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In modern medicine, the thought of performing surgery without wearing gloves is utterly unthinkable. It is common knowledge that their use helps to prevent the transmission of infection in operating theatres, as well as protecting the surgeon and other staff. This was, however, not always the case, and before the late 1800s, no surgeon wore gloves.

The introduction of the surgical glove in 1889 had a massive impact on the safety of surgery and would save countless lives. Few people realise that the reason they were introduced has its roots in a love story.
A (Very) Brief History of Rubber
It is important to state that without the discovery of rubber, we would also not have surgical gloves today. Before we move on to the romantic aspect of this article, let's go back in time to 1500 BCE. The earliest evidence of the use of natural latex comes from the ancient Mesoamerican Olmec culture, the oldest known major civilisation in the Mexico region. At this time it was apparently used for making balls for a game that is not entirely dissimilar to racquetball.

The Frenchman Charles Marie de La Condamine is credited with the introduction of rubber samples to Europe in 1736, and in 1770 the Englishman Joseph Priestly observed that it was particularly good at rubbing off pencil marks from paper, hence the name "rubber."

The first rubber processing procedure, vulcanisation, was developed by Charles Goodyear in 1839. He treated crude rubber with sulphur and subjected it to heat. This process made the rubber less plastic and increased its strength and durability. Following this, the use of rubber became increasingly popular, and in the 1870s the commercial cultivation of rubber was introduced by British planters in India, at the Calcutta Botanical Gardens. By the latter part of the 19 th-century rubber was widely available and was being used for an increasingly diverse number of commercial and industrial uses.
Joseph Lister and Surgical Asepsis
In the late 1890s surgery still had a 50% mortality rate and infection caused the majority of these deaths. Most of these deaths were preventable as surgeons did not wash hands between procedures or carry out even the most basic of hygiene practices.

This would all change with the introduction of the use of carbolic acid to sterilise surgical instruments by Joseph Lister. Lister initially used the carbolic acid to clean compound fracture wounds, and the results were quite remarkable, reducing mortality rates dramatically. Spurred on by the success of his early experiments, Lister developed a machine that distributed a fine mist of carbolic acid into the operating theatre around the surgical site. The surgical instruments were also washed in the same solution. The combination of these antiseptic measures resulted in a dramatic fall in the death rate of Lister's surgical patients from close to 50% to only 15% in 1870.

The introduction of the use of carbolic acid would also be indirectly responsible for the development of surgical gloves through a sequence of chance events.
William Halsted and Caroline Hampton
William Stewart Halsted was one of the "Big Four" founding professors of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was responsible for the development and introduction of several important surgical procedures, including radical mastectomy for breast cancer, as well as the establishment of the first training program and residency system for young surgeons.

Caroline Hampton was a member of a prominent American southern family and the niece of Confederate General Wade Hampton III. She rebelled against her family wishes and entered nursing school in New York City, graduating in 1888. In 1889 she moved to Baltimore, and it was here the two would meet, and the love story would begin. She was appointed chief nurse to William Halsted, and before long the two would become romantically involved.

Following the work by Lister, Halsted decided to use a combination of carbolic acid and mercuric chloride as a disinfectant during his surgical procedures. Hampton, acting as his scrub nurse would have to handle these chemicals regularly, and as a consequence, she developed severe contact dermatitis on her hands. Halsted could not bear to see her go through this and reached out to the Goodyear Rubber Company to create a rubber glove that she could wear during surgery to protect her hands. Halsted explains, (as quoted by Sherwin Nuland in ' Doctors: The Biography of Medicine'):
"In the winter of 1889 and 1890, I cannot recall the month, the nurse in charge of my operating-room complained that the solutions of mercuric chloride produced a dermatitis of her arms and hands. As she was an unusually efficient woman, I gave the matter my consideration and one day in New York requested the Goodyear Rubber Company to make as an experiment two pair of thin rubber gloves with gauntlets. On trial these proved to be so satisfactory that additional gloves were ordered. In the autumn, on my return to town, an assistant who passed the instruments and threaded the needles was also provided with rubber gloves to wear at the operations. At first the operator wore them only when exploratory incisions into joints were made. After a time the assistants became so accustomed to working in gloves that they also wore them as operators and would remark that they seemed to be less expert with the bare hands than with the gloved hands."
The two were married in June of 1890, shortly after he presented her with two pairs of rubber gloves made to fit plaster casts of her hands. Before long other theatre staff and surgeons began wearing the gloves too, and in time their use became commonplace. At this time the gloves were only used to protect the hands of the staff, but in 1894 Lister became the first person to sterilise the rubber gloves used in surgery.
The Evolution of the Modern Surgical Glove
By the early 1900s, all surgeons were wearing sterile rubber gloves. The first disposable latex medical gloves were manufactured in 1964 by the Ansell Rubber company. These gloves were sterile sterilised the gloves using gamma irradiation and were then disposed of following surgery. Disposable surgical gloves are now the standard in the operating room and many surgeons 'double glove' when performing procedures to reduce the danger of infection from glove failure or puncture.

Talcum powder was introduced to make the donning of gloves easier, but over recent years evidence has arisen that this is linked to the development of post-operative scars and inflammation. In December 2016, the use of powdered gloves was banned.

Another recent development is the introduction of non-latex gloves. The constant wearing of latex gloves has led to an increasing rate of latex allergy in both medical professionals and patients, and gloves made of non-latex materials, such as polyvinyl chloride and neoprene have become widely used.

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In modern medicine, the thought of performing surgery without wearing gloves is utterly unthinkable. It is common knowledge that their use helps to prevent the transmission of infection in operating theatres, as well as protecting the surgeon and other staff. This was, however, not always the case, and before the late 1800s, no surgeon wore gloves.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopsticks

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Various chopsticks, from top to bottom:
* 12-inch (30.5 cm) ruler (for scale)
* Chinese melamine chopsticks
* Chinese porcelain chopsticks
* Tibetan bamboo chopsticks
* Vietnamese palmwood chopsticks
* Korean stainless steel flat chopsticks
* Korean matching spoon in a sujeo
* Japanese palmwood couple's set (two pairs)
* Japanese child's chopsticks
* Disposable bamboo chopsticks from Japan (in paper wrapper)

Chopsticks ( Chinese: 筷子/箸; pinyin: ) are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most of East and Southeast Asia for over three millennia. They are held in the dominant hand, secured by fingers, and wielded as extensions of the hand, to pick up food.

Originating in China, chopsticks later spread to other parts of Asia. Chopsticks have become more accepted in connection with Asian food in the West, especially in cities with significant Asian diaspora communities. The use of chopsticks has also spread to the rest of Southeast Asia either via the Chinese diaspora or through some dishes such as noodles that may require chopsticks.[citation needed ]

Chopsticks are smoothed, and frequently tapered. They are traditionally made of wood, bamboo, metal, ivory, and ceramics, and in modern days, increasingly available in non-traditional materials such as plastic, stainless steel, and even titanium. Chopsticks are often seen as requiring practice and skill to master to be used as an eating utensil. In some countries, failing to follow etiquette in their use is frowned upon, though such feelings are generally lesser than they once were.

Chopsticks have been around and used since at least the Shang dynasty (1766-1122 BCE). However, the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian wrote that it is likely that chopsticks were also used in the preceding Xia dynasty and even the earlier Erlitou culture, although finding archeological evidence from this era is incredibly difficult.

The earliest evidence of chopsticks uncovered so far consists of six chopsticks, made of bronze, 26 centimeters (10 in) long, and 1.1 to 1.3 centimeters (0.43 to 0.51 in) wide, excavated from the Ruins of Yin near Anyang ( Henan). These are dated roughly to 1200 BCE, during the Shang dynasty. They were supposed to have been used for cooking. The earliest known textual reference to the use of chopsticks comes from the , a philosophical text written by Han Fei (c. 280-233 BCE) in the 3rd century BCE.

The wide diffusion of chopsticks in the Chinese culture is sometimes attributed to the Confucian philosophy that emphasizes family harmony as the basis for civil order. Confucius himself allegedly said that knives are for warriors, but chopsticks are for scholars, and his successor Mencius is linked to the aphorism "the honorable and upright man keeps well away from both the slaughterhouse and the kitchen... And he allows no knives on his table". Confucius' reference to chopsticks in his Book of Rites suggests these items were widely known in the Warring States period (c. 475-221 BC).

Silver chopsticks, spoon, and bowl from the Song dynasty

The first chopsticks were used for cooking, stirring the fire, serving or seizing bits of food, and not as eating utensils. One reason was that before the Han dynasty, millet was predominant in North China, Korea and parts of Japan. While chopsticks were used for cooking, millet porridge was eaten with spoons at that time. The use of chopsticks in the kitchen continues to this day.

Ryōribashi are Japanese kitchen chopsticks used in Japanese cuisine. They are used in the preparation of Japanese food, and are not designed for eating. These chopsticks allow handling of hot food with one hand, and are used like regular chopsticks. These chopsticks have a length of 30 centimeters (12 in) or more, and may be looped together with a string at the top. They are usually made from bamboo. For deep frying, however, metal chopsticks with bamboo handles are preferred, as tips of regular bamboo chopsticks become discolored and greasy after repeated use in hot oil. The bamboo handles protect against heat.

Similarly, Vietnamese cooks use Đũa cả () or "grand chopsticks" in cooking, and for serving rice from the pot.

A painting of a Japanese woman using chopsticks, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Chopsticks began to be used as eating utensils during the Han dynasty, as rice consumption increased. During this period, spoons continued to be used alongside chopsticks as eating utensils at meals. It was not until the Ming dynasty that chopsticks came into exclusive use for both serving and eating. They then acquired the name kuaizi and the present shape.

The use of chopsticks as both cooking and eating utensils spread throughout East and Southeast Asia over time. Scholars such as Isshiki Hachiro and Lynn White have noted how the world was split among three dining customs, or food cultural spheres. There are those that eat with their fingers, those that use forks and knives, and then there is the "chopsticks cultural sphere", consisting of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

As ethnic Chinese emigrated, they spread the usage of chopsticks as eating utensils to South and Southeast Asian countries including Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand. In Singapore and Malaysia, the ethnic Chinese traditionally consume all food with chopsticks, while ethnic Indians and Malays (especially in Singapore) use chopsticks primarily to consume noodle dishes. Overall, the use of either chopsticks, a spoon, or a fork, is interchangeable in these regions. In Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Nepal chopsticks are generally used only to consume noodles.

Similarly, chopsticks have become more accepted in connection with Asian food around the world, in Hawaii, the West Coast of North America, and cities with Overseas Asian communities all around the globe.

The earliest European reference to chopsticks comes in the Portuguese Suma Oriental by Tomé Pires, who wrote in 1515 in Malacca: "They [the Chinese] eat with two sticks and the earthenware or china bowl in their left hand close to the mouth, with the two sticks to suck in. This is the Chinese way."

In ancient written Chinese, the character for chopsticks was zhu ( 箸; Middle Chinese reconstruction: d̪jwo-). Although it may have been widely used in ancient spoken Chinese, its use was eventually replaced by the pronunciation for the character kuài ( 快), meaning "quick". The original character, though still used in writing, is rarely used in modern spoken Chinese. It, however, is preserved in Chinese dialects such as Hokkien and Teochew, as the Min Chinese languages are directly descended from Old Chinese rather than Middle Chinese.

The Standard Chinese term for chopsticks is kuàizi ( 筷子). The first character () is a pictophonetic (semantic-phonetic) compound created with a phonetic part meaning "quick" (), and a semantic part meaning "bamboo" (), using the radical (⺮).

The English word "chopstick" may have derived from Chinese Pidgin English, in which meant "quickly". According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest published use of the word is in the 1699 book Voyages and Descriptions by William Dampier: "they are called by the English seamen Chopsticks". Another possibility, is that the term is derived from chow (or chow chow) which is also a pidgin word stemming from Southeast Asia meaning "food". Thus chopsticks would simply mean "food sticks".

In Japanese, chopsticks are called hashi. A common misconception is that they are referred as otemoto, a phrase commonly printed on the wrappers of disposable chopsticks noting the placement of chopsticks at a serving table at the base of the hands directly Infront. Te means hand and moto means the area under or around something. The preceding o is used for politeness.おてもと can refer to any small plate or serving utensil placed at a serving table.

In Korean, 저 (, jeo) is used in the compound jeotgarak ( 젓가락), which is composed of jeo ("chopsticks") and garak ("stick"). Jeo cannot be used alone, but can be found in other compounds such as ( 수저) ("spoon and chopsticks").

In Taiwanese Hokkien, which is derived from Hokkien, chopsticks are called tī, written as 箸.

In Vietnamese, chopsticks are called , which is written as in Chữ Nôm. is the non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of . An alternative character is 𥮊.

In Mongolian, chopsticks are called "savkh" which is written as "савх" in Mongolian and as "ᠰᠠᠤᠬᠠ" in Old Mongolian.

In Cambodian (Khmer), chopsticks are called chang keuh (ចង្កឹះ).

In such Malay-speaking countries, in Indonesian, chopsticks are called from Baba Malay sumpit, from Hokkien 栓筆／栓笔 (sng-pit, "holding pin"). In Borneo, bamboo chopsticks called candas. In Malaysia they may be called penyepit.

Chopsticks come in a wide variety of styles, with differences in geometry and material. Depending on the country and the region some chopstick styles are more common than others.

Length: Chopsticks range from 23 centimeters (9.1 in) to 26 centimeters (10 in) long, tapering to one end. Very long, large chopsticks, usually about 30 or 40 centimeters (12 or 16 in), are used for cooking, especially for deep frying foods.

Cross-section: Chopsticks may have round, square, hexagonal, or other polygonal cross-sections. Usually the edges are rounded off so there are no sharp 90° surface angles in square chopsticks. Korean chopsticks are notable for having flat handles, instead of regular full bodies as in Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese chopsticks.

Taper: Chopsticks are usually tapered in the end used for picking up food. Chinese and Vietnamese chopsticks are more commonly blunt, while Japanese ones tend to be sharp and pointed in style. Korean chopsticks typically have sharp tapers.

Tips: Some chopsticks have a rough surface for the tip end, to provide better friction for gripping food. The gripping surfaces may be carved as circumferential grooves, or provided as a rough texture.

Material: A large variety of materials is available, including bamboo, wood, plastic, metal, bone, jade, porcelain, and ivory.

Bamboo and wooden chopsticks are relatively inexpensive, low in temperature conduction, and provide good grip for holding food. They can warp and deteriorate with continued use if they are of the unvarnished or unlacquered variety. Almost all cooking and disposable chopsticks are made of bamboo or wood. Disposable unlacquered chopsticks are used especially in restaurants. These often come as a piece of wood that is partially cut and must be split into two chopsticks by the user (serving as proof that they have not been previously used). In Japanese, these disposable implements are known as waribashi ()

Plastic chopsticks are relatively inexpensive, low in temperature conduction, and resistant to wear. Melamine is one of the more commonly used plastics for chopsticks. Plastic chopsticks are not as effective as wood and bamboo for picking up food, because they tend to be slippery. Also, plastic chopsticks cannot be used for cooking, since high temperatures may damage the chopsticks and produce toxic compounds.

Metal chopsticks are durable and easy to clean, but present a slippery surface. Stainless steel is a common metal used to make chopsticks, but titanium chopsticks can be purchased at prices comparable to a good pair of wooden chopsticks. Silver is still common among wealthy families, and as part of gift sets.

Other materials such as ivory, jade, gold, and silver are typically chosen for luxury. Silver-tipped chopsticks were often used as a precaution by wealthy people, as it was believed that the silver would turn black upon contact with poison.

Embellishments: Wooden or bamboo chopsticks can be painted or lacquered for decoration and waterproofing. Metal chopsticks are sometimes roughened or scribed to make them less slippery. Higher-priced metal chopstick pairs are sometimes connected by a short chain at the untapered end to prevent their separation.

Chinese chopsticks tend to be longer than other styles, at about 27 centimeters (11 in). They are thicker, with squared or rounded cross-sections. They end in either wide, blunt, flat tips or tapered pointed tips. Blunt tips are more common with plastic or melamine varieties, whereas pointed tips are more common in wood and bamboo varieties. Chinese restaurants more commonly offer melamine chopsticks for its durability and ease of sanitation. Within individual household, bamboo chopsticks are more commonly found.

Hashi (for eating) and saibashi (for cooking, shown below)

It is common for Japanese sticks to be of shorter length for women, and children's chopsticks in smaller sizes are common. Many Japanese chopsticks have circumferential grooves at the eating end, which helps prevent food from slipping. Japanese chopsticks are typically sharp and pointed, in order to dissect fish and seafood. They are traditionally made of wood or bamboo, and are lacquered.

Lacquered chopsticks are known in Japanese as nuribashi, in several varieties, depending on where they are made and what types of lacquers are used in glossing them. Japan is the only place where they are decorated with natural lacquer, making them not just functional but highly attractive. Japanese traditional lacquered chopsticks are produced in the city of Obama in Fukui Prefecture, and come in many colors coated in natural lacquer. They are decorated with mother-of-pearl from abalone, and with eggshell to impart a waterproof coating to the chopsticks, extending their life.

Edo Kibashi chopsticks have been made by Tokyo craftspeople since the beginning of the Taishō Period (1912-1926) roughly 100 years ago. These chopsticks use high-grade wood (ebony, red sandalwood, ironwood, Japanese box-trees, or maple), which craftspeople plane by hand. Edo Kibashi chopsticks may be pentagonal, hexagonal or octagonal in cross-section. The tips of these chopsticks are rounded to prevent damage to the dish or the bowl.

In Japan, chopsticks for cooking are known as ryoribashi (), and as saibashi () when used to transfer cooked food to the dishes it will be served in.

The earliest uses of chopsticks in Korea seem to date back to the Three Kingdoms of Korea with the oldest chopsticks excavated from the royal tomb of Baekje. Chopsticks used by Koreans are often made of metal. It is believed that the uses of metallic chopsticks evolved from the royal practice of using silver chopsticks to detect poison in food, but the exact reason is debated. Depending on the historical era, the metallic composition of Korean chopsticks varied. In the past, such as during the Goryeo era, chopsticks were made of bronze. During the Joseon era, chopsticks used by royalty were made of silver, as its oxidizing properties could often be used to detect whether or not food intended for royals had been tampered with. In the present day, the majority of Korean metal chopsticks are made of stainless steel. Due to metal's slippery nature, the chopsticks are stamped flat for better gripping. High-end sets, such as those intended as gifts, are often made of sterling silver. Chopsticks made of varying woods (typically bamboo) are also common in Korea. Many Korean chopsticks are ornately decorated at the grip.

In North and South Korea, chopsticks of medium-length with a small, flat rectangular shape are paired with a spoon, made of the same material. The set is called , a portmanteau of the Korean words for spoon and chopsticks. This (the historical extensive use of a spoon in addition to chopsticks) is also a feature unique to Korea; most chopstick-using countries have either eliminated the use of spoons, or have limited their use as eating utensils. It is traditional to rest sujeo on spoon and chopstick rest, so chopsticks and the spoon do not touch the table surface.

In the past, materials for sujeo varied with social class: Sujeo used in the court were made with gold, silver, or cloisonné, while commoners used brass or wooden sujeo. Today, sujeo is usually made with stainless steel, although is also popular in more traditional settings.

Đũa cả, a type of Vietnamese chopsticks used to scoop rice. In the photo is the Đũa cả artifact of the Chứt people

Vietnamese chopsticks are long sticks that taper to a blunt point. They are usually big and thick at one end and thinner at the other, thin ends are often used to pick up food. They are traditionally made of bamboo or lacquered wood. Today, plastic chopsticks are also used due to their durability. However, bamboo or wooden chopsticks are often more popular, especially in the village countryside ( quê). Vietnam has a number of specialized chopsticks for cooking and stirring rice such as Đũa cả () are large, flat chopsticks used to serve rice from a pot and there is a specialized type of chopsticks for stir-frying, they are usually 10-20 cm longer than normal chopsticks called Đũa xào (箸炒).

Historically, Thais tended to use their hands when eating their native cuisine. Ethnic Chinese immigrants introduced chopsticks for foods that require them. Restaurants serving other Asian cuisines that utilize chopsticks use the style of chopstick, if any, appropriate for that cuisine. Fork and spoon, adopted from the West, are now the most commonly used.

Mongolian chopsticks were usually made of bones, and their tips were covered with silver, every rich man kept the chopsticks in a sheath. At the same time, sticks were not often used directly for eating, being, for the most part, an element of decor and confirmation of the status of the carrier. Apart from the Khalkha Mongols and Mongols from Inner Mongolia of China, chopsticks have also been found in old traditional Buryat and Kalmyk knives' sets.

Borneo/Malaysia/Indonesia etc

In Malay-speaking countries, there may be several names for chopsticks. In Borneo, bamboo chopsticks called candas are used to eat or linut in Borneo, a native staple food of glutinous porridge made from sago. A pair of candas is typically adjoined at the back. In Indonesian chospticks may be called sumpit. In Malaysia they may be called penyepit.

Lifelong users and adult learners alike, around the world, hold chopsticks in more than one way. But there is a general consensus on a standard grip being the most efficient way to grip and wield chopsticks.

Regardless of whether users wield the standard grip, or one of many alternative grips, their goals are the same. They hold the two sticks in the dominant hand, secured by various fingers and parts of the hand, such that the sticks become an extension of the hand. Tsung-Dao Lee, a Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics, summarized it thus: "Although simple, the two sticks perfectly use the physics of leverage. Chopsticks are an extension of human fingers. Whatever fingers can do, chopsticks can do, too."

Alternative grips differ in their effectiveness in picking up food. They differ in the amount of pinching ( compression) power they can generate. Some grips can generate substantial, outward extension force, while others are unable to do so.

The standard grip calls for the top chopstick to be held by the tip of the thumb, the tip of the index finger, and the middle finger knuckle. These three fingers surround the top stick from three sides, and firmly secure the stick as if they were holding a pen. The three fingers, using this tripod-like hold, can wiggle and twirl the top stick, as if it were an extension of them. The rear end of the top stick rests on the base of the index finger.

The bottom chopstick, however, generally remains immobile. It is secured by the base of the thumb, which presses the stick against the knuckle of the ring finger, and against the purlicue. The thumb therefore does double duty. It holds the bottom stick immobile, and at the same time, it also moves the top stick. The thumb must be flattened, in order to perform this double duty.

In chopstick-using cultures, learning to use chopsticks is part of a child's development process. The right way to use chopsticks is usually taught within the family. But many young children find their own ways of wielding chopsticks in the process. There exists a variety of learning aids that parents purchase to help their children learn to use chopsticks properly.

Adult learners, on the other hand, may acquire the skill through personal help from friends, or from instructions printed on wrapper sleeves of some disposable chopsticks. Various video hosting platforms also provide a plethora of how-to videos on learning to use chopsticks. All the same, adult learners too, often find their own alternative grips to using chopsticks.

In general, learning aids attempt to steer learners towards the established standard grip. These aids attempt to illustrate or enforce the right standard grip mechanical leverage.

The learning process usually starts with a proper initial placement of fingers, per standard grip. It is crucial for learners to understand how to hold both sticks firmly in the hand, as extensions of fingers.

The next step involves learning the right motion of fingers, in order to move the top stick from the closed posture where tips of chopsticks touch, to the open posture where tips are extended wide apart for embracing food items. The open posture and the closed posture define the two ends of maximum standard grip motion. In most eating situations, tips of chopsticks need not be extended this wide apart.

Both finger placement and standard grip motion rely on the thumb being flattened. With this flat thumb pose, the base of the thumb can exert enough force to pin the bottom stick against the knuckle of the ring finger, and against the purlicue. At the same time, the tip of the thumb pushes back against the index finger and the knuckle of the middle finger, as all three wield the top stick in concert.

The shape of the flat thumb is such that the bottom stick is prevented from shaking loose, and from inching closer to the top stick, during repeated standard grip motion. Keeping the two chopsticks separated far enough, at the place they intersect with the thumb, is important for the standard grip. At the open posture, it allows tips to extend wide apart, without rear ends of chopsticks colliding. At the closed posture, it enables better control over tips of chopsticks.

The most popular chopstick learning aid is arguably the wrapper-sleeve-and-rubber-band model, which is used in East Asian restaurants around the world. These are mostly operated like tweezers, or tongs. While they are useful for picking up food, they do not help learners acquire the standard grip. Many similar chopstick inventions can be found on the market, such as Kwik Stix. Some inventions combine other utensils with chopsticks. These include The Chork, the Fork and Knife Chopsticks, etc.

Some learning aids help learners with the initial placement of fingers, per standard grip. This can be done by making "index finger", "thumb tip", or equivalent labels at the right places on chopsticks. Often these chopsticks will have finger-shaped grooves carved out of sticks, to further help learners find the right placement. Other finger placement chopsticks instead carve circumferential grooves into sticks, in place of finger-shaped ones.

Some learning aids allow users to wield two sticks as extensions of their fingers, without the exact finger dynamics required by the standard grip. Some models provide hoops through which fingers can move the top chopstick as an exoskeleton of these fingers. Other models use finger-shaped tabs instead to achieve the same, for both top and bottom sticks. Yet other models combine finger placement features with the above. Usually these models connect the two chopsticks with a bridge and a hinge, holding the two sticks in the right configuration on behalf of users.

Chopstick customs, manners and etiquette

Chopsticks are used in many parts of the world and principles of etiquette are similar, but finer points can differ from region to region. Chopstick manners were gradually shaped to work with a culture's particular dietary varieties and habit. Etiquette developed for primarily individual servings eaten on the floor (or tatami in the case of Japan) could be different from communal meals eaten around a table while seated on chairs. The need for serving or communal chopsticks similarly differ. In some cultures it is customary to lift a bowl to the mouth, when the only eating utensil used is chopsticks. In other cultures, lifting a bowl closer to the mouth is frowned upon as equivalent to begging, as the local custom is to use chopsticks for chunky food, and a spoon for liquid food.

In chopstick-using countries, holding chopsticks incorrectly reflects negatively on a child's parents and home environment. There are frequent news articles on the alarming decline of children's abilities to use chopsticks correctly. Similarly, stabbing food due to one's inability to wield chopsticks with dexterity is also frowned upon.

In general, chopsticks should not be left vertically stuck into a bowl of rice because it resembles the ritual of incense-burning that symbolizes "feeding" the dead.

When eating rice from a bowl, it is normal to hold the rice bowl up to one's mouth and use chopsticks to push or shovel the rice directly into the mouth.

It is traditionally acceptable to transfer food using one's own chopsticks to closely related people. Family members transfer a choice piece of food from a dish to that of an elder person before dinner starts, as a sign of respect. In modern times, the use of serving or communal chopsticks for this transfer has gained momentum, for better sanitary practices.

Chopsticks, when not in use, are placed either to the right or below one's plate in a Chinese table setting.

It is poor etiquette to tap chopsticks on the edge of one's bowl; beggars make this sort of noise to attract attention.

One should not "dig" or "search" through food for something in particular. This is sometimes known as "digging one's grave" or "grave-digging" and is extremely poor form.

The pointed ends of the chopsticks should be placed on a chopstick rest when the chopsticks are not being used. However, when a chopstick rest is not available as is often the case in restaurants using waribashi (disposable chopsticks), chopstick wrappers may be folded into a rest.

Reversing chopsticks to use the opposite clean end can be used to move food from a communal plate, and is acceptable if there are no communal chopsticks. In general, reversing chopsticks (, sakasabashi) is frowned upon, however, because of the association to the celebratory chopsticks (, iwai-bashi), where both ends of chopsticks are tapered, but only one end is for man to use, while the other is for use by God.

Chopsticks should not be crossed on a table, as this symbolizes death.

Chopsticks should be placed in the right-left direction, and the tips should be on the left.

In formal use, disposable chopsticks (waribashi) should be replaced into the wrapper at the end of a meal.

It is rude to stand chopsticks vertically in rice, or pass food from one pair chopsticks to another, as these are reminiscent of parts of Japanese funeral traditions.

In Korea, chopsticks are paired with a spoon, forming a set. are placed on the right side and parallel to (rice) and (soup). Chopsticks are laid on the right side of the paired spoon. One must never put the chopsticks to the left of the spoon. Chopsticks are only laid to the left during the food preparation for the funeral or the memorial service for the deceased family members, known as .

As in China and Japan, chopsticks are not stuck into food and left standing up, as this resembles food offerings at a grave for deceased ancestors.

The spoon is used for (rice) and soupy dishes, while most other (side dishes) are eaten with chopsticks.

It is considered uncultured and rude to pick up a plate or a bowl to bring it closer to one's mouth, and eat its content with chopsticks. If the food lifted "drips", a spoon is used under the lifted food to catch the dripping juices. Otherwise however, holding both a spoon and chopsticks in one hand simultaneously or in both hands is usually frowned upon.

Vietnam is one of the countries in the original "chopsticks cultural sphere". Its customs are heavily influenced by its Chinese counterparts, including using chopsticks exclusively as eating utensils. Consequently Vietnamese chopstick etiquette is very similar to the Chinese version. For instance, it is deemed proper to hold the bowl close to the mouth, just like is the case in China. Holding chopsticks vertically up like incense sticks is taboo. Tapping bowls with chopsticks is frowned upon.

Although there are some similarities with China, they still have some differences, some other common Vietnamese taboos are:

Placing chopsticks unevenly on the dining table

Before and during a meal, do not place long or short chopsticks on the table, because this is considered a bad omen. Influenced by the concept of China, the ancients also believed that this is similar to the coffin of the dead, made from 2 short wooden boards and 3 long wooden boards, representing bad luck. You should pay attention to equalize chopsticks when eating, not only to avoid possible bad luck but in fact it makes it easier to pick up food.

Knocking chopsticks into the bowl

The act of tapping chopsticks on the side of a bowl is considered similar to a beggar. Because, in the past, only beggars used chopsticks to knock on pots to make the sound of begging for food. This is considered rude and unlucky and should absolutely be avoided, especially when dining with outsiders.

Index finger pointing out when holding chopsticks

In this usage, the thumb, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger hold the chopsticks, while the index finger sticks out. It's like constantly pointing fingers at others, meaning to criticize and scold others. In addition, when talking during meals, pointing at others with chopsticks is also extremely disrespectful.

Crossing chopsticks

This behavior usually goes unnoticed. When eating, many people arbitrarily put their chopsticks on the table. The ancients considered this behavior to be counterproductive, denying all people sitting at the same table.

Using chopsticks to plug the rice bowl

This is taboo because it is similar to sticking incense in an incense bowl, implying an invitation to the deceased, bringing bad spirits to the meal.

Using chopsticks to skewer food

If during a meal, chopsticks are inserted into the food, this is a kind of rude behavior, very impolite and taboo for the people sitting at the table.

Sucking or biting chopsticks

When eating, holding chopsticks in your mouth, biting back and forth with your mouth, and sometimes making noises is considered an act of lack of upbringing, meanness and disrespect. In addition, this behavior and the sound it makes also make others feel uncomfortable and offensive. Therefore, this is not advisable behavior.

Using a chopstick to stir the food

When eating rice but only using a chopstick to stir the plate of food, this must also be avoided, because it is considered to be insulting to those at the table.

Connecting chopsticks together

When serving food for others, in addition to having to turn the chopsticks to keep the recipient's hygiene, you also have to pay attention to pick up the food and put it in their bowl and avoid "joining chopsticks", that is, passing food from chopsticks to chopsticks of others. this brings bad luck because in some places, when cremating the dead, the ashes will be passed with chopsticks. You should avoid bringing bad luck to you.

Picking up and putting down without picking

In the past, well-educated girls were often taught to absolutely avoid using chopsticks to swing in the rice tray, choose food, and do not know where to lower the chopsticks to pick up the appropriate place.[clarification needed ] This type of behavior is a typical manifestation of lack of cultivation, moreover, not treating anyone well enough to make others feel offensive. In modern society, this behavior also does not make good sense.

Searching through food

When eating rice but holding chopsticks in hand and constantly picking at food, in order to find a preferred food item, is likened to the act of "grave theft". This behavior also belongs to the behavior of lack of upbringing, causing offense.

Picking up spilled food

Using chopsticks to pick up food that is not neat or pick up one dish and spill it on another or on the table is considered extremely rude.

In Cambodia, chopsticks, spoon and fork, and hands are the primary eating utensils. Although chopsticks are commonly used for noodle dishes, most Cambodians use chopsticks for any meal. And because Cambodia adopted the spoon and fork later than their neighboring countries such as Thailand, it is common to see Cambodians use chopsticks for any meals. Forks are only used to help guide food onto the spoon. Forks are not used to shovel food into the mouth. For noodle dishes such as and num banhchok, chopsticks are used. Cambodians do not use forks at all to put food in their mouth because they are seen as dangerous near the mouth area. And the soup spoon is used for the broth.

Historically, Thai people used bare hands to eat and occasionally used a spoon and fork for curries or soup, the result of Western influence. But many Thai noodle dishes, served in a bowl are eaten with chopsticks.[62][63]

Unlike in China and in Vietnam, chopsticks are not used with a bowl of rice.[64]

It is considered impolite to make a sound with chopsticks.[64]

It is poor etiquette to rest or hold chopsticks pointing towards others, as pointing is considered disrespectful.[64]

Mie Goreng (fried noodles) are often used with chopsticks and spoon.

Malaysia, Indonesia, etc

Chopsticks in Malay speaking countries such as Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia are used for eating noodles almost exclusively, whilst spoon and/or fork are used for eating rice, and sometimes use of hands as well. Typically most commonly seen with dishes such as mie goreng ( fried noodles, Indonesia) or mee goreng (also fried noodles, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore).

The most widespread use of disposable chopsticks is in Japan, where around a total of 24 billion pairs are used each year, which is equivalent to almost 200 pairs per person yearly. In China, an estimated 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks are produced yearly. This adds up to 1.66 million cubic meters (59 ⁶ cu ft) of timber or 25 million fully grown trees every year.

In April 2006, China imposed a 5% tax on disposable chopsticks to reduce waste of natural resources by overconsumption. This measure had the most effect in Japan as many of its disposable chopsticks are imported from China, which account for over 90% of the Japanese market.

American manufacturers have begun exporting American-made chopsticks to China, using sweet gum and poplar wood as these materials do not need to be artificially lightened with chemicals or bleach, and have been seen as appealing to Chinese and other East Asian consumers.

The American-born Taiwanese singer Wang Leehom has publicly advocated the use of reusable chopsticks made from sustainable materials. In Japan, reusable chopsticks are known as maihashi or maibashi (, meaning "my chopsticks").

A 2006 Hong Kong Department of Health survey found that, since 2003, the proportion of people using distinctly separate serving chopsticks, spoons, or other utensils for serving food from a common dish has increased from 46% to 65%.

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Chopsticks ( Chinese: 筷子/箸; pinyin: ) are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most of East and Southeast Asia for over three millennia. They are held in the dominant hand, secured by fingers, and wielded as extensions of the hand, to pick up food.

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https://arsoccer.org/soccer-cleats/

https://www.footballhistory.org/shoes.html

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Whether it's being worn by an amateur or a professional, there's no denying that nothing quite makes a game of soccer like putting on a pair of clean, fresh cleats. Like the soccer ball, this footwear is a symbol of the game, much l ike it is for both rugby and hockey, all of which share a similar history.

It's among the gear that's most often taken for granted by players, but without a good pair of cleats, most players would not be able to successfully keep up with their team mates or their competitors.

And while soccer cleats might just be shoes to most people, they are steeped in a long and fascinating evolution that saw them start out as nothing special and slowly become the obsession for countless fans across the world.

In fact, a number of high profile soccer players have sold their cleats over the years, often for thousands of dollars, and often to raise money for charity. One of the most well known examples of this is famed player Paul Pogba, who sold the cleats that he wore during the 2018 World Cup and raised a princely sum of $30000 that he gave away to charity.

The Origin of Soccer Cleats

It's believed by many historians that sports cleats, or shoes that have some sort of grip on the bottom, can be dated as far back as the 3 rd century, where they were worn by the ancient Romans and possibly the Greeks. Cleats would make their way to England, where they would be made popular during the reign of King Henry VIIII, who was recorded as the first person to officially order a set of ankle high boots made out of leather, specifically for sport.

The leather they were made out of was quite rigid, and the shoes would have been uncomfortable by our modern standards, but they proved to be a landmark for the people at the time, and would later become famous around the globe, being found in most forms of modern media, from television shows to popular games that offer bonuses for you to enjoy.

How They Evolved

These original cleats were expensive to make, and it led to most people having to make their own at home using their own materials. This quickly led to a huge rise in popularity of cleats around Great Britain, where more and more of the working class began to create different kinds of cleats for different purposes. Some of these became the rugby boots that are still worn today, while others would be u sed in games like hockey and many others. The soccer cleat would undergo numerous changes over the years, eventually becoming adopted by professional sportswear companies like Adidas. The rules for how soccer cleats were meant to look and perform were in place by the turn of the 19 th century, but it would take another hundred years before we got the standards that we know so well today.

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The History Of Soccer Cleats And How They Become Popular

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Whether it's being worn by an amateur or a professional, there's no denying that nothing quite makes a game of soccer like putting on a pair of clean, fresh cleats. Like the soccer ball, this footwear is a symbol of the game, much l ike it is for both rugby and hockey, all of which share a similar history.

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warning please do not look at my old post yani

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warning please do not look at my old post yani

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worldatlas.com

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A cup of coffee next to a traditional coffee maker.

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. The drink is brewed from roasted coffee beans from the coffee plant. The method of preparing coffee depends on the desired flavor and personal taste. However, almost all the methods involve the grounding of coffee beans and then mixing with hot water. One of the appliances that can be used to brew coffee is the coffee machine, commonly known as a coffeemaker. There are several varieties of coffeemakers, with each using a different brewing principle. The coffee maker was invented by Melitta Bentz in 1873.

History of Coffee Makers

For many years, making a coffee drink was a simple process that involved grounding of roasted coffee beans and putting in a pot of hot water to allow for the infusion process. The pots were specially designed in such a way that they could trap the ground coffee beans before the coffee is poured. The infusion process soon became popular, especially in France. Soon, the idea of not boiling coffee gained acceptance. Drip brewing (making coffee using filters) became popular. Several techniques were used to make coffee fillers including use of cloth socks. However, it was not until 1908 that Melitta Bentz invented the first drip coffee maker using a coffee filter she had made from a blotting paper.

How Melitta Bentz Invented the Coffee Maker

Amalia Melitta Bentz was a German entrepreneur who was born in 1873. Frustrated by the over-brewing of coffee whenever she used percolators, Bentz experimented various means of making coffee but each of the items used failed. She finally decided to use a blotting paper from her son's notebook and to her surprise, the paper was easier to use and produced a clean coffee. She soon started her drip coffee company and became the first person to create a coffee filter. Bentz was granted patent by the Kaiserliche Patentamt on June 20, 1908, and the company was registered in December of the same year as M. Bentz. The company managed to sell 1,200 coffee filters during the Leipzig fair in 1909. By 1928, the demand for coffee filters was so high that the employees had to work in a double shift. At the time of Bentz's death in 1950, the company was valued at DM 4.7 million. As of 2018, the company had made 1.5 billion sales and had over 4,500 employees worldwide. The Melitta Group has operations worldwide and has numerous brands and products.

The Automatic Drip Coffee Maker

The automatic drip coffeemaker was invented and popularized by Mr. Coffee in the 1970s. The machine works the same way as Bentz's coffee filter by dripping hot water through a finely grounded on a filter paper. In an automatic drip coffeemaker, the reservoir is first filled with cold water followed by heat from a heating element. The boiling causes the steam to rise into a tube and condense. The condensed water infuses with coffee and filter into carafe which is placed on a hot metal plate to keep the coffee warm.

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3. Who Invented the Coffee Maker?

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Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. The drink is brewed from roasted coffee beans from the coffee plant. The method of preparing coffee depends on the desired flavor and personal taste. However, almost all the methods involve the grounding of coffee beans and then mixing with hot water.

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When people think about snowshoeing today, they often think about a fantastic winter sport that also provides plenty of exercise as people get out in the wilderness and experience the outdoors; however, snowshoeing and snowshoes themselves were actually invented out of necessity. While it is unclear where and how snowshoes were invented, most people believe that they were created somewhere in Central Asia around 4,000 years ago. The people who lived in this area of the world at the time needed to have a way to travel and hunt for food during the winter. During this time, the ground was covered in snow, and typical shoes made it hard for people to work efficiently and formed the foundation for snowshoes as we know them today.

The First Snowshoes

The first snowshoes were actually made from pieces of leather. They were attached to wooden blocks for added stability while walking through the snow. Eventually, these blocks got longer, as people who lived in Scandinavia, where snow is on the ground frequently, discovered they could use these blocks for skis. In this manner, snowshoes formed the foundation for the first skis as well.

As people started to cross into North America, snowshoes continued to evolve. Many of the tribes in this area introduced the idea of snowshoes to those who came to visit. Sometimes, these snowshoes were incredibly long, as they were made from trees and timber. Furthermore, snowshoes took on many shapes and forms. Some were round while others were square, and some snowshoes were fat and wide, while others were long and narrow. They quickly discovered that snowshoes took different forms for different conditions.

The Evolution of Snowshoes

As time went on, people continued to explore the wilderness, and snowshoes played a critical role in this. Eventually, snowshoes became a great form of both leisure and exercise. They were used by military units who had to patrol the wilderness during the winter. They were used by explorers who needed to chart the rest of North America and even used by clubs that wanted to hold races and hikes.

Many of the older snowshoes made out of wood and rawhide are seen as a form of both art and craftsmanship. They are mostly seen in museums or as a piece of artwork now; however, some people still use them today. Modern snowshoes are a bit different in materials and technology, but the basic idea remains quite similar.

Modern Snowshoes Are Born

With the rapid pace of technological advancement, every industry has seen a change. This includes snowshoes and how they are made today. During the 1950s, materials that were invented for space (such as aluminum) started to be found in other areas as well. By the 1970s, snowshoes were being created that included crampons, cleats, and other metals that provide to be lighter and more durable. Research continued and improvements were made on metal snowshoes to make them safer and easier to use.

Now, some of the most popular snowshoes are made out of foam. Foam snowshoes are great because they are light, durable, inexpensive, and work well in the snow. For these reasons, many people who wear snowshoes today as they go out exploring invest in foam snowshoes. They work well for traversing uphill, downhill, and even for races. Many people who like the sport of snowshoeing have carved out trails through the woods.

Today, there are three popular types of snowshoes. They include running snowshoes (which are light), recreational snowshoes (which are larger and more stable), and mountain snowshoes (which are meant to be used for hiking and climbing mountains). The sport of snowshoeing has come a long way. The snowshoes that are used have evolved with the sport.

Snowshoeing is a Great Way to Explore

While snowshoeing has evolved over the years, this is still an excellent way for people to get out and see everything the mountain has to offer. While there are lots of different snowshoes from which to choose, there is something for everyone. Anyone who wants to see everything the mountains have to offer must get involved in the sport of snowshoeing. This starts with finding the right snowshoeing equipment from Crescent Moon!

Check out all of our foam snowshoes, aluminum snowshoes and snowshoe accessories.

Foam Snowshoes - Aluminum Snowshoes - Snowshoe accessories

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Why Were The First Snowshoes Invented: An Evolution Of Snowshoeing

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When people think about snowshoeing today, they often think about a fantastic winter sport that also provides plenty of exercise as people get out in the wilderness and experience the outdoors; however, snowshoeing and snowshoes themselves were actually invented out of necessity.

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i think i need to take down the website i have on now

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i think i need to take down the website i have on now

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Chopsticks (Chinese: 筷子 or 箸; Pinyin: kuaizi or zhu) are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of Chinese origin that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most of East and Southeast Asia for over three millennia. They are held in the dominant hand, secured by fingers, and wielded as extensions of the hand, to pick up food.

First used by the Chinese, chopsticks later spread to Tibet and other parts of Asia. Chopsticks have become more accepted in connection with Asian food in the West, especially in cities with significant Asian diaspora communities.

Chopsticks are smoothed, and frequently tapered. They are traditionally made of wood, bamboo, metal, ivory, and ceramics, and in modern days, increasingly available in non-traditional materials such as plastic, stainless steel, and even titanium. Chopsticks are often seen as requiring practice and skill to master to be used as an eating utensil. Although not as serious as before, in some countries it is often frowned upon if used incorrectly.

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Table of Contents

What is the game of Monopoly?

Where did the game Monopoly originate?

This article was most recently revised and updated by

Monopoly, real-estate board game for two to eight players, in which the player's goal is to remain financially solvent while forcing opponents into bankruptcy by buying and developing pieces of property.

Each side of the square board is divided into 10 small rectangles representing specific properties, railroads, utilities, a jail, and various other places and events. At the start of the game, each player is given a fixed amount of play money; the players then move around the board according to the throw of a pair of dice. Any player who lands on an unowned property may buy it, but, if he or she lands on a property owned by another player, rent must be paid to that player. Certain nonproperty squares require the player landing on them to draw a card that may be favourable or unfavourable. If a player acquires a monopoly-that is, all of a particular group of properties-that player may purchase improvements for those properties; improvements add substantially to a property's rental fee. A player continues to travel around the board until he or she is bankrupt. Bankruptcy results in elimination from the game. The last player remaining on the board is the winner.

Monopoly, which is the best-selling privately patented board game in history, gained popularity in the United States during the Great Depression when Charles B. Darrow, an unemployed heating engineer, sold the concept to Parker Brothers in 1935. Before then, homemade versions of a similar game had circulated in many parts of the United States. Most were based on the Landlord's Game, a board game designed and patented by Lizzie G. Magie in 1904. She revised and renewed the patent on her game in 1924. Notably, the version Magie originated did not involve the concept of a monopoly; for her, the point of the game was to illustrate the potential exploitation of tenants by greedy landlords. Magie used the Landlord's Game to promote a remedy for such exploitation-namely, the single tax on property owners, a leading social issue among those who criticized land speculation as a cause of economic injustice.

The Landlord's Game was still circulating in the early 1900s as a handmade board game, and other variations emerged that incorporated the monopolization of properties. Among those promoting this version were the brothers Louis and Fred Thun, who abandoned their patent attempt in 1931 when records of Magie's 1904 patent came to light, and Dan Layman, who named his game Finance but, like the Thuns, did not patent it. Darrow drew upon the earlier models, successfully marketing his version of Monopoly to retailers in the northeastern United States between 1933 and 1934. Demand soon overwhelmed his ability to mass-produce the game sets, but it took repeated efforts to convince Parker Brothers of the game's merit. Once the company acquired the game from Darrow, Parker Brothers promoted Monopoly as the brainchild of an out-of-work engineer seeking an affordable means of entertainment during a time of economic hardship. Lawsuits from others claiming to have invented Monopoly were settled by Parker Brothers.

Monopoly became popular in many other parts of the world. In the original North American sets, the properties were named for streets in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Notable among these is Marvin Gardens, which is a misspelling of the real Marven Gardens in Atlantic City. Sets marketed in other countries may be modified to represent a local city; for example, London streets are used in the British version. Monopoly games also have been licensed with other North American cities as the subject (e.g., Chicago); prominent local landmarks and points of interest usually replace street names as properties.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Adam Augustyn.

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Monopoly | Definition, Game, Rules, Board, History, & Facts

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Monopoly, real-estate board game for two to eight players, in which the player's goal is to remain financially solvent while forcing opponents into bankruptcy by buying and developing pieces of property. Each side of the square board is divided into 10 small rectangles representing specific properties, railroads, utilities, a jail, and various other places and events.

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ALL ABOUT PUFFER JACKETS AND THEIR HISTORY

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This story is part of our ultimate guide to hiking in L.A. You can buy a print copy at the L.A. Times store.
Love your puffy? You can thank Eddie Bauer, who created a down jacket in 1936 after the cold almost killed him. Bauer got caught in a storm as he hiked out from a fishing trip in his home state of Washington. "Eddie was in charge of carrying the 100 pounds of fish," according to a history from the company that bears his name. "By the time he reached the top of the canyon wall, Eddie was hypothermic, his wool shirt a sheet of ice." He managed to fire off a few shots in the air to signal distress and was rescued by a hiking companion.

That experience inspired Bauer to design a jacket light enough to be worn on the trail and warm enough to save lives. He called a prototype the Blizzard Proof. In 1940, he received the first U.S. patent for a down parka that featured diamond-shaped quilting filled with goose down. It's called the Skyliner, and 80 years later, the company still sells a version of Bauer's classic model.

Bauer gets credit for popularizing the puffer but its roots go further back. Inuit tribes in Alaska and Canada were known to wear clothes made from skins, furs and feathers, the latter used to insulate themselves from harsh Arctic temperatures. In 1922, Australian mountain climber George Finch ordered a bright green, custom-made puffer-esque "eiderdown jacket" for an expedition to Mt. Everest.

Regardless of the origins, puffymania reigns, from the top of Mt. Everest to the fashion runways of Paris. Vice President Kamala Harris wore one on the campaign trail; Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wore a long black one to Joe Biden's inauguration in January (where Bernie Sanders' mittens stole the show); and even Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, has been known to rock a fitted red version.

The puffy also became part of expedition chic that had been on fashion's radar for years, culminating in Balenciaga's 2016 puffer with an elegant slide-off-the-shoulder look and Aritzia's cartoonishly overly puffy take in 2019 called the Mega Puff.

If you want to see Bauer's original light brown jacket made in the first year of production, visit the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle (when it reopens after the pandemic). Until then, stay warm.

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A brief history of every hiker's most indispensable garment: the puffer jacket

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This story is part of our ultimate guide to hiking in L.A. You can buy a print copy at the L.A. Times store. Love your puffy? You can thank Eddie Bauer, who created a down jacket in 1936 after the cold almost killed him.

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https://www.zippia.com/converse-careers-195172/history/

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Converse Similar Companies

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Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Converse, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Converse. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Converse. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Converse. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Converse and its employees or that of Zippia.

Converse may also be known as or be related to Converse, Converse Inc and Converse Inc.

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Converse History: Founding, Timeline, and Milestones

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Find Jobs from Similar Companies Personalize your job search. Where would you like to work? Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Converse, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Converse.

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the longbow was made in 2700 BC. the longbow was invented by the Celts in Wales.

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https://www.childrensmuseum.org/blog/why-soccer-ball-black-and-white

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The Riley Children's Health Sports Legends Experience is kicking into high gear! That said, we can't help but answer a curious question about soccer. Everyone knows the only job of a goalie in soccer is to prevent the soccer ball from entering the goal, right? Right. But what about the soccer ball? Have you ever wondered WHY it's traditionally black and white?
A quick history of the soccer ball...
When soccer first originated, the soccer ball was made from inflated pig bladders covered in leather-GROSS! Don't worry, the soccer ball has come a long way since then.

Livestrong noted that, in 1844, Charles Goodyear started making soccer balls from vulcanized rubber. Eventually, the pig bladder was replaced with a plastic, inflatable piece. That inflatable piece was then covered in brown leather.
Fast forward to 1970...
By the 1960s, the television was already invented, but the picture was only in black and white (Booooring!). As soccer games were televised, it was hard for viewers to keep their eyes on the ball! In 1970, the black and white soccer ball we know and love made its debut at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Adidas was the mastermind brand behind it, and they called it the "Telstar."
Why it's black and white
The soccer ball was regularly bleached white by this point, but Adidas added black pentagons in the design for easier TV viewing (Adidas even designed the official game ball of the 2018 World Cup). A bonus effect? The black pentagons on the ball help soccer players with their foot placement-to help them kick the ball exactly how they wanted!

It's a win-win for everyone! ...except maybe the goalie.

Now, soccer balls are designed with different variations of colors, but the most-iconic one is definitely the Telestar. Our soccer balls in the Subway Soccer Experience are going to be green and white. In the Subway Soccer Experience, you can learn soccer fundamentals, kick by a goalie, and learn about the legendary DaMarcus Beasley! Be sure to share your fun fact with parents when they hit record on their fancy TV phones.
The official game ball of the 2018 World Cup was designed by Adidas with a new twist on the classic black and white look. See it in action in every World Cup game this summer! Looking for more Never Stop Asking "Why?" questions? Catch up on all of the past "Whys" on the blog!

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Why Is A Soccer Ball Black and White? | The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

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The Riley Children's Health Sports Legends Experience is kicking into high gear! That said, we can't help but answer a curious question about soccer. Everyone knows the only job of a goalie in soccer is to prevent the soccer ball from entering the goal, right? Right. But what about the soccer ball?

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https://www.sacyr.com/en/-/charles-fritts-el-desconocido-inventor-de-los-paneles-solares#:~:text=However%2C%

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CHARLES FRITTS, THE UNKNOWN INVENTOR OF SOLAR PANELS

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Solar energy is the second fastest growing renewable energy in the world, according to the International Energy Agency. An industry that is key to providing electricity to 840 million people today. But this dream of guaranteeing universal access to electricity would not have been possible without Ch…

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/1990/11/27/the-strange-story-of-surgical-gloves/a4b63531-1b0a-4799-ae13-24ec3f2c33d1/

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Surgical rubber gloves were introduced 100 years ago at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital, but not for the reasons one might think.

Love had more to do with it than hygiene.

Their inventor was a towering figure in the history of American medicine and one of its greatest surgeons, William Stewart Halsted. During three decades at Johns Hopkins, he developed a plethora of new operating techniques, including a procedure for hernia, as well as established a training program and residency system for young surgeons that became national models.

Moreover, he managed this record of achievement despite a lifelong struggle with drug addiction that did not become general knowledge until many years after his death in 1922.

Few of his associates, as one of them said later, suspected "the daily battle through which this brave fellow lived for years." His sometimes strange and erratic behavior was accepted as simple eccentricity.

Like most "firsts," the claims made for Halsted as the originator of surgical rubber gloves are not free of challenge. But that hardly matters now. It was unquestionably their use at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital that led to widespread adoption.

Halsted, himself, admitted with some chagrin that it had not occurred to him initially that rubber gloves could be a powerful new weapon against infection. He confessed that his primary concern was protecting the hands of his chief surgical nurse from the harsh disinfectants used in hospital operating rooms at the time.

The object of his attention -- and affection -- was an aristocratic South Carolina woman named Caroline Hampton, whose socially prominent family had been impoverished in the hard times of the post-Civil War period. Halsted noticed she suffered more than most from the occupational dermatitis of the operating room and he interpreted this as a sign of her "gentle blood."

The privileged and equally aristocratic Halstead, a 37-year-old bachelor, and his nurse, 30, were married in June of 1890 shortly after he presented her with two pairs of rubber gloves made to fit plaster casts of her hands. One staff member wrote later that he strongly suspected a romance was in progress when he walked into the Johns Hopkins pathology laboratory and found the normally aloof and reclusive Halsted passionately demonstrating the anatomy of a dried fibula to his future bride. Their engagement was announced within a week.

Halsted's own description of the events leading up to the development of surgical rubber gloves was printed in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1913:

"In the winter of 1889 and 1890 -- I cannot recall the month -- the nurse in charge of my operating room complained that the solution of mercuric chloride produced a dermatitis of her arms and hands. As she was an unusually efficient woman, I gave the matter my consideration and one day in New York requested the Goodyear Rubber Company to make, as an experiment, two pair of thin rubber gloves with gauntlets. On trial these proved to be so satisfactory that additional gloves were ordered."

Yet neither Halsted nor his associates grasped the significance of the gloves as a means of combatting surgical infections. This is somewhat surprising, since he was one of the leading American advocates and practitioners of Joseph Lister's methods of antiseptic surgery.

Halsted noted that the adoption of rubber gloves was "an evolution rather than an inspiration or happy thought." Engaging in a bit of self-recrimination, he added, "it is remarkable that . . . we could have been so blind as not to have perceived the necessity for wearing them invariably at the operating table."

In the fall of 1890, some of the young doctors who assisted in the operations began using gloves on a regular basis but, again, the purpose was to protect their hands rather than to avoid infecting the patients. In time, working with gloves became almost second nature, and they continued to wear them as surgeons, claiming that "they seemed to be less expert with the bare hands than with the gloved hands."

The older and more established surgeons were slower to change, fearing that operating in gloves might dull their sense of touch and cause a fatal slip with the scalpel. Halsted, himself, used them only occasionally until about 1896. He then sent bronze casts of his hands to the Goodyear Company and ordered gloves that were thin, pliable and close-fitting.

But dissenters remained. One well-known surgeon commented in 1898: "I . . . have arrived at the conclusion that the practical disadvantages of gloves counterbalance their theoretical advantages. Surgeons who were doing first-class work three years ago seem to me to be doing second or third-rate now, on account of the interference made by their gloves."

Fortunately, these arguments were losing force as physicians became increasingly aware that rubber gloves offered more than "theoretical advantages" in reducing the potential for infections. Additionally, most surgeons came to realize -- in Halsted's words -- "how slightly the sense of touch is obtunded by the rubber covering or how unessential it is in most operations that the greatest delicacy of finger perception be preserved."

The scion of a wealthy, old-line New York family, Halsted was one of a team of brilliant young physicians who helped establish Johns Hopkins as the nation's premier medical facility following its opening in May of 1889. He became the hospital's first professor of surgery and surgeon-in-chief.

A graduate of Yale, he received his medical degree from the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons and then spent two years in Europe studying and "walking the wards."

In 1885, his life was destined to change drastically when he and a small group of New York doctors began experimenting with cocaine as a local anesthetic, not fully realizing its addictive qualities. All were devastated by the drug and three of Halsted's associates subsequently died as a result of their addictions.

Halsted spent 18 months in a psychiatric hospital, under an assumed name, trying to conquer his cocaine habit. When he was released and moved to Baltimore in January of 1888, his closest friends believed him to be drug free; in reality, he had only shifted his dependency to morphine.

His drug habit undoubtedly had much to do with his selection of Caroline Hampton as his wife. She was described by one Halsted intimate as a "woman after his own heart and, like himself . . . a little odd." But the marriage worked because each respected the other's privacy. They even maintained separate apartments in their three-story Baltimore row house, he on the second floor and she on the third. The marriage was childless.

"It would be hard to find a couple whose tranquil union depended so completely on their mutual ability each to let the other go off in any suitable direction unaccompanied, physically or emotionally," a Halsted biographer notes. "It was a strange form of congeniality, and an ever stranger form of love. Nevertheless, it suited them both -- and it worked."

Halsted died on Sept. 7, 1922, two weeks shy of his 70th birthday, following gallstone surgery. Caroline Halsted fell ill with pneumonia and died seven weeks later. "Unwilling to live," a biographer wrote, "she responded to none of the efforts of the medical men."

John G. Leyden is a writer in Davidsonville, Md.

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Surgical rubber gloves were introduced 100 years ago at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital, but not for the reasons one might think. Love had more to do with it than hygiene. Their inventor was a towering figure in the history of American medicine and one of its greatest surgeons, William Stewart Halsted.

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https://www.britannica.com/topic/Morse-Code

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Table of Contents

How was Morse Code invented?

Is Morse Code still used?

How does Morse Code work?

This article was most recently revised and updated by

Morse Code, either of two systems for representing letters of the alphabet, numerals, and punctuation marks by an arrangement of dots, dashes, and spaces. The codes are transmitted as electrical pulses of varied lengths or analogous mechanical or visual signals, such as flashing lights. One of the systems was invented in the United States by American artist and inventor Samuel F.B. Morse during the 1830s for electrical telegraphy. This version was further improved by American scientist and businessman Alfred Lewis Vail, Morse's assistant and partner. Soon after its introduction in Europe, it became apparent that the original Morse Code was inadequate for the transmission of much non-English text, since it lacked codes for letters with diacritic marks. To remedy this deficiency, a variant called the International Morse Code was devised by a conference of European nations in 1851. This newer code is also called Continental Morse Code.

The two systems are similar, but the International Morse Code is simpler and more precise. For example, the original Morse Code used patterns of dots and spaces to represent a few of the letters, whereas the International Morse uses combinations of dots and short dashes for all letters. In addition, the International Morse Code uses dashes of constant length rather than the variable lengths used in the original Morse Code.

The International Morse Code has, except for some minor changes in 1938, remained the same since its inception. (The American telegraph industry never abandoned the original Morse Code, and so its use continued until the spread of teleprinters in the 1920s and '30s.) International Morse Code was used in World War II and in the Korean and Vietnam wars. It was used heavily by the shipping industry and for the safety of the seas up until the early 1990s. Although amateur radio made up only a small part of Morse Code usage, it did prepare many hundreds of operators for military duty in communications. In the early 2000s most countries had dropped the ability to decipher Morse Code from the requirements for obtaining an amateur radio license.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica John P. Rafferty.

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Morse Code | Invention, History, & Systems

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Morse Code, either of two systems for representing letters of the alphabet, numerals, and punctuation marks by an arrangement of dots, dashes, and spaces. The codes are transmitted as electrical pulses of varied lengths or analogous mechanical or visual signals, such as flashing lights.

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https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/snapshot/crayola-crayons#:~:text=Cherished%20by%20generations%20of%20children,was%20safe%2C%20sturdy%20and%20affordable.

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This Smithsonian Snapshot celebrates the back-to-school season with this original pack of Crayola Crayons.

Cherished by generations of children, Crayola Crayons were invented in 1903 by cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith, founders of the Binney & Smith Co. of Easton, Pa.

The company used paraffin wax and nontoxic pigments to produce a coloring stick that was safe, sturdy and affordable. The name "Crayola" was coined by Alice Binney, Binney's wife and a former school teacher. It comes from "craie," French for "chalk," and "oleaginous" or "oily." This Crayola set for "young artists" was one of the earliest produced. Its 28 colors include celestial blue, golden ochre, rose pink and burnt sienna.

To learn more about this item, visit the National Museum of American History website.

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This Smithsonian Snapshot celebrates the back-to-school season with this original pack of Crayola Crayons. Cherished by generations of children, Crayola Crayons were invented in 1903 by cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith, founders of the Binney & Smith Co. of Easton, Pa.

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http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/throwback/201107/fascinating-history-baseball-glove

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The Fascinating History Of The Baseball Glove

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When Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay delivered the first pitch of the 2011 All-Star Game, he did so with his usual black Nike Diamond Elite

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Imagine kicking a skull or pig's bladder around an open field to pass the time. If you lived in medieval days or even prior to the twentieth century, that's what you may have been doing.

The history of the soccer ball dates back to ancient times. From a couple centuries BC to about 200 AD, the Chinese used balls made from animal skins in a game called 'tsu chu', in which players had to pass them through a net stretched between two poles. The ancient Greeks, Romans, and even the Egyptians are recorded to have enjoyed a similar game that involved kicking a makeshift ball.

Legend has it, entire villages got involved in a violent game of skull-kicking. And it was customary to play a game much like hackysack. But instead of using the feet to keep a bean bag aloft, the object was to keep a pig bladder in the air.

Thankfully the soccer ball has evolved.

It wasn't until the twentieth century that most soccer balls were made out of rubber. Charles Goodyear in 1855 created the first vulcanized rubber soccer ball. Panels similar to that of today's basketball were glued together at the seams. Before that, the soccer ball game was at the mercy of the size and shape of the pig's bladder. That presented problems. The ball rarely went where players intended for it to.

So in 1862 a fellow by the name of H. J. Lindon developed an inflatable rubber bladder. Now the soccer ball would be easier to kick. And it could endure the regiments of the game without losing its shape.

Eventually the soccer ball needed an official size and weight. That would be the job of the English Football Association. In 1872 it described the ball as "spherical with a circumfrence of 27 to 28 inches" (68.6 cm to 71.1 cm). The weight would be 13-15 oz. Little change was made until 1937, when its weight increased to 14-16 oz. According to the Law of Football, the ball must also possess an "outer casing of leather or other approved materials". The only other thing that's changed to this day are the materials that comprise the soccer ball, and the size and shape of its panels.

Despite its still rather rustic place in the evolution of soccer history, it served the first game on Nov. 7, 1863, between the Oneida Football Club (the first organized US team) and a team from the Boston Latin and English Schools. A monument to commemorate the game stands today on Boston Common where the game was played.

With a few weeks, the soccer ball was ready to be mass produced. That would be the job of two companies, Mitre and Thomlinson's of Glasgow, which were the first to do this. But standards had to be upheld. High quality materials and stitching were required to retain the soccer ball's shape and strength, which cutters and stitchers were able to do. Good covers were made from the hide of cow rump, lesser quality covers would come from the shoulder. Interlocking panels replaced leather sections joined at the ends of the soccer ball. FIFA standards for a spherical design had to be met, and were.

Modern soccer balls were versatile. In fact James Naismith, inventor of another popular ball sport, dunked them into peach baskets and called it "basketball".

By the 1900's, soccer's growning popularity demanded that balls be strong enough to withstand the roughest play. Up until now most soccer balls were made from rubber bladders, and from leather-covered inner tubes. Covers were constructed of tanned leather carefully hand-stitched together in 18 sections of six panels, with three strips per panel, and with a small slit on one side allowing for an inflated bladder to be inserted into it.

Hand-crafted soccer balls were a work of art. Problem was, they were neither safe nor reliable. A team was lucky if a soccer ball made it through a game. And varying grades of leather made choosing the right ball a strategy unto itself. In fact, it's thought that the outccome of the first World Cup played in 1930 between Argentina and Uruguay had a lot to do with the quality of the soccer ball used by each team.

The early 1940s was a time of further change in the history of soccer ball. Improvements were made to strengthen and enhance control of the ball by adding a carcass made from strong materials inserted between the bladder and the outer casing. Older balls also had a problem with water absorption. So by coating the soccer ball with synthetic and non-porous materials, balls absorbed less water. And a new valve replaced the laced slit on the sides of the soccer ball.

In 1951 soccer enjoyed better visibility with the official introduction of the white soccer ball, although they had already been in use since 1892. The soccer ball was made white simply by whitewashing the leather. And if a team had a certain propensity for playing soccer in the snow, well there was even a ball for that. It was orange, rather than white.

And it's on to the synthetic soccer ball made in the 1960s. But it would be 20 more years before the first soccer ball made entirely out of synthetic materials was manufactured. Such a ball was able to similate the quality and feel of leather, but offered a more reliable performance and less water absorption.

The "Buckeyball", designed by archicect R. Buckminster Fuller, lends its name to the evolution of the synthetic soccer ball. In fact it became the model from which the modern soccer ball is mass-produced to this day. Twenty hexagonal, and 12 pentagonal pieces were fitted and stitched together to form a sphere. The black spots designed into it helped players learn how to curve a soccer ball and track its swerve. FIFA's first World Cup soccer ball, the Adidas Telstar, and the first World Cup Buckminster model soccer ball were used in Mexico's 1970 World Cup competition.

Developments to the soccer ball's intricate design didn't stop there. Enhancements have continued into the twenty-first century, and today companies are still researching better designs for optimal performance while meeting FIFA standards.

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The history of the soccer ball dates back to ancient times. From a couple centuries BC to about 200 AD, the Chinese used balls made from animal skins in a game called 'tsu chu', in which players had to pass them through a net stretched between two poles.

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https://www.refreshmentsystems.co.uk/

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RSL | National Vending Machine & Coffee Machine Supplier

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We are a technology-driven vending machine supplier. Through our unique telemetry, we get a full picture of your bean to cup coffee machine or smart vending machine usage. We know if there is a fault before you do. Your vending machines can even re-order products and ingredients when it's running low.

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https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/land-instant-photography.html ISABELLA

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Edwin Land and Instant Photography - American Chemical Society

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American Chemical Society: Chemistry for Life.

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You probably know someone with a heart condition, someone who had a heart attack or even heart surgery. I know I do. According to the Centers for Disease Control, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States and the most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease (CAD), which can lead to a heart attack. Sobering data.

There are ways to prevent heart disease such as embracing a healthy lifestyle and there are diagnostic tools to monitor our hearts too, thanks to the work of two creative and persistent men, Norman "Jeff" Holter (1914-1983) and Bruce Del Mar (b. 1913-).

Norman "Jeff" Holter

Their collaboration, which spanned two decades, produced a commercially viable heart monitor known as the Holter Monitor Test. The Holter Monitor is a portable device for continuously monitoring heart activity for an extended period of time, typically 24 hours. The monitor records electrical signals from the heart that are sent via a series of electrodes attached to the chest. The data is then analyzed for different sorts of heart beats and rhythms.

Model 445 Mini-Holter Recorder, illustration from a brochure, 1976

Norman "Jeff" Holter, a native of Helena, Montana, was a biophysicist and inventor whose interests were not confined solely to physics. Holter's interest in studying electrical activity in humans during their daily activities without touching them spawned his lifelong pursuit to develop the Holter Monitor. Holter's goal was to radio broadcast and record the more obvious electrophysiological phenomena occurring in humans while carrying on their normal activities, rather than having them be inactive.

Patient attached to heart monitoring equipment: slide of a cartoon, undated

Holter's first broadcast of a radioelectrocardiogram (RECG) took place circa 1947 and required 80 to 85 pounds of equipment, which Holter wore on his back while riding a stationary bicycle. Holter noted in 1982 that "The 85 lb. RECG, while not practical, represented a major breakthrough since before that time a patient had to lie quietly. Our greatest contribution was a radical one and was the beginning of an era where one could take ECG's on skiers, parachute jumpers, runners, and just about any other type of vigorous physical activity."

Advertisement for Del Mar Engineering Laboratories, 1965

Holter's other contribution was to bring the overall size down to less than cigarette package size to be worn inside a man's jacket handkerchief pocket. With the development of transistors, radioelectrocardiography was made obsolete and it became possible for all of the components to be placed in a single unit small enough for a coat pocket or purse. Holter was issued US Patent 3,215,136 on November 2, 1965, for the Electrocardiographic Means, and The Holter Research Foundation ultimately sold exclusive rights to the patent to Del Mar Engineering Laboratories, who became the acknowledged leader in Holter monitoring technology for over 40 years.

As articles describing the foundation's invention of these devices began to appear in the professional literature, there was considerable demand from doctors and hospitals for the equipment. Holter was seeking a partner to manufacture his monitor, and finally met a suitable candidate in Bruce Del Mar in 1962.

Bruce Del Mar's role as an innovator and collaborator with Holter is especially important because his work spurred the development of an entire diagnostic industry. The Del Mar Avionics Holter Monitor Records, 1951-2011, held at the Archives Center, document through correspondence, engineering notebooks, operator's manuals more than just the invention of a heart monitor. The records reflect the successful collaboration of an independent inventor and a manufacturing firm to problem-solve, develop a solution, and bring to market a diagnostic technology.

Bruce Del Mar

Del Mar wrote in February of 1965, "We have continually improved circuitry and mechanical details to obtain greater service fidelity, accuracy, response, and reliability. The instruments we are now delivering are performing very well in the field. We should, however, be thinking and actively working ahead on new model improvements for 1966. Can I have your suggestions in this respect? That would be very much appreciated." The correspondence reveals a deep level of commitment and investment from both parties to work out technical details, successfully market the monitor, and in general keep the project moving forward.

The successful collaboration between the two men would prove to be invaluable for countless numbers of people. To learn more about the Holter Monitor story, see the collection finding aid at the Archives Center's web site.

Alison Oswald is an archivist with the Lemelson Center and Archives Center at the National Museum of American History. This post originally appeared on the Smithsonian Collections blog.

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At the Heart of the Invention: The development of the Holter Monitor

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You probably know someone with a heart condition, someone who had a heart attack or even heart surgery. I know I do. According to the Centers for Disease Control, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States and the most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease (CAD), which can lead to a heart attack.