Monthly Archives: March 2017

The price has gone up a little

The use of oil is mentioned in the Bible as a product for waterproofing. Before 1859 the chief source of il was whales and the main use was for oil lamps. The first oil well was in 1859 in Pennsylvania and was 0 feet deep. They pumped 35 barrels a day for a price of $20 a barrel. In 1901 an oil well in Spindeltop Texas at 100 feet deep sent a gusher 175 feet into the air. It was able to produce 100,000 barrels a day. With all the other oil wells now in existence the price fell to $.03 a barrel.

(The Great Courses – The Industrial Revolution)

Two classic stories from one volcano

In 1815 the volcano Mount Tambora in Indonesia exploded which created a cloud of ash responsible for that year being called the ‘year without a summer’. In that year Lord Byron invited the poet Percy Bysshe Shelly and his wife to his estate. The weather was too cold to go outdoors so Lord Byron suggested each guest make up a ghost story to read in the evening. Mary Shelly came up with the first draft of Frankenstein which is considered to be the first science fiction story. Another guest at that same wrote a story called ‘The Vampyre’ which is considered the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s novel ‘Dracula’.

(The Great Courses – How Great Science Fiction Works)

Editor and writer

John W. Campbell is known for being the influential editor of ‘Astounding’ magazine in the 1930’s which was the premiere science fiction publication at the time. But Campbell is also known for writing the short story ‘Who Goes There’ which is the inspiration for the classic sci-fi movie ‘The Thing From Another World’ and all the remakes that were made.

(The Great Courses – How Great Science Fiction Works)

An alternative always shows up

Making iron in England in the 1500’s and 1600’s required iron ore and blast furnaces. It took about 10 acres of forest to produce one ton of iron ore. By the early 1700’s England so so deforested that it was thought that they would no longer be able to produce iron. Just at that time a breakthrough occurred to produce iron by burning coke and the iron industry took off.

(The Great Courses – The Industrial Revolution)