Brain cells need exercise, too. That’s why I am searching for little-known facts today. Facts. Yes. No spin, no hedging on the truth. Just the facts, please!
Here’s one for you. True or false: The space suit was invented for use in space. Truth or false?
Sometimes accidents can lead to avenues that point in other directions that end up nowhere near original intentions. We all know the story of Post-it™ notes and Wite-Out®. I have one of my own:
Some time ago I had some problem with my blood pressure. Problem, heck, it was a major disaster. A matter of heredity, not necessarily lifestyle, I was stuck in the 200/90 range. Dizzy and unhappy, but at a loss as to what to do. My physician wouldn’t let me give up, but I was ready to.
Until the price of gas 'accidentally on purpose' shot up to more than $4 a gallon. I have a 100-mile commute every day. I was forced to consider other means to get to work. I decided to try one day of riding my bicycle and using Cal Train and VTA LIght Rail in San Jose. There's a rate calculator on the train's Web site that lets you see how much
money you can save with the train.
The first day took me two hours, primarily because I did not know how to use VTA Light Rail The powers that be still do not coordinate the schedule with the ACE or Cal-Train commuter trains so it sometimes takes just as long to get from San Jose Diridon Station to the
club at Camden and Kooser, as it does to get from San Francisco to San Jose.)
I became very involved in the commute and after a while, resent having to point my hybrid down 280, but that’s another story. I meet people from Apple, Google, Twitter, Adobe in the bike car on the train and get free advice all the time. My blood pressure has become manageable, down to a healthy 120/80 on many days. I still take medicine, but now it’s working because I am working it. I don’t particularly care how the oil companies manipulate the price of gas, except from a political standpoint, which I have to monitor as it still makes me steam!
Bottom line: My blood pressure has a new bottom. As does my shape. I have new friends. My car has low mileage. All because of a set of circumstances that seemed impossible to overcome.
Just as the invention of the first space suit. Invented by
Siegfried Hansen for some friends of his at Litton Industries. The patent holder on an automatic hot dog roaster, stereo binoculars and a clock that spit out punch cards to remind him of tasks, “Sig” was looking for a way to test vacuum tubes for advanced electronics. He wanted to test the vacuum inside an actual tube, but needed a ‘suit’ that would let him breathe in a vacuum. The oversize tube was built. Sig developed the suit and voila, it worked. The Air Force heard about Sig’s uniform and adopted it for their new space program. Now, 50 years later, not much has changed from Sig’s original design.
Invent something today. Use an accident if you have to. ,