finds

NASA Spots India’s Long-Lost Lunar Orbiter

Chandrayaan-1 had been missing for eight years

Happy Pi Day! And happy wedding day to all the couples getting hitched

Getting Married on Pi Day is a Thing

Unfortunately, there are indications that couples who get married on special dates might not have the same chance of succeeding

These two diagrams appear in Chester Greenwood's patent for hinged earmuffs.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

The Teenager Who Patented Earmuffs Kept His Town Employed for 60 Years

Chester Greenwood became an earmuff tycoon whose factory kept his hometown in business

Take in the spectacular view with a new VR simulation of the International Space Station.

Virtual Travel

Take a Virtual Trip to the International Space Station

New VR simulation turns you into an orbiting astronaut

Sylvia Townsend Warner, the author whose first book was chosen as the first Book of the Month selection in 1926, was openly involved in relationships with both men and women, a fact that scandalized readers.

Don’t Judge the Book-of-the-Month Club By Its Cover

Although today you might associate its name with staid offerings, the club’s first book was by an openly queer author

Daylight saving time, which has a history dating back to Benjamin Franklin, starts this Sunday.

During (and After) WWII, Some States Had Year-Round Daylight Saving Time

A 1963 ‘Time Magazine’ article called it “a chaos of time”

This Berlin man will soon have access to 13 bike superhighways.

Cool Finds

Germans Invented the Autobahn. Now They’re Building a Superhighway for Bikes

A cyclist’s dream will soon be reality in Berlin

The story of how DNA's structure was discovered is a typical scientific story of generations of research building on one another.

Here Are All The Discoveries That Had To Happen Before Two Scientists Could Find DNA’s Structure

Watson and Crick weren’t the only ones working on the problems of humanity’s genes, by a long shot

Long before sugary breakfast cereals were a normal morning fare, there was Granula.

The First Breakfast Cereal, Granula, Had to Be Soaked Before Being Eaten

Invented by a doctor and health reformer, the brittle cakes were not an instant success

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. This photo was taken in 1969.

Happy Birthday to the First Woman in Space

She spent almost three days in space on her first flight

Pound cake is generally made in a loaf pan (as above) or a Bundt pan (that's the one with the hole in the middle.)

A Pound Cake Was Originally Made With Four Pounds of Ingredients

Most Americans today don’t bake using pounds and ounces, but cups and teaspoons

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