October 2010 Miscellaneous History

History of Mobile Phone Technology

        Mobile phones were first used by the police in Sweden way back in 1946. Those phones, however, were not of a superior quality, since only 6 calls could drain the battery in a police car. Two-way radio technology was at work then, but the phones were not very practical because of the toll they took on car battery.

        The development of hexagonal cells by D. H Ring of Bell Labs led to invention of the modern day technology used in cell phones, in 1947. The year 1967 was when mobile phone technology became available, but it came with restrictions. For example, the cell phone users had to remain within a certain area in order to make or receive calls.More...

History of the Banana

        The banana is an exotic fruit that belongs to the Musa genus family. It is said that Roman Emperor Octavius Augustus’ personal physician Antonius Musa is the person who promoted the agriculture of banana plants between 63 and 14 B.C.

        During the early 15th century, Europe was introduced to this fruit by Portuguese sailors, who sailed in from West Africa. In print, the very first mention of banana in English, which has been derived from the Guinea word banema, which was found in the 17th century.

        Even in ancient times, bananas were in cultivation and were used by mankind; this was even before men started growing rice!More...