Before IBM: History of Typewriters and Adding Machines (Computers pt. 2)

Hate doing your taxes? So did Blaise Pascal. Have you ever wanted to throw your computer out the window? So did William Bouroughs. Do you hate when your friends badger you about details on your latest tech purchase? So did Mark Twain. Are you a working girl, rolling in that 9 to 5 office lifestyle? Meet your trailblazing ancestors, the "typewriter girls" of the of the early twentieth century. All of these people and more led to the creation of IBM, the tech giant whose logo is emblazed all over the modern office. In this episode of the Answer Archive, we look at the stories of the people and companies who invented modern data calculation and storage through adding machines and typewriters.

Sources:

Before the Computer: IBM, NCR, Burroughs, and Remington Rand and the industry they created, 1865-1956 by James W. Cortada

https://amzn.to/2YvrAe7

Computer: A History of the Information Machine by Martin-Campbell Kelly, William Aspray, Nathan Ensmenger, and Jeffrey R. Yost

https://amzn.to/2zlcbCN

A History of Computing Technology by Michael R. Williams

https://amzn.to/2B8QM0V

Evolution of the Typewriter by Charles Vonley Oden

https://archive.org/details/evolutionoftypew00oden

Attributions:

VHS Rewind Effect:

http://www.anfx.co/motion-graphics/overlays/vhs-rewind-effect/

Sewing Machine:

Icons made by Smashicons from www.flaticon.com

Newer Looking Typewriter:

Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

Software Used:

Olive Video Editor

http://www.olivevideoeditor.org

Audacity

https://www.audacityteam.org/

GIMP

https://www.gimp.org/

Inkscape

https://inkscape.org/

Godot Engine

https://godotengine.org/

Why We Invented the Computer (History of Computers pt. 1)

You normally wouldn't think of a stick or a hairdresser as a computer, but that's where their storied history begins. From cavemen to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, delve into the beginnings of the history of computers in this episode of the Answer Archive.

Sources

Computers: The Life Story of a Technology by Eric G. Swedin and David L. Ferro

https://amzn.to/2KucNZg

Computer: A History of the Information Machine by Martin-Campbell Kelly, William Aspray, Nathan Ensmenger, and Jeffrey R. Yost

https://amzn.to/2zlcbCN

Note: I caught a couple minor errors in this book. Not saying it is not trustworthy, but at the point where I catch some mistakes I figured I should warn you.

Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (Charles Babbages' Autobiography) http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57532

Sketch of The Analytical Engine Invented by Charles Babbage (Article translated by Ada Lovelace about the Analytical Engine)

https://www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/sketch.html

Charles Babbage's Fight Against Street Music (Article where I read that somebody had children wack pails outside Babbage's window as he was dying)

https://priceonomics.com/charles-babbages-fight-against-street-music/

The Little Engines that Could've: The Calculating Machines of Charles Babbage http://robroy.dyndns.info/collier/index.html

Calculation and Tabulation in the Nineteenth Century: Airy versus Babbage

http://ed-thelen.org/bab/Swade_PhD.pdf

A Letter to Sir Humphry Davy, Bart. President of the Royal Society, Etc. Etc. On The Application of Machinery To The Purpose Of Calculating and Printing Mathematical Tables, From Charles Babbage, Esq. M.A. (The open letter Babbage wrote describing De Prony's work and Difference Engine) https://books.google.com/books?id=YBHnAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Edited in Olive Video Editor

http://www.olivevideoeditor.org/

How Pizza Spread Around the World (History of Pizza)

Ever wanted to know how Pizza became so popular? In this episode I chatted with Carol Helstosky, a professor from the University of Denver, about just that. She wrote the book Pizza: A Global History, which you can buy right here:

https://amzn.to/3d3LYIm

From pizza's origins in Italy all the way to New York and around the world, follow pizza's history and learn how this delicious food came to be ubiquitous in all our homes and lives.

Icons made by Freepik, Smashicons, Pixel perfect, from Flaticon is licensed by Creative Commons BY 3.0

Edited with Olive Video Editor https://www.olivevideoeditor.org/

Answer Archive #5 - The U.S. Presidential Election

Direct Download Link

Episode Description

In the last Answer Archive of the season, writer and producer Daniel Seehausen looks at the history of presidential elections, from the tavern days of George Washington to the present.

Impress your family this Thanksgiving with your in depth knowledge of the history of the electoral college and its role in altering elections.

If you've ever wondered why the 12th amendment is necessary, or why the donkey is the symbol of the Democratic party, this is the episode for you.

In other news, I am going to be graduating from my college in a few weeks, and have to focus on some school-related stuff in order to do so.  Unfortunately, this means that there will be a short break before the next episode.  Expect the next episode sometime in late December.  Sorry for the wait.

A video and article about the mechanisms of the electoral college:

The Trouble with the Electoral College

Why the Electoral College is the absolute worst, explained

Please rate and review on iTunes if you loved the episode.

Source:

Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush

New episodes soon.

Thanks for listening!  If you like the episode share it using the buttons below.

Answer Archive #4: A Strange History of Soda

Direct Download Link

Episode Description

Answer Archive's fourth episode examines the history of the Soda.  How did carbonated water become a popular beverage?  Who invented Coca Cola, and when did it become the soda giant it is today?  If you want to know the answers to these sorts of questions, and more, listen to this episode of Answer Archive about soda.

Writer and Producer Daniel Seehausen examines the history of soda and how it rose to be such a prominent part of American life.  If you have ever wondered where Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper, and Pepsi came from, this is the episode for you.

Sorry for the lateness on releasing this episode.  My wife and I were sick right around the time I was supposed to release, and that delayed things a bit!

Please make sure to rate and review us on iTunes, and expect the video version in two parts over the course of the next two weeks!

Sources:

Fizz: How Soda Shook Up the World

Thanks for listening!  If you like the episode share it using the buttons below.