Good morning! It's The Nerd's Almanac for Saturday, August 27, 2011.
It was on this date in 1859 that oil was discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania -- and not only was an industry born, but our whole modern way of life was enabled.
And only four score years later, on this date in 1939, the Heinkel He 178 became the world's first jet aircraft. And it ran on diesel fuel.
I'm willing to bet that NASA was using something a little more powerful when they launched Mariner 2 on this date in 1962. This unmanned probe was on a mission to explore the planet Venus.
And finally this petroleum-free item: on this date in 2003, the planet Mars approached Earth more closely than it had done in some 60,000 years. If you missed it, don't worry -- it will be that close again in only 276 years.
I didn't find any particularly nerdy birthdays for today, so if you know of any, send them along! Our address is nerdsalmanac (all one word) at gmail (dot) com.
Here is a quote for today...
"If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must also leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with it."
-- Lyndon Johnson, 36th President of the United States -- born on this date in 1908.
And that's the almanac for today. Nerds of the world, we salute you!
Sources:
Wikipedia: August 27
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