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One of the most dangerous toys of all times: The Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab

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Apr 26, 2020
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Profile picture for user rfortier
By: Rénald Fortier
Ingenium – Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation
A boy and elements of a toy on display at the 1950 edition of the toy fair of New York City, New York: Stefan Olsen and the cloud chamber of a Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab. Anon., “La page des enfants – Initiation atomique.” Photo-Journal, 13 April 1950, 20.
A boy and elements of a toy on display at the 1950 edition of the toy fair of New York City, New York: Stefan Olsen and the cloud chamber of a Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab. Anon., “La page des enfants – Initiation atomique.” Photo-Journal, 13 April 1950, 20.

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday, yadda yadda yadda. And yes, I am a Taurus, which explains a lot, not that yours truly believes in astrology. Of course.

The Bristol Taurus, incidentally, was developed in the mid-1930s by Bristol Aeroplane Company Limited. This British radial air cooled aircraft engine was compact, light and quite powerful but may originally not have been as reliable as one would have liked. Busy as it was with other, more powerful engines, Bristol Aeroplane did not fully develop the Taurus. It went out of production (well?) before the end of the Second World War, and…

What is it, my reading friend? You did not join our band of merry humans this week to hear (read?) about engines? Toys, you say? Indeed, you are right.

Educational toys designed to spark the interest of young Homo sapiens, primarily boys as we all know, and long live patriarchy, in all sorts of technological and scientific things and ideas, go way, way back. You will remember that, in January 2019, you and I learned all there was / is to know about the Kosmos Spielcomputer Logikus, a West German electro-mechanical calculator, and not a computer at all, put on the market by Franckh’sche Verlagshandlung W. Keller und Company, a publishing house and maker of educational toys known today, in 2020, as Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung und Company Kommanditgesellschaft.

Now please give me a moment to catch my breath. That was quite a mouthful.

One could argue that the story of the item at the heart of this week’s issue of our blog / bulletin / thingee, the Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab, began in February 1884 with the birth, in the United States, of Alfred Carlton Gilbert. I know, I know, we want to talk (read?) about cool stuff, or hot stuff giving the presence of uranium, but people always get in the way. If it was not for Homo sapiens, the Earth would be a paradise, you know. Dodos would still go down century old pathways on the island of Mauritius, passenger / wild pigeons would still blacken the skies of North America and countless species would not be on the verge of extinction. And bees would not be in trouble. Mind you, the climate of the Earth would not be spiralling out of control either.

Sorry. Sorry. Climate change is not real and, if it is, the trees are to blame anyway, and dark forces, like “scientists,” tree huggers, vegans, etc., are conspiring to destabilise the divinely ordained economy of the Western world. Very bad. Lock them up! But back to our story.

Before we get there, please note that the Québec French word for meat pie, tourtière, is not derived from the (Québec?) French name of the passenger pigeon, which is tourte voyageuse. Nay, it is not. This word derived / derives from the word tourtière, which is a round pie pan / dish used to bake tourtes, which are meat or fruit pies.

Now, why was the passenger pigeon called tourte in French?

This was not a rhetorical question. Yours truly expects some sort of answer… Nothing? Sigh. Let’s move on.

Unlike the great majority of young Americans of his generation, especially female ones, Gilbert attended university. Would you believe that he paid for his bachelor’s degree in sports medicine by working as a magician?

During the 1900s, this accomplished amateur athlete set 2 world records for pole vaulting and tied for gold at the Games of the IV Olympiad, in other words the 1908 summer Olympic Games, which were held in London, in jolly olde England.

I wonder if Howard Joel Wolowitz, one of the main characters of the American television series The Big Bang Theory, mentioned in a December 2019 of our blog / bulletin / thingee, got paid when he performed his magic tricks in front of children, but I digress.

You may not be surprised to hear (read?) that Gilbert chose not to pursue a medical career. In 1907, he co-founded Mysto Manufacturing Company to produce magic sets. Said company became A.C. Gilbert Company around 1916.

Inspired by the steel girders used on a railroad he had seen in 1911, Gilbert introduced a world famous construction toy, the Mysto Erector Structural Steel Builder, in 1913. Production soon took off. By the mid 1930s, Mysto Manufacturing / A.C. Gilbert had sold no less than 30 million Erector sets.

Did you know that the Erector by Meccano construction toy still existed as of 2020? Better yet, did you know that this toy was the property of a global toy and children entertainment (PAW Patrol, Air Hogs, etc.) firm based in Toronto, Ontario, Spin Master Limited? But back to our story.

In 1918, the American involvement in the First World War came within a hair’s breadth of destroying Gilbert’s livelihood, and that of other American toy manufacturers. You see, the American government seriously considering banning the production of toys. Gilbert having successfully lobbied against this measure, he became “the man who saved Christmas” in the eyes of many Americans, especially journalists.

With the return of peace, A.C. Gilbert gradually diversified its production. It put out educational toys like chemistry sets and microbiology sets, which included a microscope. The firm also became a major player in the model train industry, in the late 1930s. Sheldon Lee Cooper, another main character of the aforementioned The Big Bang Theory, mentioned in January and November 2019 issues of our you know what, would be very pleased.

You see, Gilbert, the Homo sapiens, not the firm, had come to believe that toys had a significant role to play in the brainwashing, sorry, sorry, the moulding of young Americans into productive members of society.

By the way, did you know that Gilbert was one of the founding members of Toy Manufacturers of the U.S.A. Incorporated, today’s Toy Association Incorporated, in June 1916? Better yet, he was the founding president of this association.

Saddened by the fact that inventiveness, one of the foundations upon which the prosperity of the United States was based, was all but ignored by the school systems of most if not all states of that country, Gilbert founded the Gilbert Hall of Science in New York City, New York, in 1941. Dare yours truly say that this science and technology museum was / is an ancestor of the Canada Science and Technology Museum of Ottawa, Ontario? Yes, I guess I did dare. Sadly, the Gilbert Hall of Science closed before the opening of this national museum, in 1967, but back to our story.

The 1940s were of course a decade dominated by a conflict, the Second World War, whose consequences can still be felt in 2020. One of these consequences was the introduction and use of nuclear / atomic weapons.

You and I, however old / young we may be, probably cannot understand the impact that nuclear energy, both military and civilian, had on the population of the Earth at the dawn of the Cold War. Nuclear weapons in the hands of a benevolent United States, and no one else, would make war inconceivable. Countless nuclear power plants built in the future would provide electrical power in such amounts that it might as well be free.

And yes, inconceivable was / is one of the favourite words of an evil character of The Princess Bride, a 1987 romantic comedy and cult movie mentioned in a February 2018 and January 2020 issues of our you know what. What can yours truly say, I rather like that movie.

Nuclear energy, say I, had a huge impact on the population of the Earth indeed. Why do you think the bikini was called the bikini, for example?

The name popped up in France, in mid-July 1946, soon after the first of series of American nuclear bomb tests held on tiny islands in the Pacific Ocean. Bikini was the first one to be incinerated, in early-July 1946, after its indigenous population was all but forced out. As other islands suffered the same fate, or were simply obliterated in the first American tests of the new thermonuclear bombs, the local people were shunted from island to island. No one ever asked them if they wanted to move. They certainly were not disturbing anyone.

Isn’t “civilised man,” and I say (type?) man because women tend to be the saner members of our species, a real piece of work? But back to the origins of the use of the word bikini to describe a tiny 2-piece bathing suit.

Early advertising pointed out, in French, that the bikini was “the first an-atomic bomb.” Pretty bad, isn’t it?

Its creator was, you guessed it, a man, a Frenchman to be more precise, Louis Réard, who happened to be an automotive engineer. The bikini was somewhat / hugely controversial when it came out. Many / most people deemed it indecent.

Would you believe that another Frenchman, a fashion and costume designer by the name of Jacques Heim, had created a more demure 2-piece bathing suit in 1932 that he christened… atome?

And now for something completely different. Board games were very popular after the Second World War, and…

May I digress for a minute? Two minutes? If truth be told, yours truly would be very interested in seeing a small, simple and manageable temporary / travelling exhibition (Hello, EP and EG!) on aviation and space board games go on the floor of the world-famous Canada Aviation and Space Museum of Ottawa, a sister / brother institution of the aforementioned Canada Science and Technology Museum.

Would you believe that the first board games devoted to aviation appeared before the First World War? An American game industry giant, McLoughlin Brothers Incorporated, launched a race game in 1897. Game of To The Pole by Air Ship was inspired by the flight to the North Pole launched in July of that same year by the Swedish engineer Salomon August Andrée and his 2 companions, aboard a hydrogen balloon. Soon declared missing, the 3 men perished after a few weeks. McLoughlin Brothers also produced The Air Ship Game around 1904. An updated version arrived in stores around 1912.

In the United Kingdom, around the same time, an unidentified company produced a race game called Aeroplane Race Round the British Empire which included a stop in Ottawa. A second version of this product was released around 1920. I should also mention Jack & Jane in an Aeroplane, a 1914 (?) game by J.W. Spear & Söhne / J.W. Spear & Sons, a German company whose main export customer was the United Kingdom. Indeed, this board game was apparently produced in Bavaria, one of the kingdoms included in the German Empire.

In Australia, National Game Company marketed Around the Commonwealth by Aeroplane around 1911. This race game included a series of stops along the coasts of this vast island continent. A second version, Around the Commonwealth Aeroplane Game, arrived in stores toward the late 1920s.

In Paris, L. Saussine éditeur, a board game specialist, launched at least 3 race games related to aviation before the First World War, Jeu des grands raids, Concours d’aviation and En aéroplane, a superb product which included lead painted pawns in the shape of aeroplanes, but back to our story.

Uranium prospecting was seemingly quite the thing in the United States during the 1950s. One could never have enough uranium. How else could one achieve the mutually assured destruction of the United States and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), not to mention the rest of the planet? Better dead than red – an expression that sounds a lot better in English than in French, or German, or Russian, or…

Would you believe that uranium prospecting was one of the 8 career paths toward happiness, fortune and fame offered to the families and friends who played the very popular board game Careers, launched in 1955 by American game industry giant Parker Brothers Incorporated? Sorry, you already knew that, didn’t you, and back to board games. To American nuclear board games to be more precise.

Still, it would be cool to say that Careers was still being produced in 2020, by the American firm Winning Moves Games Incorporated. There are 6 career paths and uranium prospecting was / is not one of them. I know, I know, back to board games.

Saalfield Publishing Company launched Uranium, a fairly conventional product, at some point in the 1950s.

Gardner Games Company, on the other hand, launched Uranium Rush around 1955. This award winning / educator approved (?!) board game was inspired in part by the procedures put in place by the American government to stake a claim and by the bonuses awarded by said government. The happy family playing Uranium Rush spun a dial which pointed out the spot on the board of the game where Dad or little Timmy would look for uranium. Our budding prospector would then place a battery operated Geiger counter, not a real one of course, I hope, on the spot in question. If said counter lit up and buzzed, there was uranium in them thar hills, which meant that the player got a $ 50 000 bonus. The winner of the game, “just as in real life,” to quote the promotional blurb, was the individual with the most cash / dough / moolah.

Let us lighten up the atmosphere a little, my reading friend. Would you care to read the caption of the photograph yours truly used to initiate this issue of our blog / bulletin / thingee? Yes? Wunderbar.

Stefan Olsen, aged 8, learns the mysteries of atomic energy, by using this small toy atomic laboratory on display at the American toy fair in New York City. Although equipped with a Geiger counter and radioactive ores, this toy is harmless and offers only very peaceful possibilities.

And no, your mind is not playing tricks on you. The toy in question really included radioactive ore samples. What could possibly go wrong? Said toy was the Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab, and here it is, in all its glory, and…

Both exciting and safe, the Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab. Wikipedia.

Both exciting and safe, the Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab. Wikipedia.

Why the shocked look, my reading friend? This thingee is, after all, a toy.

Said toy was No. 238 or, more precisely, No. U-238 in the long list of products produced by A.C. Gilbert. This unusual descriptor was chosen in reference to the most common form of uranium found in nature, Uranium-238, but I digress.

Gilbert was seemingly quite proud of the Atomic Energy Lab, his most spectacular educational toy, his words, not mine, and one of the many chemistry- / physics-related toys on the market in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was exciting, it was safe and it was accurate, said this gentleman who was sometimes / often compared to Walter Elias “Walt” Disney, Junior, for his creative genius.

Indeed, some of the brightest nuclear physicists in the United States, including some from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a world famous institution of higher learning mentioned in July 2019, December 2019 and February 2020 issues of our blog / bulletin / thingee, had graciously agreed to help A.C. Gilbert develop the Atomic Energy Lab. Like many other educational toys of its time, the latter gently directed young Americans, boys really, toward a career in science and technology.

And yes, my reading friend, the aforementioned Wolowitz had a master’s degree from MIT. Small world, isn’t it?

Eager to improve public understanding of nuclear energy and emphasise the positive aspects of our friend the atom, individuals within the American government all but applauded A.C. Gilbert’s efforts toward the development of this new toy.

Incidentally, Our Friend the Atom was / is the title of an episode of the American television series Walt Disney’s Disneyland first aired in January 1957, and of a book published in 1956 – 2 glorious examples of the pro-nuclear propaganda spewed out by various governments eager to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The host of Our Friend the Atom was a German-American physicist and communicator / populariser, Heinz Haber, well known in the United States and West Germany during the 1960s and 1970s. Walt Disney’s Disneyland, Our Friend the Atom and Haber were mentioned in a November 2018 issue of our blog / bulletin / thingee, but back to our exciting, safe and accurate toy.

What did little Timmy get when his parents had the bright / explosive idea of putting an Atomic Energy Lab beneath the Christmas tree, you ask? Let us see.

Said Atomic Energy Lab contained:

- 1 partly disassembled Wilson cloud chamber, used to see the delicate, intricate and beautiful trajectories of lightly radioactive particles, whose radioactive source could be replaced for a small sum of money as the level of radioactivity produced decreased;

- 1 Geiger / Geiger-Müller counter, used to detect and measure radiation;

- 1 electroscope, used to measure the radioactivity of the various substances included in the Atomic Energy Lab;

- 1 spinthariscope, used to observe individual nuclear disintegrations;

- 4 glass jars containing radioactive ore samples with small amounts of uranium, which not would need to be replaced for a few billion years;

- 3 low level sources of radiation, which could be replaced for a small sum of money as the level of radioactivity produced decreased;

- 3 dry cell batteries;

- 1 set of pieces used to make a model of a radioactive particle;

- 1 60 or so page instruction manual, detailing more than 150 experiments, entitled Gilbert Atomic Energy Manual, written by Dr. Ralph Eugene Lapp, a physicist involved in the Manhattan Project, the research and development program which led to the production of the first nuclear weapons, two of which ended up being used against Japan in August 1945, who became the head of the nuclear physics branch of the Office of Naval Research of the United States Navy, in 1949;

- 1 32 page introduction to the world of radioactivity in comic book form published in 1948, entitled Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom, by the famous cartoonist and head of the educational division / department of cartoon industry giant King Features Syndicate Incorporated, Joseph “Joe” Musial, with contributions by a couple of (Manhattan Project?) physicists, and an introduction by well-known author / columnist / journalist Robert Bernard “Bob” Considine and a foreword / preface written by the far better known Leslie Richard Groves, Junior, the abrasive United States Army Air Forces / United States Air Force officer in charge of said Manhattan Project, then retired;

- 1 how to book on uranium prospecting, entitled Prospecting for Uranium (Duh. Sorry.) published in 1949 by the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the United States Geological Survey; and

- an A.C. Gilbert toy catalogue.

There was a brief text inside the case of the Atomic Energy Lab which pointed out that the American government would hand over a $ 10 000 reward to any and all persons who found an (exploitable?) uranium deposit.

Interestingly, in order to include radioactive ore samples in its toy, A.C. Gilbert had to obtain a licence from the AEC.

It should be mentioned that, while the Atomic Energy Lab was perfectly safe, budding nuclear physicists were told they should refrain from breaking the seals on the glass jars containing the ore samples with small amounts of uranium. You see, said samples tended to flake and / or crumble, which could result in the spread of radioactive dust and / or particles in the little house in the prairie of said budding nuclear physicist, which might impair the results of experiments performed with the Atomic Energy Lab’s Geiger / Geiger-Müller counter. This spread might also prevent our young friend from playing hide and seek with her / his best friends forever, using a radioactive sample hidden in her / his parents’ home.

It looks as if the presence of said radioactive dust or particles in the little house was not, in itself, a source of concern. I kid you not.

A not so brief digression if I may. Did you know or, better yet, do you want to know that Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom’s origin story had nothing to do with the Atomic Energy Lab? Indeed, that very origin owed its existence to the aforementioned Groves, who wanted to explain to his fellow Americans the ins and outs of radioactivity in an entertaining and intelligible way, using comic strip / cartoon characters. He approached the equally aforementioned Musial, who really liked the idea.

Musial thus developed, no, not Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom. Musial initially developed an exhibition on nuclear energy, peopled with King Features Syndicate characters / stars, which went on display at the nuclear energy exhibition held in 1948 at the New York Golden Jubilee Celebration held in the big McIntosh, sorry, the big apple to commemorate said golden jubilee. This exhibition later travelled across the United States.

Would you believe that the actress and actor who played Blondie and Dagwood Bumsteads on the radio and in 28 (!) motion pictures, between 1938 and 1950, namely Penny Singleton, born Marianna Dorothy Agnes Letitia “Penny” McNulty, and Arthur Lake, born Arthur Silverlake, Junior, visited the exhibition, in New York City, in May 1951?

To a certain extent, Musial turned the exhibition into a book prepared by King Features Syndicate and Puck – The Comic Weekly, a popular comic strip insert in a great many newspapers owned by Hearst Corporation, a news industry giant founded by the legendary William Randolph Hearst. And yes, that book was Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom.

Countless issues of this publication (250 000? 1 000 000? More?) were sent to schools across the United States and given away to children, for free. Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom was seemingly very well received, and…

You have a question, my inquisitive reading friend? Who was / is that Dagwood, you say? Seriously? You don’t know? Really? Sigh. Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead may well have been the most popular comic strip characters of the time. Would you believe that Blondie, as the comic strip was / is called, was / is still published today, in 2020, in many countries and languages, including English and French, Canada’s official languages?

In Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom, readers saw the Bumsteads and a whole slew of King Features Syndicate characters / stars attend a lecture on nuclear physics made by none other than Mandrake the magician, and… You don’t know him either? Sigh. Anyway, Mandrake shrank himself as well as the Bumsteads, not to mention their daughter, son and canine friend, and possibly other characters, to such an extent that they were able to see individual protons, neutrons and electrons interact.

Initially unable to physically split an atom of uranium, the very rare fissile / breakable variety known as Uranium-235, Dagwood succeeded in doing so by using a portable rocket launcher, given to him by Mandrake, to fire a neutron at said atom, thus splitting it.

Now, I ask you, my reading friend, if a hapless buffoon like Dagwood, a sandwich lover frequently and easily manipulated by his spouse and progeny, could successfully split an atom, was there anyone on this Earth who could not do it? The aforementioned USSR, for example, detonated its first nuclear weapon in August 1949, sending shockwaves across the world that still reverberate today, in 2020.

The type of portable rocket launcher used by our comic strip hero was commonly known as a bazooka. Now, did you know that the bazooka was / is also a musical instrument, invented around 1905 by future radio and film personality Robin “Bob / Robbie” Burns, when he was about 15 years old? He would play variants of this instrument for many years.

Yours truly did not know until, like, a few days ago that the famous Canadian singer songwriter Bruce Douglas Cockburn wrote a song you may find interesting, given what I wrote (typed?) a few moments ago. You can view / hear him at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7vCww3j2-w

Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom came to a close with a series of textbook style questions and answers. It also mentioned the wonderful things that nuclear scientists would be able to do for medicine, industry and agriculture. To quote one of the character of this pedagogical comic book, “don’t forget scientists must learn more and more about the atom before they can harness it to make it actually go to work, BUT THEY WILL.”

Would it drive you bonkers if yours truly took this opportunity to point out that the aforementioned Considine wrote a text about the dreadful nuclear bomb test at Bikini in July 1946? Small world, isn’t it? Considine also wrote the script for a docudrama on nuclear energy, The Beginning or the End, whose premiere took place in February 1947.

Incidentally, The Beginning or the End should not be confused with Beginning of the End, a science fiction movie whose premiere took place in June 1957. That little gem featured gigantic and ever hungry, read human eating, radioactive locusts / grasshoppers. I kid you not. This scenario was / is not as crazy as it seemed, however. When they run out of plant food to devour, locusts / grasshoppers can apparently turn against each other.

And yes, my observant reading friend, the aforementioned Wilson cloud chamber was / is the main element in the Photo-Journal photograph at the beginning of this article. Said chamber was also the main element visible inside the case which contained the various elements of the Atomic Energy Lab. You thought I had forgotten to mention that detail, didn’t you? Don’t deny it. I know you too well for that. But back to the Atomic Energy Lab.

Putting that many doodads in a case did not come cheap. If truth be told, the Atomic Energy Lab was one very expensive thingee. It sold for US $ 49.50, a sum equivalent to approximately US $ 525 (Canadian $ 690) in 2019. One had / has to wonder if working class parents could afford to pay that much for a present. Mine could not, that’s for sure. Textile workers were / are not well paid. At all. And long live capitalism!

Understandably enough, it looks as if a number of toy stores cut the price of the Atomic Energy Lab at some point in 1951, 1952 and / or 1953, in order to increase sales. These attempts may have proven futile. You see, even though the Atomic Energy Lab caused a sensation at the March 1950 edition of the annual toy fair held in New York City, it did not prove popular with parents or children. Only 5 000 or so of these toys were sold, in 1950-51 in 2 slightly different versions, with a brown-ish coloured case (1950) and a red, yes, yes, red coloured one (1950-51).

Although aware that its cost was too high, Gilbert came to believe that the Atomic Energy Lab was also too complex for the little Timmys of the time. Their older sisters / brothers would get more out of it. Indeed, the physics department of at least one American university acquired some of these toys.

A.C. Gilbert replaced its Atomic Energy Lab with a chemistry lab around 1952. This large educational toy contained only a few of the elements of its predecessor, namely some radioactive ore samples, a spinthariscope and a copy of the Gilbert Atomic Energy Manual.

What is it, my shocked reading friend? You feel relieved at the fact that the Atomic Energy Lab and the chemistry lab were the only scientific toys of this type? Really? How naïve. Mind you, the former was by far the most elaborate of the lot. Anyway, yours truly was able to identify 3 other nuclear toys, so far:

- the Atomic Energy Lab, produced by the American Basic Science Club;

- the Master Laboratory, produced under the Chemcraft brand by Porter Chemical Company; and

- the Radiation Detection Kit, produced by the Library of Science.

Sadly enough, I cannot say (type?) if these educational toys proved popular.

Incidentally, Porter Chemical’s educational toy was the first nuclear toy to hit the shelves, in 1947.

Would you be surprised to read (hear?) that several American groups have put the Atomic Energy Lab among the 10 most dangerous toys of all time? And yes, the numero uno on the list was / is often the trampoline.

Would you also be surprised to read (hear?), my reading friend, that the Atomic Energy Lab is now a highly prized collectible? Yours truly wonders if one can legally have one of these things delivered by mail or courier, because of the radiation, but I digress. I seem to recall that, around 2019, a complete Atomic Energy Lab could sell for as much as US $ 5 000 (Canadian $ 6 600).

The aforementioned Gilbert took a well-earned retirement in 1954. He died in January 1961, at the age of 76.

How about the aforementioned Olsen, the young boy in the photograph at the beginning of this article, you ask? Well, yours truly was not able to figure out what became of him.

To conclude, why was the passenger pigeon called tourte voyageuse in French? Still no answer? That’s it. No pie for you today.

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Alfred Carlton Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab Uranium
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Rénald Fortier

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A Woolery Machine Company runway de-icing device in action at Cologne-Wahn airport, Cologne, West Germany. Anon., “Ancillary Review – Flame-throwing – On Ice.” The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News, 28 February 1963, 29.

Come on, PB, light my fire. Try to set the ice on fire: A peek at the American firm Woolery Machine Company and some of its ideas and products

A promoter of Sure Food, the food chemist James Pearson (right), at the facility of Wentworth Canning Company Limited of Hamilton, Ontario. Anon., “La viande, synthétique, produit canadien, pourrait sauver de la famine les peuples affamés d’Europe.” Photo-Journal, 5 February 1948, 3.

“It smells like meat. It even looks like meat.” The long forgotten tale of a synthetic meat / meat substitute / meat analogue / meat alternative / imitation meat sometimes called Sure Food

The Junkers Ju 52 bushplane registered as CF-ARM of Canadian Airways Limited of Montréal, Québec, Manuan Lake, Québec, August or September 1940. CASM, 13469.

Old bushplanes never die, they just fade away: A few lines, all right, many lines on the remarkable career of a Junkers Ju 52 “flying box car” named CF-ARM, part 3

The Junkers Ju 52 bushplane registered as CF-ARM of Canadian Airways Limited of Montréal, Québec, under repair, Arviat, Nunavut (Eskimo Point, Northwest Territories), September 1932. CASM, 1208.

Old bushplanes never die, they just fade away: A few lines, all right, many lines on the remarkable career of a Junkers Ju 52 “flying box car” named CF-ARM, part 2

The Junkers Ju 52 bushplane registered as CF-ARM of Canadian Airways Limited of Montréal, Québec. Anon., “Pionnier des transports lourds dans le nord du Canada, le ‘Cargo volant’ a fini sa carrière.” Photo-Journal, 29 January 1948, 2.

Old bushplanes never die, they just fade away: A few lines, all right, many lines on the remarkable career of a Junkers Ju 52 “flying box car” named CF-ARM, part 1

Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Sergeant Bob Electro caught in the act of saluting the commanding officer of RCAF Station Clinton, Group Captain John Gordon Mathieson, Clinton, Ontario. Anon., “Six-Year-Old Sergeant.” The North Bay Nugget, 7 January 1963, 15.

Dōmo arigatō, gunsō Electro, mata au hi made: The electronic adventures of Royal Canadian Air Force / Canadian Armed Forces Sergeant Bob Electro

A very appropriate piece of equipment given the season, well, the season which affects the northern part of the northern hemisphere of planet Earth, the domestic / home snowblower of Autocanner Registered of Montréal, Québec. Anon., “–.” Montréal-Matin, 9 January 1948, 6.

“Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!” The Blo-All domestic / home snowblower of Autocanner Registered of Montréal, Québec

The 10-inch flight impact simulator of the National Research Council of Canada at some point during its long career, Uplands / Ottawa, Ontario. NRC.

A great Canadian success story you should know about: A brief look at the National Research Council of Canada flight impact simulators donated to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Part 3

The 3.75- / 3.5-inch flight impact simulator of the National Research Council of Canada at some point during its long career, Uplands / Ottawa, Ontario. NRC.

A great Canadian success story you should know about: A brief look at the National Research Council of Canada flight impact simulators donated to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Part 2

The 10-inch flight impact simulator of the National Research Council of Canada at some point during its long career, Uplands / Ottawa, Ontario. NRC.

A great Canadian success story you should know about: A brief look at the National Research Council of Canada flight impact simulators donated to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Part 1

A typical wild and free bullfrog. John J. Brice, editor, A Manual of Fish-Culture: Based on the Methods of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, with Chapters on the Cultivation of Oysters and Frogs (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1897), 258.

“Is a frog game or fish? There is the rub.” A brief look at the history of ranaculture in Canada and Québec, Part 4

A typical advertisement of Giant Frog & Sea Food Limited of Montréal, Québec. Anon., “Giant Frog & Sea Food Limited. La Patrie, 18 October 1952, 53.

“Is a frog game or fish? There is the rub.” A brief look at the history of ranaculture in Canada and Québec, Part 3

Three of the innumerable American bullfrogs found on the frog farm of Harold Lee, Casitas Springs, California. Anon., “Nature – Frog Farm.” Pix, 6 January 1951, 30.

“Is a frog game or fish? There is the rub.” A brief look at the history of ranaculture in Canada and Québec, Part 2

A typical advertisement of Canadian Frog’s Industries Company of Montréal, Québec. Anon., “Canadian Frog’s Industries Company.” La Patrie, 16 November 1952, 86.

“Is a frog game or fish? There is the rub.” A brief look at the history of ranaculture in Canada and Québec, Part 1

An editorial cartoon which reflected the reaction of many Americans following the launch of Sputnik 2. John Milt Morris, “Our own non-fly doghouse.” The Nome Nugget, 8 November 1957, 2.

Three Days of the Sputnik; or, “Radio-Moscow admits that the dog revolving around the earth in the satellite will never return”: Laika, Sputnik 2 and the daily press of Québec, part 3

A replica of Sputnik 2, Tsentral’nyy Dom Aviatsii i Kosmonavtiki DOSAAF Rossíi, Moscow, April 2021. Krasnyy via Wikipedia.

Three Days of the Sputnik; or, “Radio-Moscow admits that the dog revolving around the earth in the satellite will never return”: Laika, Sputnik 2 and the daily press of Québec, part 2

The first official portrait of Laika to be released by the Soviet authorities. This photograph was originally published in the Moscow daily Pravda. Anon., “More Sputnik Dogs Due Before Humans Go Up.” The Evening Star, 13 November 1957, 6.

Three Days of the Sputnik; or, “Radio-Moscow admits that the dog revolving around the earth in the satellite will never return”: Laika, Sputnik 2 and the daily press of Québec, part 1

The (single seat?) biplane designed by Canadian Aircraft Works (Incorporated? Limited? Registered?) of Montréal / Coteau Rouge, Québec, January 1915. Gustave Pollien might be at the controls. CASM, 1134.

A terrific trio active during the early days of aviation in Québec: Ernest Anctil, Gustave Pollien and Percival Hall Reid, part 3

The biplane made by Gustave Pollien (left) and Ernest Anctil, Cartierville, Québec. Anon., “L’aviation chez nous – Un jeune aviateur canadien-français, Ernest Anctil, vole avec succès sur un biplan construit au pays.” La Presse, 27 September 1912, 1.

A terrific trio active during the early days of aviation in Québec: Ernest Anctil, Gustave Pollien and Percival Hall Reid, part 2

The biplane fabricated by Ernest Anctil (on the left in the lower photograph) and Gustave Pollien, Cartierville, Québec. Anon., “The first Montreal-made biplane.” The Standard, 5 October 1912, 4.

A terrific trio active during the early days of aviation in Québec: Ernest Anctil, Gustave Pollien and Percival Hall Reid, part 1

Louis Victor Jules Vierne (3rd from left), composer and organist of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral at the keyboard of the Coupleux Givelet electronic organ, Poste Parisien radio station, Paris, France. Anon., “L’orgue des ondes du ‘Poste parisien’ est inauguré.” Le Petit Parisien, 27 October 1932, 1.

The melodious saga of two French pioneers of electronic music who deserve to be better known: Joseph Armand Marie Givelet and Édouard Éloy Coupleux

Artist’s impression of the Canadian satellite Alouette in orbit above Canada. National Film Board, Photostory 288: Canadian Scientists Keep Pace with Space, NFB62-5961.

Alouette, gentille alouette, Alouette, je te lancerai; Or, How the Cold War propelled Canada into space via the Alouette satellite, part 3

The Thor-Agena rocket which put the Canadian satellite Alouette into orbit, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Anon., “Alouette’ Working Perfectly – First Canadian Satellite in Orbit.” The Montreal Star, 29 September 1962, 1.

Alouette, gentille alouette, Alouette, je te lancerai; Or, How the Cold War propelled Canada into space via the Alouette satellite, part 2

Two of the engineers who made the Alouette satellite a success: Colin A. Franklin (left) and John N. Barry, Ottawa, Ontario. Anon., “Many ‘Firsts’ for Canadian Satellite – Alouette Sports New Space Advances.” The Montreal Star, 22 September 1962, 43.

Alouette, gentille alouette, Alouette, je te lancerai; Or, How the Cold War propelled Canada into space via the Alouette satellite, part 1

Approximate view of the area in which the solar eclipse of 31 August 1932 could be observed in its totality (main image), or not (right-side column). Anon. “Mighty Workings of Tomorrow’s Eclipse.” Sherbrooke Daily Record, 30 August 1932, 1.

“We all pray for a cloudless day:” The solar eclipse of 31 August 1932 in Québec, part 3

Some of the eminent British researchers en route to Canada to observe the total solar eclipse of 31 August 1932. Anon., “Le ciel québécois et les astronomes. La Presse, 29 July 1932, 9.

“We all pray for a cloudless day:” The solar eclipse of 31 August 1932 in Québec, part 2

The solar eclipse of 31 August 1932 as it could be observed in its totality, from a country road in Maine. Anon., “Souvenir d’éclipse.” La Presse – Magazine illustré, 24 September 1932, 9.

“We all pray for a cloudless day:” The solar eclipse of 31 August 1932 in Québec, part 1

The Manicouagan Reservoir, also known as the Eye of Québec, as photographed from space by the Sentinel 2-A satellite of the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Programme, January 2017. https://scihub.copernicus.eu/ via Wikimedia.

Sic itur ad astra: Several observations on the stellar career of Canadian astronomer Carlyle Smith Beals, part 2

Carlyle Smith Beals, Dominion Astronomer. Raymond Taillefer, “Tant qu’il y aura des étoiles – L’observatoire fédéral assure au Canada un brillant rôle scientifique.” Le Droit, 2 August 1947, 1.

Sic itur ad astra: Several observations on the stellar career of Canadian astronomer Carlyle Smith Beals, part 1

The prototype of the Canadian de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver bushplane on display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Ottawa, Ontario. CASM, deHavilland DHC-2 Beaver-005.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Beaver, happy birthday to you: An all too brief look at a Canadian icon, the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver bushplane, part 2

The prototype of the Canadian de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver bushplane on the day of its first flight, Downsview, Ontario, August 1947. CASM, KM-08317.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Beaver, happy birthday to you: An all too brief look at a Canadian icon, the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver bushplane, part 1

The Shell By-Plane X 100 Astroterramare of Professor Septimus Urge (far right), Pleasure Gardens of the Festival of Britain, Battersea Park, London, England. Anon., “New British Jet Unique, but Not Matchless.” Aviation Week, 18 August 1952, 44.

Heath Robinson / Rube Goldberg machines that Heath Robinson and “Rube” Goldberg themselves would have approved of; Or, The wonderful world of Frederick Rowland Emett and his things

Rachel Marie-Louise Clément, born Guillot, salting Madame Clément camembert cheeses produced by Laiterie R.A. Clément (Enregistrée? Incorporée? Limitée?), McMasterville or Beloeil, Québec. Anon., “Fromages du Québec.” Photo-Journal, 28 August 1952, 33.

“If I had a hundred lives, I would start again the adventure of the camembert:” The delicious Québec saga of the Clément family and its cheeses

An artist’s impression of the airship designed by Québec modeler, sculptor, stonemason or worker Louis N. Filion. Anon., “Le secret de la direction des ballons est-il réellement détenu par un Canadien-français?” La Patrie, 26 July 1902, 19.

In 1902, was the secret of steering dirigible balloons held by Quebecer Louis N. Filion? That is for me to know and you to find out

A typical advertisement of the Bamboo Cycle Company Limited of London, England. Anon., “Bamboo Cycle Company Limited.” The Graphic, 31 July 1897, 179.

“Should anyone be in doubt my advice is Buy a Bamboo:” A few pages on Bamboo Cycle Company Limited of London, England

An American test firing of a Douglas M31 Honest John short range unguided ground to ground rocket. Anon., “Engins et missiles.” Aviation Magazine, 1 June 1959, 155.

It might not have changed history but would certainly have changed the geography: A brief yet frightening look at the Douglas M31 and M50 / MGR-1 Honest John short range unguided ground to ground rockets, part 2

A team of the Canadian Army’s Royal Canadian Artillery training on a Douglas M31 Honest John short range unguided ground to ground rocket of the United States Army, Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Anon., “Rocket Training.” Sherbrooke Daily Record, 13 July 1957, 1.

It might not have changed history but would certainly have changed the geography: A brief yet frightening look at the Douglas M31 and M50 / MGR-1 Honest John short range unguided ground to ground rockets, part 1

A Frisco Soda Water Company of Montréal, Québec, advertisement for the Salvador beer brewed by Reinhardt ‘Salvador’ Brewery Limited of Toronto, Ontario. Anon., “Frisco Soda Water Company.” The Montreal Daily Star, 5 July 1912, 5.

A tale of two Reinhardts; or, A brief look at two long gone and forgotten Canadian breweries

Kenneth Albert Arnold, in the centre, with two other pilots who claimed they had had seen unidentified flying objects, namely Emil J. Smith, on the left, and Ralph Stevens. Anon., “Pilotes qui virent des soucoupes volantes.” Le Soleil, 8 July 1947, 1.

“Everyone has seen the flying saucers, except journalists:” The first sightings of unidentified flying objects / unidentified aerial phenomena in the province of Québec, 24 June to 19 July 1947, part 2

Kenneth Albert Arnold. Anon., “Boise Airman Positive He Didn’t See Ordinary Craft Reflections.” The Idaho Daily Statesman, 28 June 1947, 9.

“Everyone has seen the flying saucers, except journalists:” The first sightings of unidentified flying objects / unidentified aerial phenomena in the province of Québec, 24 June to 19 July 1947, part 1

A typical advertisement for a product offered by O-Pee-Chee Gum Company of London, Ontario. Anon., “O-Pee-Chee Gum Company.” The Aylmer Express, 6 June 1912, 5.

“Chew Chew Chew Chew Your Bubble Gum:” The sweet old times of O-Pee-Chee Gum Company Limited of London, Ontario

Advertisement for the Isetta manufactured by Isetta of Great Britain Limited. Anon., “City Motors Limited.” The Gazette, 21 November 1957, 2.

A look under the hood of one of the symbols of the West German economic miracle of the 1950s; or, The multifaceted and multinational tale of the Isetta microcar, part 2

A typical BMW 250 or 300. Devon Francis, “What you get in the foreign economy cars.” Popular Science, June 1957, 62.

A look under the hood of one of the symbols of the West German economic miracle of the 1950s; or, The multifaceted and multinational tale of the Isetta microcar, part 1

A Spitz planetarium projector at the Planetario Municipal Agrimensor Germán Barbato, the first planetarium in South America, inaugurated in 1955, Montevideo, Uruguay, February 2015. Fedaro via Wikimedia.

Blessed be the one who brings the wonders of the cosmos to the multitude: Armand Neustadter Spitz and his planetarium projectors, part 2

Armand Neustadter Spitz. Hilaire Cuny, “Sciences et techniques – La plus gigantesque tentative de notre temps: La conquête de l’espace cosmique.” Combat, 15 May 1957, 6.

Blessed be the one who brings the wonders of the cosmos to the multitude: Armand Neustadter Spitz and his planetarium projectors, part 1

A typical advertisement of the Toronto, Ontario, firm William Hood & Company. Anon., “William Hood & Company.” The Canadian Grocer & General Storekeeper, 27 May 1892, 9.

“A new trade winner for grocers and general merchants;” or, How William Hood & Company of Toronto, Ontario, became a pretext to dwell upon the mysteries of... castor oil

A typical Tillson Company Limited advertisement. Anon. “Tillson Company Limited.” The Canadian Grocer & General Storekeeper, 13 May 1892, 19.

“A Food, not a Fad:” The life and times of Edwin Delevan Tillson of Tillsonburg, Ontario

Gertrude Dugal, the first francophone Québec women to obtain a pilot’s license – or not, Cartierville airport, Cartierville, Québec. Anon., “La seule diplômée.” La Patrie, Journal du dimanche, 18 May 1947, 1.

“Across the clouds I see my shadow fly:” Some words about Gertrude Dugal, the first francophone Québec woman to obtain a pilot’s license – unless it was someone else

A Vincent Amanda personal watercraft in its element, Ruislip, England, April 1957. Anon., “Triss i bâtar.” Teknikens Värld med Flyg, 2 to 16 May 1957, 8.

Bournemouth, Scarborough, ooh I want to take you. Great Yarmouth, Lyme Regis, come on my reading friend: The Vincent Amanda, the almost forgotten ancestor of today’s personal watercrafts

A close-up view of a radio pill a few moments before the first volunteer patient swallowed it. Anon., “Science – Radio Made to Swallow.” Life, 29 April 1957, 74.

Take one of these pills and your innards will call me in the morning: The digestive saga of… the radio pill

Dan Cooper, as drawn by Belgian “bande dessinée” author Albert Weinberg during his visit to North Bay, Ontario, in May-June 1966. Anon., “Originator of RCAF cartoon hero visits defence bases at North Bay.” The North Bay Nugget, 3 June 1966, 1.

A prolific Belgian “bande dessinée” author who deserves to be better known: the father of Dan Cooper, Canadian hero, Albert Weinberg (1922-2011), Part 2

Albert Weinberg during one of his many visits on Canadian soil. Anon., “Dan Cooper c’est Buzz Beurling.” La Presse, 31 March 1975, A3.

A prolific Belgian “bande dessinée” author who deserves to be better known: The father of Dan Cooper, Canadian hero, Albert Weinberg (1922-2011), Part 1

A typical FFVS J 22 fighter plane of the Swedish air force, or Flygvapnet, Bunge, Sweden, circa 1948-49. Flygvapenmuseum, FVMF.002142.

I have been asked a few times what my favourite airplane was. Well, here is one of my all-time favourites: Sweden’s FFVS J 22 fighter plane, part 2

A typical FFVS J 22 fighter plane of the Swedish air force, or Flygvapnet. Harald Jacobson, “Ett flygplan – en flygepok.” Looping, April 1952, 12.

I have been asked a few times what my favourite airplane was. Well, here is one of my all-time favourites: Sweden’s FFVS J 22 fighter plane, part 1

 An advertisement for products, in this case herrings and sardines, canned by Connors Brothers Limited of Black’s Harbour, New Brunswick. Anon., “Connors Brothers Limited.” Le Prix courant, 29 March 1912, 20.

From lobster bait and potato fertiliser to salt water silver: The humble sardine and Connors Brothers Limited of Black’s Harbour, New Brunswick

A Volvo P1800 comparable to the one driven by Simon Templar, also known as the Saint, a character played on television by Roger George Moore, Volvo Museum, Göteborg, Sweden, 2008. Jarle Vines via Wikimedia.

A saintly automobile from the land of “Pippi” Longstocking and Lisbeth Salander: The Swedish Volvo P1800 grand tourer / sports car, part 2

A typical Volvo P1800 grand tourer / sports car. Anon., “La plus belle auto.” La Patrie du Dimanche, 25 March 1962, 11.

A saintly automobile from the land of “Pippi” Longstocking and Lisbeth Salander: The Swedish Volvo P1800 grand tourer / sports car, part 1

The outgoing representative of the electoral district of Limoux, France, senator Henri Charles Étienne Dujardin-Beaumetz. Joseph Uzanne. Figures contemporaines. (10th edition) (Paris: Librairie Henri Floury, 1906), no page number.

“My dear Védrines, it is a voting failure:” Charles Toussaint “Jules” Védrines and the partial legislative election of Limoux, France, in March 1912, Part 2

Cartoon of Senator Henri Charles Étienne Dujardin-Beaumetz messing with “Jules” Védrines, the defeated candidate in the Limoux, France, by-election of March 1912. Anon., “La course Limoux-Palais-Bourbon.” Le Rire, 30 March 1912, no page number.

“My dear Védrines, it is a voting failure:” Charles Toussaint “Jules” Védrines and the partial legislative election of Limoux, France, in March 1912, Part 1

The Lincoln Continental 1950X / Ford X-100 laboratory on wheels. Anon., “La Ford de l’avenir.” Photo-Journal, 28 February 1952, 8.

The car of tomorrow as imagined 70 years ago: The Lincoln Continental 1950X / Ford X-100 laboratory on wheels

Edward T. Faulkner and his Curtiss JN-4 Canuck, Honeoye Falls, New York, 1962. Canada Aviation and Space Museum 2985.

It took off at 100 kilometres/hour, flew at 100 kilometres/hour and landed at 100 kilometres/hour, more or less: The saga of the Curtiss JN-4 Canuck

An advertisement of David Brown (Canada) Limited of Toronto, Ontario, showing the tractors offered by a British sister / brother firm, David Brown Tractors Limited. Anon., “David Brown (Canada) Limited.” Le Bulletin des agriculteurs, February 1962, 75.

“Do you want to drive my tractor? Let us go and load some hay.” A very brief look at the history of the British firm David Brown Tractors Limited

Tomanowos, better known as the Willamette meteorite, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, New York. Anon., “Ça et là, par l’image.” Le Samedi, 22 February 1947, 8.

Tomanowos, a visitor from the sky or Moon: A brief look at the largest North American meteorite known today

Vera Elsie Strodl wearing the leather flight jacket she wore during the Second World War. Glennis Zilm, “Only Canadian honored – Long love of flying brings award to aviatrix.” The Gazette, 1 February 1972, 8.

God may have been her co-pilot, Or, The remarkable career of a remarkable pilot, Vera Elsie Strodl

John D’Alton Woodlock with one of his sons, Peter Woodlock, in front of the family television set, Iberville, Québec, summer of 1949. Arthur Prévost, “Dix ans avant CBFT – À Iberville, on a la TV depuis 14 ans!...” Le Petit Journal, 14 January 1962, A-49.

But sadly, like so many great minds, Québec television pioneer John D’Alton Woodlock was gone too soon – and quickly forgotten

An advertisement of the Société auxiliaire agricole of Paris, France, showing a Pavesi P4 or Agrophile-Pavesi agricultural tractor in action. Anon., “Société auxiliaire agricole,” L’Agriculture nouvelle, 14 January 1922, 4.

Once upon a time there was an acrobat tractor: The beautiful although partly military story of the Pavesi P4 farm tractor and the career of Ugo Pavesi

Two of the great fighter planes of the First World War: A SPAD S.VII of the Royal Flying Corps or Aéronautique militaire and an Albatros D.III of the Luftstreitkräfte. Anon., “A Dog Fight.” Canadian Aviation, January 1932, 12.

The tale of the most extraordinary photographs ever taken of air fights during the First World War, Or, The long and short of the Cockburn-Lange collection

An overall view of one of the first telephone networks in Canada, Montréal, Québec, 1878. Anon., “Le premier téléphone qui ait jamais été installé à Montréal.” La Presse, 27 January 1912, 5.

They were among the first to reach out and touch someone: A look at one of the first telephone networks in Canada

The Canadair CL-44 leased by British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), September 1963. This Seaboard World Airlines Incorporated aircraft carried 19 racing cars from the United Kingdom to the United States on that flight, its first in the colors of BOAC. CASM.

A good swing deserves another: The saga of the Canadian Canadair CL-44 cargo plane, Part 2

An advertisement from the aircraft manufacturer Canadair Limited of Cartierville, Québec, extolling the merits of its ginormous cargo plane, the Canadair CL-44. Anon., “Canadair Limited.” La Presse, January 23, 1962, 29.

A good swing deserves another: The saga of the Canadian Canadair CL-44 cargo plane, Part 1

Advertisement published by the Zeller’s Limited stores of Calgary, Alberta, which highlighted the Reely Ride-’em tractor produced by Reliable Toy Company Limited of Toronto, Ontario. Anon., “Zeller’s Limited.” The Calgary Herald, 11 December 1961, 32.

Toys, glorious toys, we are anxious to try them: A few pages on Reliable Toy Company Limited of Toronto, Ontario

A de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter utility floatplane operated by Northway Aviation Limited of St. Andrews, Manitoba, Fishing Lake, Manitoba, September 2005. Mark Swaffer via Wikimedia.

Canada’s flying one tonne truck: The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter

A Moline Plow Company advertisement showing a Moline Universal Tractor in action. Anon. “Moline Plow Company.” L’Agriculture nouvelle, 10 December 1921, 707.

A very successful vehicle and, dare I type it, a sidehill gouger of the farm tractor industry: The Moline Universal Tractor

The Douglas DC-8 jetliner of Canadian Pacific Airlines Limited of Vancouver, British Columbia, known as Empress of Montreal. Anon., “Empress of Montreal DC-8 First CPA Jet Visitor.” The Gazette, 6 December 1961, 17.

An article whose punchline I am reluctant to divulge so early in the game: Or, A speedy DC used by CP

The United States Air Force Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar cargo plane borrowed by Iron Ore Company of Canada Incorporated in 1951. Anon., “Fret aérien – L’opération Ungava – Le fret aérien accélère l’application d’un projet. » Interavia, December 1951, 672.

“In the interests of national security”: The role played by a United States Air Force Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar cargo plane in the development of the Knob Lake region’s iron ore deposits

The Vertol Model 42 of Skyrotors Limited of Arnprior, Ontario, chartered by Spartan Air Services Limited of Ottawa, Ontario, as part of Operation High Tower. Anon., “Operation High Tower.” The Ottawa Citizen, 8 November 1961, 3.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to move stuff around: Spartan Air Services Limited of Ottawa, Ontario, the Ottawa radio station CFRA and Operation High Tower

One of the two life-size aluminum alloy sculptures of whooping cranes created by Wolfram F. Niessen for Regina Municipal Airport, Regina, Saskatchewan. Anon., “Regina Honors the Whooping Crane.” The Ottawa Citizen, Weekend Magazine, 18 November 1961, 38.

Let’s talk about art, humans. All the humans. Louder now. Help me out. – Wolfram F. Niessen, John Cullen Nugent and the life-size aluminum alloy sculptures of whooping cranes created for Regina Municipal Airport

Joseph Alphonse Ouimet. Anon., “Le pionnier de la télévision préférait la radio à une bicyclette neuve.” La Patrie, 5 November 1961, 26.

“The pioneer of television preferred radio to a new bicycle:” An overview of the career of Joseph Alphonse Ouimet, a founding father of Canadian television

An advertisement published by La traction et le matériel agraires Société anonyme for the American Beeman Junior garden tractor. Anon., “La traction et le matériel agraires Société anonyme.” L’Agriculture nouvelle, 12 November 1921, 664.

“Green acres is the place to be. Farm livin’ is the life for me:” The American firm Beeman Garden Tractor Company and the Beeman Junior or Model G garden tractor / walking tractor

An ascent made by Québec female fairground balloonist and parachutist Florida Lanthier. Maurice Desjardins, “Dans une modeste maison de Montréal-Nord -- Florida Lanthier, reine des parachutistes, vit de couture... et de souvenirs.” Photo-Journal, 8 November 1951, 3.

Shadows and light in the skies of Québec: A preliminary look at the life and times of Québec female fairground balloonist and parachutist Florida Lanthier

The Mobile Demonstration Irradiator put together by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. Anon., “Boon to Canadian potato industry.” Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, 21 October 1961, 6.

One hot potato, two hot potatoes, three hot potatoes, four: Atomic Energy of Canada Limited of Chalk River, Ontario, and the early days of food irradiation in Canada

A Mathis VL 333 light and economical automobile. Fernand de Laborderie, “Le 33e Salon de l’automobile.” La Nature, 15 October 1946, 331.

A vision of the future for a firm running out of steam: The French Mathis VL333 light and economical automobile

A coastal reconnaissance Bristol Bolingbroke destined for the Royal Canadian Air Force being assembled at the Fairchild Aircraft Limited factory, Longueuil, Québec, 1941. Anon., “Les C.F. et la R.C.A.F.” Le Samedi, 18 October 1941, (c).

“We must get aircraft equipment and look after our coasts” – The Royal Canadian Air Force and the Bristol Bolingbroke coastal reconnaissance aircraft

The prototype of the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter on display at the Canada Aviation Museum, Ottawa, circa 2001. CASM.

From pole to pole and horizon to horizon, the Twin Otter was, is and will be there: A very brief pontification on one of the best Canadian aircraft ever designed

The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Ottawa, Ontario, February 2009. Wikipedia.

The strange and baffling case of the switched aeroplanes; or, Even when using New Mathematics, 4112 never equals 5878: The tall tale of the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, part 2

The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum when it belonged to the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario. H.J. (“Titch”) Jenkins, “Correspondence – Ottawa’s – and Sowrey’s – B.E.2c.” Flight, 12 October 1961, 600.

The strange and baffling case of the switched aeroplanes; or, Even when using New Mathematics, 4112 never equals 5878: The tall tale of the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, part 1

Isidore Joseph Amédée Marsan. Anon., “Isidore Joseph Amédée Marsan.” Le Bulletin des agriculteurs, 17 September 1921, cover.

One of the pioneers of agricultural science in Québec and Canada: Isidore Joseph Amédée Marsan

An advertisement for St. Lawrence Starch Company Limited, Port Credit, Ontario. Anon., “Advertisement – St. Lawrence Starch Company Limited.” Le Bulletin des agriculteurs, September 1941, 61.

Free, magnificent cards bearing drawings or photographs of Allied aircraft! Collect them all!

An Aluminium français-Grégoire automobile, Cité de l’automobile – Musée national – Collection Schlumpf, Mulhouse, France, May 2010, Wikimedia.

‘Tween two joints, he really did something: Jean Albert Grégoire and his magnificent automobiles, Part 2

 An example of the French CGE-Tudor electric automobile. C. Faroux, “Un progrès considérable de la voitures électrique.” La Vie automobile, 25 September 1941, 284.

‘Tween two joints, he really did something: Jean Albert Grégoire and his magnificent automobiles, Part 1

The one and only example of the Italian long range airliner Breda Zappata BZ 308. Jacques Gambu. “Breda Zappata BZ 308.” Aviation Magazine, 1 September 1951, 21.

Il Constellation italiano, an unrecognised star in Italy’s aeronautical firmament: The Breda Zappata BZ 308 long range airliner

Paul Fjeld in the family residence, Rosemère, Québec. Claude-Lyse Gagnon, “Parti avec $200 en poche – Un jeune Québécois a pu voir décoller Apollo 15.” La Patrie, 15 August 1971, 12.

Space, the final frontier towards which travels our planet, the Earth; this is the life story of Paul Fjeld, space enthusiast and artist for over half a century

Advertisement for the Frontenac Blue Label lager of National Breweries Limited of Montréal, Québec. Anon., “Advertisement – National Breweries Limited.” Le Samedi, 23 August 1941, 12.

The great victim of the Montréal beer war of 1925: Frontenac Breweries Limited of Montréal, Québec

A Karou Karou all-terrain vehicle. Anon., “Opération Camping à Saint-Hilaire.” Photo-Journal, 26 July to 1 August 1971, 47.

All-terrain, all-weather, all-pleasure: Karou Incorporée of Drummondville, Québec, and the Karou all-terrain vehicle

The first production example of the Canadian-made Avro Anson advanced training aircraft fitted with the moulded plywood fuselage, location unknown, 1943. CASM, 23290.

Not everyone knows that aircraft manufacturing can be a contact sport: Clarence Decatur Howe, Harvey Reginald MacMillan and the production of Avro Anson advances training aircraft in Canada, Part 2

A pair of Canadian-made Avro Anson advanced training aircraft operated by No. 10 Service Flying Training School, Royal Canadian Air Force Station Dauphin, near Dauphin, Manitoba, 1943-44. CASM, 27297.

Not everyone knows that aircraft manufacturing can be a contact sport: Clarence Decatur Howe, Harvey Reginald MacMillan and the production of Avro Anson advanced training aircraft in Canada, Part 1

The very first electric streetcar operated by Telegraphen-Bau-Anstalt von Siemens & Halske, Berlin, German Empire. Anon., “The first electric railway in Berlin.” Canadian Illustrated News, 9 July 1881, 21.

A streetcar named Straßenbahn Groß-Lichterfelde, or, How Telegraphen-Bau-Anstalt von Siemens & Halske put in service the world’s first electric streetcar

The Canadian author and aviation pioneer Frank Henry Ellis (centre) with American aviation pioneers Frank Purdy Lahm (left) and Will D. “Billy” Parker, president of Early Birds of Aviation Incorporated, Los Angeles, California. Robert Francis, “Early Birds.” Sunday Sun Magazine, 28 July 1951, 5.

If we have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of a giant: Frank Henry Ellis and Canada’s Flying Heritage

An advertisement showing an Italian SAME Buffalo tractor. Anon. “Advertising – Les Entreprises Biasotto & Hardy (Canada) Incorporée.” Le Bulletin des agriculteurs, July 1981, 26.

They were all the same, brothers to each other: Francesco Cassani, Eugenio Gabriele Cassani and the Società Accomandita Motori Endotermici (SAME)

A Canadair North Star of British Overseas Airways Corporation, London Airport, Heathrow, England, September 1954. Wikimedia

Around the world in eighty hours: A few pages on the Canadair North Star, part 2

The prototype of the Canada North Star, 1946. Canada Aviation and Space Museum, KM-08329

Around the world in eighty hours: A few pages on the Canadair North Star, part 1

An advertisement for a hay cutter made by La Machine Agricole Nationale Limitée of Montmagny, Québec. Anon., “Advertisement – La Machine Agricole Nationale Limitée.” Le Bulletin des agriculteurs, 11 June 1921, 556.

Don’t let it be forgot that once there was a firm, for one brief shining moment, that was known as La Machine Agricole Nationale Limitée of Montmagny, Québec

The Folland / Hawker Siddeley Hoverstretcher in action. Anon., “Airborne comfort.” The Calgary Herald, 9 June 1961, 19.

Developing the germ of an idea: Maurice Joseph Brennan and his hovercraft

Some mothers and children about to get aboard one of the Douglas DC-3 airliners converted into Nurseryliners by United Air Lines Incorporated, San Francisco, California, April or May 1946. Anon., “Service aérien pour bébés.” Photo-Journal, 20 June 1946, 12.

Sit back. Relax. Enjoy the flight – Babies on a plane: United Air Lines Incorporated and its Nurseryliner service

The Canadian engineer and amateur astronomer James Hargreaves with an instrument he had built himself. Jean Taillefer, “Un voyage de 180 jours au Soudan, en Afrique; une expérience astronomique de 180 secondes.” Le Droit, 16 June 1951, 13.

“An Ottawa scientist makes a sacrifice for science:” The Canadian engineer and amateur astronomer James Hargreaves and his travels around the globe

The prototype of the Fairchild F-11 Husky bushplane shortly before its first flight, June 1946. Canada Aviation and Space Museum KM-05311.

You’re good, doggy, but as long as the rodent’s around, you’ll always be second best, see: The brief yet long story of the Fairchild F-11 Husky bushplane

A cutaway view of Canada’s Fleet Model 50 Freighter bushplane. Anon., “Fleet’s Trainer and Transport.” Aviation, May 1941, 61.

It could (and should?) have been one of the greats: Canada’s Fleet Model 50 Freighter bushplane

Wilfrid-Henri Perron. Claude Asselin, “Une encyclopédie québécoise pour les horticulteurs.” Photo-Journal, 3 to 9 May 1971, 12.

Chez Perron, tout est bon: A giant of Québec and Canadian horticulture, Wilfrid-Henri Perron (1897-1977)

The cyclecar / “vélomobile” / “vélocar” / bicycle car / “automouche” with pedals and / or auxiliary engine Le Dauphin. Edmond Massip, “Un cyclecar à pédales et moteur auxiliaire.” La Vie automobile, 25 May 1941, 153.

The cyclecar / “vélomobile” / “vélocar” / bicycle car / “automouche” with pedals and / or auxiliary engine Le Dauphin: An (extreme?) solution to the fuel shortage in Paris during the German occupation in the Second World War

The Pitcairn PCA-2 autogiro of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum during its grand tour of the United States, when it was owned by Sealed Power Corporation. Anon. “Pohled na Ciervovu autogiro za letu.” Letectvi, November 1932, 310.

“‘Flying Windmill’ here on Wednesday”: The great journey of Donald Walker and the Pitcairn PCA-2 of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, part 2

The Pitcairn PCA-2 autogiro of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum when it was owned by Standard Oil Company of New York. Anon., “Advertisement – Standard Oil Company of New York.” Aviation, May 1931, 22.

“‘Flying Windmill’ here on Wednesday”: The great journey of Donald Walker and the Pitcairn PCA-2 of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, part 1

A sober, no-frills advertisement from Elzéar Fortier Limitée of Québec, Québec. Anon., “Advertisement – Elzéar Fortier Limitée.” L’Action catholique, 8 April 1946, 9.

He was a smooth operator: Elzéar Fortier and the production of soft drinks in Québec, Québec

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin and Charles Augustus Lindbergh. The caption of these photographs mentions the striking resemblance between these important people in the world of astronautics and aeronautics. Anon., “Lancement du premier homme dans l’espace – Comment se sont déroulés les événements en Union soviétique.” La Tribune, 13 April 1961, 24.

That was also one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind: The flight into space of Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin in the French language press of Québec, 12-15 April 1961, Part 2

Major Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin during his visit to Helsinki, Finland, July 1961. Wikimedia.

That was also one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind: The flight into space of Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin in the French language press of Québec, 12-15 April 1961, Part 1

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio host Claire Wallace interviewing Trans-Canada Air Lines interior accommodation engineer Diana Jocelyn Dudley, January 1946. Anon. “Air Transportation – Radio Broadcast over Niagara.” Canadian Transportation, April 1946, 200.

No place for a lady?! Balderdash!: Trans-Canada Air Lines’ first interior accommodation engineers, Diana Jocelyn Dudley and Janet Elizabeth Lowe

Peter Müller at the controls [sic] of the Pedroplan, Berlin, Germany, March 1931. Anon., “Cologne contre Marseille – Le mystère du ‘Pédroplan.’ [sic]” Les Ailes, 2 April 1931, 14.

I want to fly my bicycle, I want to fly my kite: Peter Müller and the Pedroplan

The Phillips Saucercraft hovercraft, Mount Hope, Ontario. Anon., “Flying saucer crack-up”. The Calgary Herald, 2 March 1961, 1.

A most intriguing INFO (Identified Non Flying Object): The Phillips Saucercraft hovercraft

Dr. Ann Elizabeth Noelle Grace tending to one of her patients, Montreal General Hospital, Montréal, Québec. Claude Adams, “An eye-opener for our reporter – Team of women doctors shatters Ben Casey myth.” The Gazette, 3 March 1971, 31.

Shattering the Ben Casey and James Kildare myth: Canada’s first female pediatric surgeon, Dr. Ann Elizabeth Noelle Grace

 An advertisement from Langlais & Frère Incorporée of Québec, Québec, extolling the merits of the Zetor 25 tractor. Anon. “Advertising – Langlais & Frère Incorporée.” L’Action catholique, 3 March 1951, 14.

They shall beat their swords into plowshares; or, A brief look at the Czech state-owned firm Zbrojovka Brno Národní Podnik

Some personalities present at the inauguration of the École d’avionnerie de Cartierville, Cartierville, Québec, 3 March 1941. Anon., “À l’inauguration de l’École d’avionnerie de Cartierville.” La Presse, 4 March 1941, 19.

A magnificent achievement, full of promises for the future, swept away by the narrow mind of Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis: The École d’avionnerie de Cartierville

The presentation of the first Boeing Model 747 of Air Canada at Montreal-Dorval International Airport, Dorval, Québec. Anon., “Des milliers de personnes ont vu le géant des airs.” La Presse, 22 March 1971, A 1.

66 327 people cannot be wrong, but they can be cold: The presentation of the first Boeing Model 747 of Air Canada at Montreal-Dorval International Airport

The Fokker D.VII of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, March 2019. CASM.

One of the great combat aircraft of the 20th century and one of the many jewels of one of the most remarkable aviation and space museums on planet Earth: The Fokker D.VII and the airplane of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum

An advertisement from Équipements Ascot Incorporée of Saint-Élie-d’Orford, Québec, extolling the merits of the UTB U530 tractor. Anon. “Advertising – Équipements Ascot Incorporée.” Le Bulletin des agriculteurs, February 1981, 28.

They shall beat their wings into plowshares; or, A brief look at the Romanian government firm Uzina Tractorul Braşov

An editorial cartoon highlighting the launch of the Soviet planetary probe Venera 1 in February 1961. Edmund Alexander Sebestyen, “To Venus With Love.” Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, 14 February 1961, 4.

Trying to lift the veils under which Venus hid itself from our gaze: The saga of the Soviet planetary probe Venera 1

A Jacobs Jaycopter at rest, Edmonton, Alberta. Lyn Harrington, “Cutting helicopter training cost.” Canadian Aviation, February 1961, 20.

A helicopter simulator with a difference: it flies – Canada’s Jacobs Jaycopter

Editorial cartoon showing King Neptune offering his crown to the crew of the English Electric Canberra which crossed the Atlantic Ocean in February 1951. Charles R. Knight, “Ready to Abdicate.” The Windsor Daily Star, 22 February 1951, 4.

Several thousand words on the English Electric Canberra / Martin B-57 Canberra and the small role played by Canadair Limited in its history

The first production example of the Piasecki HUP Retriever helicopter. Anon., “News Picture Highlights.” Aviation Week, 15 January 1951, 9

“Shoe,” Retriever, “Hupmobile” or Army Mule – a HUP by any other name is still a HUP: The Piasecki HUP Retriever and H-25 Army Mule helicopters, and the HUP of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum

A view of the Warsak Dam, northern West Pakistan. Anon., “Inauguration du barrage de Warsak.” Le Droit, 27 January 1961, 12.

Frankly, my dear, we did give a dam: Canada and the Warsak dam in Pakistan

One of the first de Havilland Canada Chipmunk imported to the United Kingdom. Anon., “De Havilland [Canada] DHC-1 ‘Chipmunk.’” Aviation Magazine, 1 January 1951, cover.

A Tamias striatus cavorting in the clouds: The de Havilland Canada Chipmunk

The 5th pre-production de Havilland Canada AC-1 Caribou. Larry Booda, “Aeronautical Engineering – Aviation Week Pilot Report – STOL Caribou Calls for Special Handling.” Aviation Week and Space Technology, January 23, 1961, 56.

A flying truck which gave soldiers atom-age mobility: The de Havilland Canada Caribou

The Oberth Moon car as imagined in 1960. I.M. Levitt, “Le problème du transport sur la Lune.” L’Action catholique, 10 July 1960, 5.

I’m just not sure this vehicle was well thought through: The Moon car of astronautic pioneer Hermann Julius Oberth

The Ferrari 512 Pininfarina Modulo, on display at the 1971 edition of the Salon international de l’Auto de Montréal, Montréal, Québec. Jean D. Legault, “Une première mondiale et 12 continentales.” La Patrie, 17 January 1971, 31.

One of the most famous dream cars of all time: The Ferrari 512 Pininfarina Modulo

A rather sober advertisement for F.A. Fluet Enregistré’s La Canadienne spruce beer. Anon., “Advertisement – F.A. Fluet Enregistré.” L’Action catholique, 4 January 1951, 5.

A small beer which was no small beer: F.A. Fluet Enregistré of Québec, Québec, and La Canadienne spruce beer

A scene captured at the launch of the Jeu de l’électricité by Éditions Héritage Incorporée, Montréal, Québec, 6 November 1968. Anon., “–.” Le Devoir, 6 November 1968, 11.

A B C Abécédaire. Viens avec nous autour de la Terre: The Société Radio-Canada’s Tour de Terre children educational television program

An advertisement selling the merits of the Vin St.Georges. Anon. “Advertising – T.G. Bright & Company Limited.” Le Bulletin des agriculteurs, December 1940, 2.

To treat the family this holiday season, do not forget the Vin St.Georges: A brief look at a pioneer of the Canadian wine industry, T.G. Bright & Company Limited

The Bell Model 47 operated by Airspray Limited, Ontario. Anon., “Helicopter – Down on the Farm.” Canadian Aviation, September 1947, 25.

Old Macdonald had a farm, Ee-I-Ee-I-O. And on that farm he had a Bell, Ee-I-Ee-I-O: A few more words on the early days of agricultural aviation in Canada

An advertisement announcing the introduction into service of Trans-Canada Air Lines’ Vickers Vanguard short to medium range airliner. Anon., “Advertisement – Trans-Canada Air Lines.” Maclean’s, 3 December 1960, 8-9.

From “big Viscount” to Merchantman: The abbreviated journey of the Vickers Vanguard

 The Convair 580 operated by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing of Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, Ottawa, Ontario, September 2001. Wikipedia.

It was one of the greats: The Convair 580 remote sensing aircraft of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum

An Air Tractor AT-502 agricultural aircraft operated by Southeastern Aerial Crop Service Incorporated, Belle Glade State Municipal Airport, Florida, June 2013. Wikipedia.

Wings over the world: The PT6 turboprop and turboshaft engine, Part 2

The first turboprop engine designed in Canada, the PT6 of Canadian Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company Limited. Anon., “Advertisement – Canadian Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company Limited.” The Gazette, 14 November 1960, 24.

Wings over the world: The PT6 turboprop and turboshaft engine, Part 1

The 14 volumes of the 1960 edition of L’Encyclopédie de la jeunesse of Grolier Limitée. Anon., “Advertisement – Grolier Limitée. » La Tribune - Perspectives, 12 November 1960, 31.

A book of knowledge: L’Encyclopédie de la Jeunesse

Roxana Hartley and Mr. Jolie / Lord Robert Brummel, the main protagonists of the 1930 American play Dancing Partner, Belasco Theatre, New York City, New York. Anon., “The Stage Goes ‘Air-minded’.” Scientific American, November 1930, 355.

A play in an airplane, and an airplane in a play: Dancing Partner, 1930

The Supermarine Spitfire on display for the 20th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, 18 September 1940. Anon., “News roundup – Battle of Britain ceremonies.” Aircraft, November 1960, 58.

A gift for heaven: The Canada Aviation and Space Museum’s Supermarine Spitfire Mk IIb

Some of the displays of the National Aviation Museum, Uplands Airport, Ottawa, Ontario, early 1960s. CASM, negative number 4446.

Happy birthday to us. Happy birthday to us. Happy birthday dear CASM. Happy birthday to us: A few words on the early days, weeks, months and years of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum

A somewhat inaccurate (life-size?) reproduction of Sputnik I on display in Prague, Czechoslovakia, as part of an exhibition commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Anon., “Modèle du satellite russe.” Le Nouvelliste, 10 October 1957, 1.

Québec / Canada and the simplest satellite, the PS-1 spacecraft, in other words Sputnik 1: An overview of what was published in the French language Québec press between 5 and 12 October 1957, Part 4

Pierre Dorion, « L’ère des émotions. » La Presse, 9 October 1957, 4.

Québec / Canada and the simplest satellite, the PS-1 spacecraft, in other words Sputnik 1: An overview of what was published in the French language Québec press between 5 and 12 October 1957, Part 3

The simplest satellite or PS-1 spacecraft, in other words Sputnik I, a little before its launch, September 1957. NASA.

Québec / Canada and the simplest satellite, the PS-1 spacecraft, in other words Sputnik 1: An overview of what was published in the French language Québec press between 5 and 12 October 1957, Part 2

A somewhat inaccurate drawing of the spacecraft PS-1, in other words Sputnik I, in orbit around the Earth. Anon., « Fusées et satellites seraient invincibles. » Le Soleil, 8 October 1957, 1.

Québec / Canada and the simplest satellite, the PS-1 spacecraft, in other words Sputnik 1: An overview of what was published in the French language Québec press between 5 and 12 October 1957, Part 1

Eldon Douglas McEarchern working on his agricultural Piper PA-18 Super Cub as one of his sons watched on, Carman, Manitoba. Anon., “Les fermiers volants de l’ouest canadien.” Le Samedi, 22 October 1960, 25.

Oh, what a beautiful mornin’! Oh, what a beautiful day!: An overview of the first decade of the flying farmer movement in Canada

One of the towed threshers designed and fabricated by Dion & Frère Incorporée of Sainte-Thérèse-de-Blainville, Québec. Anon., “Publicité – Dion & Frère Incorporée.” Le Bulletin des agriculteurs, September 1940, 47.

A century of agricultural technology and innovation in the Laurentides region of Québec: From Dion & Frère to Dion-AG

Jani Moreau, female flight attendant as imagined by Québec artist Nicole Lapointe. Anon., “Un nouvel illustré: Jani hôtesse de l’air.” Claire, 15 September 1960, cover.

She is not a waitress in the sky: Jani hôtesse de l’air and some words on the presence of female flight attendants in popular culture

An infuriated Clara shredding the Curtiss biplane piloted by George F. Russell, Dongan Hills, New York, 10 September 1910. Anon., “La vache et l’aéroplane.” Le Petit Journal – Supplément illustrée, 25 September 1910, 312.

A close encounter of the strange and unusual kind, or, How did Clara the cow meet a Curtiss biplane in Staten Island, New York City, New York

The first Douglas DC-3 airliner delivered to Trans-Canada Air Lines, Montreal (Dorval) Airport, Dorval, Québec, circa 1945-48. CASM, negative number 25515

A gleaming example of one of the most famous and significant aircraft of the 20th century: The Douglas DC-3 of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum

The first Fleet Model 80 Canuck light / private airplane, Fort Erie, Ontario, March 1946. This aircraft belonged to Sturgeon Air Services Limited of Fredericton, New Brunswick. CASM, negative number KM-07962

Teaching to fly because it has wings: Canada’s Fleet Model 80 Canuck light / private airplane

A Zenair CH-701 manufactured under license by Czech Aircraft Works Společnost s ručenim omezeným, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, July 2011. Wikimedia.

Born in a garage, but now all the world is a market for Zenair Limited: A look at the Cold War era designs of Christophe Jean Heintz, Part 2

Christophe Jean Heintz at the controls of the Heintz Zenith. Anon., “–.” Aviation magazine international, 15 to 31 August 1970, cover.

Born in a garage, but now all the world is a market for Zenair Limited: A look at the Cold War era designs of Christophe Jean Heintz, Part 1

The Echo 1A satellite balloon during an inflation test, 1960. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The wonderful lead balloons of Claude Williams Coffee, Junior, Walter Edward Bressette and William J. O’Sullivan: The Echo satelloons in Québec and elsewhere, Part 2

The Echo 1A satelloon whizzing in the sky, above the École normale de Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Québec. Dominique Lapointe, “Une visite qui nous est devenue familière – L’Écho 1 continue à se promener tous les soirs sur notre région.” Le Progrès du Saguenay, 27 August 1960, 7.

The wonderful lead balloons of Claude Williams Coffee, Junior, Walter Edward Bressette and William J. O’Sullivan: The Echo satelloons in Québec and elsewhere, Part 1

One of the Found FBA-2s of Georgian Bay Airways Limited. H.L. “Des US et du Canada 2 formules d’avions légers – 1 Le Found ‘Flying Truck.’” Aviation magazine international, 1 July 1964, 39.

A small Ontarian flying truck relocated in the land of the kiwis: The Found FBA-2 bush airplane

The one and only Cushioncraft CC1, initially known as the Britten-Norman BN-1 Cushioncraft / CC1 Cushioncraft. Anon., “News Digest – New Cushion-rider.” Canadian Aviation, August 1960, 46.

It seemed like a good idea at the time: The bananas of the British Cameroons and the Cushioncraft CC1 hovercraft

The one and only Canadian Car & Foundry CBY-3 Loadmaster. CASM, negative number 17826.

The eight lives of a unique flying boxcar, the Canadian Car & Foundry CBY-3 Loadmaster

The atomic / nuclear pulse rocket imagined by well-known American illustrator Francis Xavier Theban Tinsley. Anon., “Advertisement – American Bosch Arma Corporation.” Aviation Week, 4 July 1960, 13.

A nasty blast from the past: Francis Xavier Theban Tinsley and the atomic / nuclear pulse rocket

Walter Thomas Leavens examining the cups which drove the agitator mounted inside the hopper of the Piper J-5 Cub Cruiser light / private airplane flown by Leavens Brothers Air Services Limited. Anon., “Crop Dusting with a Cub.” Canadian Aviation, July 1945, 50.

Weed’em and Reap: Leavens Brothers Air Services Limited and the early days of agricultural aviation in Ontario / Canada after the Second World War

L’Aviateur du Pacifique.

A scientific romance and war novel from the Belle Époque: L’Aviateur du Pacifique of Captain Danrit (Émile Driant)

The Fouga CM-8 Cyclone / Sylphe jet-powered glider. Anon., “–.” Aviation Magazine, 1 June 1950, cover.

I love the clouds… the clouds that pass… over there… over there… the marvelous clouds! The Établissements Fouga et Compagnie and its jet-powered gliders

The Sharp / Bond Minicar Mk A microcar presented to the people of Montréal, Québec, by local dealer Budd & Dyer Limited. Anon., “Jusqu’à 110 milles au gallon.” La Presse, 10 June 1950, 26.

A microcar designed in a time of austerity: The Bond Minicar

A Koser / Koser-Hrovat KB-3 Jadran hydroglider, Adriatic Sea, summer 1949. In the background, the coastal passenger ship Dalmacija of the government-owned shipping firm Jadranska Linijska Providba. Anon., “Gliding and sailplanes in Yugoslavia.” Sailplane and Glider, June 1950, 125.

Above the lakes, above the vales: The Koser / Koser-Hrovat KB-3 Jadran hydroglider

Tsar Nikolai II, on the left, with his hands behind his back, looking at the aeroplanes which took part in the Sankt-Peterburgskaya aviatsionnaya nedelya, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire. Anon., “Nouvelles sportives – Le tsar chez les aviateurs.” La Revue aérienne, 10 June 1910, 349.

Miracle of miracles, look what the plane dragged in: The Sankt-Peterburgskaya aviatsionnaya nedelya

The Dane Jan Bo Kristensen performing a precision landing with a parafoil during a national competition organised by the Dansk Faldskærms Union, Randers, Denmark, August 2005. Wikipedia.

Imagination is the highest kite one can fly: The life and times of a master of the wind, Domina Cléophas Jalbert, Part 2

Domina Cléophas Jalbert, on the left, and Hamnett Pitzer Munger with one of the kytoons made by Jalbert Aerological Laboratory Incorporated to study atmospheric pollution. Anon., “Ce que devient un jouet d’enfant.” La Presse, 23 May 1950, 3.

Imagination is the highest kite one can fly: The life and times of a master of the wind, Domina Cléophas Jalbert, Part 1

Two of the young employees of Ontario Model Aircraft Company at work, Toronto, Ontario. Arthur Lowe, “Kindergarten of the Air.” Maclean’s, 1 May 1940, 24.

A kindergarten for the air age: Ontario Model Aircraft Company / Model Craft Hobbies Limited and a few other words on scale aircraft modelling in Canada before and during the Second World War

The one and only Monte-Copter Model 15 Triphibian, Seattle, Washington. Anon., “World Air News.” Air Pictorial, May 1960, 167.

The day of the triphibs: Monte-Copter Incorporated and the Model 15 Triphibian helicopter

Vladislav Verner’s little sweetie, the Verner W-01 Brouček. Anon., “Private Flying.” Flight International, 14 May 1970, 806.

Malé letadlo a skvěly příběh / A small airplane and a great story: The Verner W-01 Brouček homebuilt airplane

The crate containing Jean Versailles’ Blériot Type XI on the specially-equipped horse-driven truck belonging to Shedden Forwarding Company Limited, Montréal, Québec. Anon., “Le premier aéroplane à Montréal.” La Presse, 28 May 1910, 12.

Montréal has its first aeroplane: The Blériot Type XI of Jean Versailles and William Carruthers

A black-and-white image depicts a group of men standing underneath a Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster; they are loading cloth supply bags into the bomb bay. Wikimedia Commons

He gave them bread from heaven to eat: A few words on Operation Manna and Operation Chowdown, April-May 1945

One of the Aeronautica Macchi AL-60s used in Canada by Northwest Industries Limited to interest potential customers, Edmonton, Alberta. Anon., “Aeronews.” Air Progress, July 1969, 15.

An L-402 by any other name is still an L-402 – or an AL-60 or a Conestoga or a Ranger or a Santa Maria or a Trojan, unless it’s a Kudu, Part 2

The first prototype of the Lockheed L-402. Anon., “Le Lockheed-Azcarate C.L.-402.” Les Ailes, 16 April 1960, 1.

An L-402 by any other name is still an L-402 – or an AL-60 or a Conestoga or a Ranger or a Santa Maria or a Trojan, unless it’s a Kudu, Part 1

One of the advertisements published in Québec newspapers to promote the new Glas Goggomobil T700 automobile. Anon., “Advertisement – Eugène Roy Limitée.” La Presse, 1 April 1960, 39.

In search of… the Glas Isar / Isard T700, an automobile previously known as the Goggomobil T700

The aerosled designed and built by Kenneth J. Richards. Anon., “Traîneau moderne.” L’Auto, 9 February 1940, 1.

The magical mystery week is waiting to take you away, or, Does anyone in the blogosphere know anything about the Richards aerosled or the Lawrence aerosled?

From left to right, Boum-Boum, Ba-Ba and Bi-Bi, in other words the Lunours. Anon., “Toute la vérité sur la soucoupe de St-Bruno – Un coup monté de $100,000.” Photo-Journal, 23 February to 1 March 1970, 1.

We are Bi Bi Ba Ba Boum Boum: The saga of the Lunours

An example of the Swedish STAL Skuten turbojet engine on display, under guard, in Stockholm, Sweden. Anon., “Production – First Swedish Turbojet Revealed.” Aviation Week, 27 March 1950, 36.

A tale of two engines, or four, or even six: The STAL Skuten, Dovern and Glan

Frances Marian “Poppy” Northcutt in one of the space exhibits of the Palais de la Découverte, a science centre in Paris, France, not Texas. Anon., “Astronautique – ‘Poppy’ à Paris.” Aviation Magazine International, 15 to 31 March 1970, 42.

Her parents find her job exciting, but they would like her to marry: Frances Marian “Poppy” Northcutt at NASA and beyond

Turi Widerøe speaking with a flight attendant aboard a Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle jetliner of Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark-Norway-Sweden. J.-C. Fortin. “SAS ne compte qu’une seule femme pilote de ligne: Turi Wideroe.” Le Petit Journal, 1 March 1970, 28.

Turi Widerøe paid a flying visit to Montréal the other day

A few aspects of the fourth Montréal Motor Show. Anon., “Ouverture de l’exposition d’automobiles et de yachts.” La Presse, 28 March 1910, 1.

A week at the Coliseum: The 1910 Montréal Motor Show and the first aeroplanes displayed in Québec / Canada

Doctor Margaret Beznak with one of her research subjects. Elizabeth Motherwell, “Elle succède à son mari à la tête de la faculté de physiologie de l’U. d’Ottawa.” La Tribune, 3 February 1960, 17.

A stellar example of the contribution made by people who choose Canada: A few words on the life and times of Doctor Margaret Beznak

Sisters Maria Cleofas and Maria Innocenza of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Aloysius Gonzaga aboard an AVIA / Lombardi FL.3 light / private airplane during their flight training, Turin, Italy. Anon., “Le ciel leur appartient.” Le Soleil / Perspectives, 20 February 1960, 12.

Sister Bertrille was not the first flying nun, or, Let’s talk about Sisters Maria Cleofas and Maria Innocenza – and about Sister Mary Aquinas too

The Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, ca 2007. Wikipedia.

So far away from home: The Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Part 2

A Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker operated by Alaska Coastal Airlines, Incorporated, Juneau, Alaska. This floatplane is now on display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario. Keith Petrich, “Bush Flying Is Dead.” Air Trails Pictorial, February 1945, 26.

So far away from home: The Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Part 1

A typical New-Map / Rolux Baby microcar. Anon., “La voiturette ‘Baby VB-60’ à Québec au milieu de février.” L’Action catholique, 14 January 1950, 12.

The car that was more economical than the streetcar: The New-Map / Rolux Baby microcar

Charles Aznavour with the Beehoo / Magna Amphicat all-terrain vehicle he was examining, Montréal, Québec. His daughter Seda is near him. Suzanne Piuze, “Aznavour m’a dit…” La Patrie, 25 January 1970, 20.

I would love to own one; on my boat, that would be dandy: The off road journey of the Beehoo / Magna Amphicat

The lunar habitat imagined by Rocco G. “Roy” Scarfo. Anon., “C’est écrit dans le ciel.” La Patrie du dimanche, 24 January 1960, 6.

He was one of the greats: Rocco G. “Roy” Scarfo, space artist, and the world beyond tomorrow

A demonstration of the lightness of the Williams Jet No.1 turbojet engine. Anon. “23-lb. Turbojet Develops 70 lb. of Thrust.” Aviation Week and Space Technology, 18 January 1960, 126.

This engine may have been a bit heavy but her smile still stayed on: The Williams Jet No. 1 and its successors

The General Development / Christmas airliner, near New York City, New York. Anon., “Potężny łoskot silników powietrznych gigantów powitał rok nowy.” Lot Polski, January 1930, 1.

The powerful roar of the aerial giants’ engines greeted the new year: The troubling saga of William Wallace Whitney Christmas

Some actresses and actors who contributed to the success of the Québec science fiction television series Opération-Mystère, 1958. From left to right, Luce Guilbeault, Marcel Cabay, Georges Groulx, Louise Marleau and Hervé Brousseau. Société Radio-Canada.

Opération-Mystère, a television series which answered the needs of the sputnik and flying saucer generation

The aluminium bridge of Arvida, Arvida / Saguenay, Québec. Anon., “Premier pont tout en aluminium.” Le Petit Journal, 4 December 1949, 51.

On the bridge of Arvida, a national historic civil engineering site, they are dancing, they are dancing

The Piaggio P-7 at rest in its element. Joaquin de la Llave y Sierra, “Antes y después de la Copa Schneider.” Aérea, December 1929, 8.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try, try, try again: The odd story of the Piaggio P-7

A poster for the Japanese science fiction film Uchû Daisensô

Uchû Daisensô, or, A battle in outer space from the land of the rising Sun

The very first Zar Zar-Car automobile / microcar, Windsor, Ontario. Arthur Prévost, “La première auto entièrement canadienne bientôt en vente!” Le Petit Journal, 25 October 1959, 67.

In search of a Canadian car: The Zar of all the Windsors

Soviet astrophysicist Alla Genrikhovna Masevich and her daughter, Natasha Josifovna Friedlander. Sam Schecter, “Deux Canadiens en Russie – Rencontres avec l’élite russe.” Le Soleil / Perspectives, 26 September 1959, 11.

Her name is Masevich, Alla Genrikhovna Masevich

The University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies Great Flapper ornithopter during trials, Malton, Ontario, 2005. http://www/ornithopter.net

To dream, perchance to fly: The saga of the Great Flapper

Beth Ross posing for a photographer as she cleaned up the main fragment of the Dresden chondrite in front of the office of The Dresden News. Anon., “Adding lustre to meteor that startled a province.” Toronto Daily Star, 13 July 1939, 1.

The art of the deal in rural Ontario; or, The unhappy tale of the Dresden chondrite

Gérard Duquette, foreman at Héroux Incorporée, on the right, with many family members and 2 of his workers, 20 July 1969. Roger Nadeau, “Les ouvriers de la Héroux ont tressailli de joie en voyant le LEM sur la Lune.” Le Petit Journal, 27 July 1969, 4.

Did you know that the Eagle landed on the Moon on legs made in Québec?

Canadian engineer Owen Eugene Maynard with a model of the Convair Atlas launch vehicle topped by a McDonnell Mercury space capsule, 1962. Roger Nadeau, “Une foule de techniciens canadiens ont pris part au vol d’Apollo 11.” Le Petit Journal, 20 July 1969, 4.

The little guy from Sarnia who put the first human on the Moon

The first Taylor J.T.1 Monoplane, White Waltham, England. Anon., “Sport and Business.” Flight, 19 June 1959, 839.

Tinker, Taylor, monoplane

Constance Cann Wolf caught on film as she herself caught on film a scene that caught her eye, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The gas balloon belonged to the Balloon Club of America. Anon., “Balloon over Paris.” Flying, May 1959, cover.

Suspended under a twilight canopy: Constance Cann Wolf and the wonderful world of ballooning

The unloading of the nitroglycerin carried from Shelby, Montana, to Calgary, Alberta, aboard the (purple?) Stinson SB-1 Detroiter operated by Great Western Airways Limited, February 1929. Anon., “–.” Canadian Aviation, April 1929, 17.

Unsafe at any speed or time

A prototype of the Kamov Sever-2 aerosled in its element. Anon., "’Mail Train’ to North." The Gazette, 26 March 1959, 2.

Oh what fun it is to ride in a Kamov Sever-2

The SIMCA Fulgur concept car. The French parachutist and model Colette Duval was at the controls. Anon., “Actualités.” La Patrie du dimanche, 1 March 1959, 2.

It was fulgur, fulgur, fulgur, fulgurable

The Spirit of Canada hot air balloon. Peter Calamai, “Lots of hot air and a high old time.” Canadian, 26 August 1967, 14.

This magnificent man in his flying machine

The road section monitored by the speed radar set of the Connecticut State Police, near Glastonbury, Connecticut. Anon., “L’actualité en images – Pièges à comboys.” La Patrie, 16 February 1949, 14.

Cowboy traps did not appear yesterday

Cecil George Armitage at the controls of an Aérodoo, Richelieu River, Québec, November 1968. Anon., “Et maintenant… l’Aérodoo.” Vallée de la Petite Nation, 30 January 1969, 15.

The Mancunian candidate; or, How to float near the ground with the greatest of ease

Some members of the Ligue des avions miniatures de Montréal examining the radio controlled model then under construction. Christian Verdon, “Avion-miniature contrôlé par la radio.” La Patrie, 7 January 1939, 44.

A league of their own: The long forgotten story of the Ligue des avions miniatures de Montréal

Santa Claus’ two rigid airships over the Saint Lawrence River abreast of Québec, Québec. Anon., “Advertising – A.E. Rea & Company.” La Presse, 2 December 1910, 15.

A thoroughly modern Santa Claus

A poster for the movie From the Earth to the Moon

Jules Gabriel Verne would not have been amused: From the Earth to the Moon

An image from the credits of CF-RCK.

A captivating television show: CF-RCK, Part 2

The main actors of the Société Radio-Canada television show CF-RCK, Yves Létourneau (on the right) and René Caron. Anon., « Une scène de CF-RCK avec René Caron et Yves Létourneau. » La semaine à Radio-Canada, from 2 to 8 January 1960, cover.

A captivating television show: CF-RCK, Part 1

Loading up Voo-Doo, the Waco Hadrian used for the first transatlantic flight by a cargo glider, Montreal Airport (Dorval), Dorval, Québec, June 1943. Anon., “Flying into focus”. Flying Aces, October 1943, 7.

It was magnificent. It was splendid. It was pointless.

A poster of the Italian-French movie La morte viene dallo spazio. We see 2 members of the control centre’s team: the unsavoury French researcher and the pretty but cold mathematician.

Movie titles can be so… positive and cheerful: The Day the Sky Exploded

The host of the weekly television show Plein Ciel, on the right, and his technical adviser, Captain Marcel Everard. Anon., “Introduction à l’aviation.” La semaine à Radio-Canada, 29 November to 5 December 1958, 12.

A television show I would have liked to see during my youth

Lift off of the hydrogen balloon that carried aloft the antenna of the American emergency radio transmitter BC-778, better known under the name “Gibson Girl.” Anon., “Gibson Girl to the rescue.” Flying Aces, septembre 1943, 30.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Two Rohrbach Ro VIII Rolands operated by Iberia, Compañía Aérea de Transportes Sociedad anónima, Madrid, December 1927. The one in the background was used for the Madrid-Barcelona flight of 14 December. Anon., “Inauguración del nuevo servicio aéreo Madrid-Barcelona.” Aérea, October-December 1927, 33.

Never on a Sunday: The tall tale of an Iberian Roland, Part 1

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A magnificent achievement, full of promises for the future, swept away by the narrow mind of Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis: The École d’avionnerie de Cartierville

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