Showing posts with label Owens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Owens. Show all posts

February 26 - Lots of Arms and Very Hot Liquid?

     Posted on February 26, 2022


This is an update of my post published on February 26, 2011:




What has 6 to 20 arms and blows air into hot liquid?

Michael Joseph Owens's glass-blowing machine.

Glass blowing has been practiced since before the ancient Roman Empire, but Owens created a machine that could automatically make more than one bottle at a time. The machine cut loose the finished pieces, which were then carried by conveyor belt to the annealing oven, where they were slowly cooled. (Annealing helps to make glass stronger, less brittle.)


On this date in 1895, Owens received a patent for his invention. A later version of the machine could make four bottles per second. Altogether, Owens received more than 45 patents for glass-blowing apparatus.



Explore some more...


Check out glass blowing by hand on this video.


Here is a video that names the various tools used in hand glass blowing.

Here is a video of a factory making glass bottles. And here is another video with clear information about each step of machine-made glass containers.

 

Maybe there is a glass-blowing shop, class, or museum near you. If so, check it out!
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August 9 - Jesse Owens Wins a Fourth Gold Medal!!

 Posted on August 9, 2021


This is an update of my post published on August 9, 2010:




On this day in 1936, American Jesse Owens won a gold medal in 400-meter relay in the Olympic Games. This fourth gold joined three gold medals for individual performances in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and long jump.



These Olympics were being held in Hitler's Germany, shortly before World War II, and many people think that Owens and other Black athletes embarrassed Hitler by proving wrong his idea about the “Aryan” or “white race” being superior to all others. Hitler certainly hoped that Germany would dominate the medals.

The first day of the competition, Hitler only acknowledged German winners, shaking their hands and then leaving the stadium. The Olympics committee officials insisted that he had to greet every medalist—or none at all. Hitler chose the latter, and the skipped all medal presentations so he wouldn't have to shake hands with or otherwise acknowledge medalists like Owens.


Privately, Hitler was reported to have shrugged off Owens' successes by saying that he was “primitive” but stronger than “civilized whites.” Hitler went on to say that Black athletes should be banned from the Olympics.


But the German people didn't snub Jesse Owens. He was greeted by enthusiastic and cheering crowds, asked for his autograph, and put up in the same hotels as the white athletes. 

Sadly, Owens felt his treatment at home in the U.S. was worse than that in Nazi Germany! He reported that President F. D. Roosevelt snubbed him – not even sending him a telegram of congratulations – and he was often kept segregated from whites. For example, he was made to ride a freight elevator when being taken to a reception in his honor!

Yi-ikes!

Owens once said this: (And doesn't this just speak to a huge problem in the U.S.?)






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August 9, 2010


Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal – 1936


On this day in 1936, American Jesse Owens won a gold medal in 400-meter relay in the Olympic Games. This fourth gold joined three gold medals for individual performances in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and long jump.

These Olympics were being held in Hitler's Germany, shortly before World War II, and many people think that Owens and other black athletes embarrassed Hitler by proving wrong his idea about the “Aryan” or “white race” being superior to all others. Hitler certainly hoped that Germany would dominate the medals.

The first day of the competition, Hitler only acknowledged German winners, shaking their hands and then leaving the stadium. The Olympics committee officials insisted that he had to greet every medalist—or none at all. Hitler chose the latter, and the skipped all medal presentations so he wouldn't have to shake hands with or otherwise acknowledge medalists like Owens. Privately, Hitler was reported to have shrugged off Owens' successes since (Hitler said) Owens and other black people “came from the jungle” and were “primitive” but stronger than “civilized whites.” Hitler went on to say that blacks should be banned from the Olympics.

But Owens recalled Hitler waving to him and felt that Hitler hadn't snubbed him. Certainly the German people didn't snub him—Owens was greeted by enthusiastic and cheering crowds, asked for his autograph, and put up in the same hotels as the white athletes. When he came home to the U.S., Owens reported, F.D.R. snubbed him – not even sending him a telegram of congratulations – and he was often kept segregated from whites. For example, he was made to ride a freight elevator when being taken to a reception in his honor!


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