From the Channel

A typical Innocenti Lambretta scooter. Anon. “Advertising – Bentley’s Cycles and Sports Limited.” Le Petit Journal, 10 August 1958, 110.
Article
Transportation

Innocentis abroad: The beautiful stories of the Lambretta scooters

Profile picture for user rfortier
Aug 7, 2018
Good day / buongiorno / bonjour, my reading friend. You may wonder what a scooter lifted off the pages of the 10 August 1958 issue of a Montréal, Québec, weekly, Le Petit Journal , is doing in our blog / bulletin / thingee. I respectfully respond to this observation by pointing out that there is more to life than airplanes. This being said (typed?), the subject that concerns us this week has a small aeronautical element, but enough twaddle, let us move into the heart of the matter. Allied to
Museum of Odd
3 m
Article
Social Science & Culture

Welcome to the Museum of Odd

Profile picture for user Sonia Mendes
Aug 7, 2018
Gauging by the artifacts—which include Bob Barker’s toothbrush, Elvis’s underwear, and more than 400 sock monkeys—the Museum of Odd is aptly named. Located in Lawrence, Kansas, the museum is the personal home of Randy Walker – who believes that “everyone should collect something.” Read the full article to find out more about this eclectic museum and its owner.
A Duncan & Bayley XP-2 Skyhook tethered unpiloted helicopter. Anon., “Rotary wing world – Captive helicopter for research work”. Aero Digest, August 1948, 70.
Article
Aviation & Space

Now be honest, can you tell me what a Duncan & Bayley XP-2 Skyhook is?

Profile picture for user rfortier
Aug 1, 2018
Really, do you know what a Duncan & Bayley XP-2 Skyhook is, off the top of your head, my reading friend? By the way, please accept my apologies for repeating the name of this pilotless aircraft / drone / remotely piloted vehicle / unmanned aerial vehicle. Yours truly just finds it very cool, but I digress. If truth be told, I must say I had never heard of the Skyhook before the photo above came across my path. Would you like to know more about it? No? Well, too bad, so sad. Our story began in
A poster for the movie Mission Mars
Article
Aviation & Space

1968: A cinematographic space oddity: Mission Mars

Profile picture for user rfortier
Jul 30, 2018
May I begin this article by wishing you a bright sunshiny day, my reading friend? The year 1968 was a very significant one for cinema enthusiasts the world over, with film classics like Night of the Living Dead , Planet of the Apes , Rosemary’s Baby , Oliver!, Romeo and Juliet , Bullitt , The Odd Couple , The Love Bug , Funny Girl and 2001: A Space Odyssey. A contrarian to the end, yours truly chose to stay away from these monuments of the cinematographic art. The topic of this week’s issue of
statue
5 m
Article
Social Science & Culture

Egypt plans a GEM of a museum

Profile picture for user Sonia Mendes
Jul 27, 2018
Construction is well underway for a new museum in Egypt – scheduled to open in 2019. The Grand Egyptian Museum—or GEM—will house 100,000 artifacts,
Electric vehicle charging station in Quebec, Canada.
5 m
Article
Transportation

Gas Crisis of the 1970's spurs Electric Vehicle Research and Development

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Jul 25, 2018
Sun through clouds over lake
10 m
Article
Social Science & Culture

Searching for the sublime: Algonquin Park and the origins of wilderness tourism

Profile picture for user Adele Torrance
Jul 25, 2018
In the late 1800s, Canadian cities were in the process of a major transition due to great population increases, industrialization and a growing middle class. Toronto was no exception, and in terms of its population size and industrial production, was second only to Montreal in these years.
View of the nose of the CRJ-200
Blog
Aviation & Space

An Amazing Flight over Canada Day

Profile picture for user Stephen Quick
Jul 23, 2018
Most Canadians wend their way to their favourite spot to celebrate this great country on its namesake day, Canada Day. My spot is the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, which I ran as Director General (DG) for almost eight years. I have only recently returned to the fold as VP of Business Development for Ingenium, a role that includes developing great collaborations. This Canada Day, however, brought with it an amazing bonus. Not only was I to see so many Canadians enjoying the Museum, now run by
A Soviet researcher, Vladimir A. Kostrov, and a reproduction of Sputnik II displayed at the Terre et Cosmos exhibition in Paris. Anon., “Spoutniks russes à Paris.” Photo-Journal, 12 July 1958, 2.
Article
Aviation & Space

Hey friend, say friend, come on over, how d’ya like to see some tall rockets?

Profile picture for user rfortier
Jul 23, 2018
Good morning or good evening, my reading friend. And no, this article has nothing to do with the Exposition universelle et internationale de Montréal held in 1967. My apologies and ... You do not understand the link between Expo 67 and the title of this issue in our blog / newsletter / thingee, do you? Sigh. Let it be known that Un jour, un jour was the title of the theme song of the exhibition. Seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with the performer chosen to popularize his work, Québec singer
candy
2 m
Article
Social Science & Culture

Museum of Candy to explore the evolution of sweets

Profile picture for user Sonia Mendes
Jul 19, 2018
Talk about a sweet idea – in early 2019, bite into New York's new Candy Museum. The museum’s 15 interactive rooms will include a highly Instagrammable
Brother Hormisdas-Marie Gamelin. Brother Hormisdas, “Up Canada Way… A Flight of Fancy Turns into Some Fancy Flying”. Soaring, March-April 1953, 8.
Article
Aviation & Space

The brother from another Buckingham, Part 2

Profile picture for user rfortier
Jul 16, 2018
Greetings, my reading friend. Were you awaiting with barely controlled impatience the presentation of the second part of the article on brother Hormisdas-Marie Gamelin, educator, violinist, glider pilot and great lover of trout fishing? Yes? Such enthusiasm honours you. As important as Gamelin’s contribution to the history of gliding in Canada / Québec was, his main concern remained teaching. He began his career in this field around 1920, at the brand new Mount Assumption High School in
Brother Hormisdas-Marie Gamelin with a pilot of the Buckingham Gliding Club near a Schweizer SGU 2-22 glider. Arthur Prévost, “À Buckingham, sous la direction d’un frère – Une école de pilotes de planeurs.” Le Petit Journal, 27 July 1958, 75.
Article
Aviation & Space

The brother from another Buckingham, Part 1

Profile picture for user rfortier
Jul 9, 2018
Top of the morning to you, my reading friend. Yours truly hopes to have found a subject that you will find interesting, original and innovative in a July 1958 issue of the weekly Le Petit Journal of Montréal, Québec. Let us begin this story without further ado. Once upon a time ... Uh, yes, I admit that the formula is not original but the content below should be. May I continue now? Thank you. Once upon a time, say I, there lived a young Franco-American, an example among many others of the
An image of Anne Frank
1 m
Article
Engineering & Technology

Take a virtual reality tour of Anne Frank’s house

Profile picture for user Lindsay Forcellini
Jul 5, 2018
You don’t need to travel all the way to Amsterdam to see the Anne Frank House. The museum recently launched a 25-minute virtual reality tour that takes you through the rooms—hidden behind an Amsterdam canal-side house—where Anne wrote her diary. Read the full article and watch a trailer for the virtual reality tour.
An image of ocean waves
1 m
Article
Earth & Environment

A Frenchman and an ocean full of plastic

Profile picture for user Lindsay Forcellini
Jul 3, 2018
Ever heard of plastic smog? This article calls attention to the global use, pollution, and production of single-use plastics – and the undertaking of Benoit Lecomte, a French swimmer, to swim across the Pacific Ocean. Lecomte’s feat, if successful, will not only make him the first person to do so, but the journey will act as an opportunity to study (and as a glaring reminder of) pollution in the ocean. Among the threats and obstacles Lecomte will face as he traverses the ocean are densely
The world’s first flight impact simulator, used to test aircraft windshields at the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company plant, East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1943. A.L. Morse, “Bird-proof windshields.” Flying, July 1943, 40.
Article
Aviation & Space

I want to know what snarge is, I want you to show me, or not

Profile picture for user rfortier
Jul 3, 2018
Good day to you, my reading friend. Our topic today is not as humorous or light hearted as some of our usual fare, but I respectively make no apologies for that. To make a long and sad story short, while it is true that bird strikes are not a major cause of aircraft accidents and human fatalities, they are nonetheless among the most pressing flight safety issues faced by airport operators, if not the airline industry as a whole. The large majority of bird strikes occur near airports, during
An orange and purple coral reef
1 m
Article
Earth & Environment

Sunscreen is damaging a vital ecosystem: Coral reefs

Profile picture for user Lindsay Forcellini
Jun 27, 2018
When the mercury rises, most of us reach for the sunscreen – believing we are doing something positive by protecting against cancer-causing rays. But research shows that oxybenzone—a common ingredient in sunscreen—is disrupting coral’s reproduction and growth cycles. The good news is there are alternatives that, if implemented, could save the precious ecosystem of coral reefs around the world.
Using what appears to be a Power Jets W.2 turbojet engine to remove mud at the bottom of the River Thames, Erith, England, August 1947. Anon., “Have you seen?” Flying, June 1948, 42.
Article
Aviation & Space

There is mud slinging, and then there is mud slinging

Profile picture for user rfortier
Jun 25, 2018
Bonjour, ami(e) lectrice ou lecteur et… Sorry, wrong language. Greetings, my reading friend. I hope you’re not wearing your best clothes because today’s topic is a somewhat yucky one. Do you remember the April 2018 issues of our blog / bulletin / thingee dedicated to snow removal? No? Yes? Never mind, for there are no snow cones on the menu today. Think mud pies. Huge mud pies actually. Back in 1946-47, some brilliant minds in the United Kingdom began to look at non aeronautical applications of