In a modern hydropower installation, a water turbine converts the energy
in the moving water into rotational energy at its shaft, which is then
converted into electrical energy by the generator that is coupled to the
turbine. Next, the electrical energy is converted back into rotational
energy by the electric motor of the machine that is being powered. Every
energy conversion introduces energy loss.
In an old fashioned hydropower installation, there was
only one conversion of energy; A water wheel converted the energy
inherent to the water source into rotational energy at its shaft. The
same shaft also moved the machinery, so that the only source of
significant energy loss occurred in the water wheel itself.
Some small direct hydro powered systems in South America present a
strong case for combining the use of modern materials with old fashioned
methods of water power mechanization. The higher efficiency of this approach means that less water is needed
to produce a given amount of energy. This lowers the cost of hydropower
and enables power to be produced by the use of very small streams.
People don’t often look back on the early 1900’s for advice, but what if we could actually learn something from the Lost Generation? The New York Public Library has digitized 100 “how to do it” cards found in cigarette boxes over 100 years ago, and the tips they give are so practical that millennials reading this might want to take notes.
Back in the day, cigarette cards were popular collectibles included in every pack, and displayed photos of celebrities, advertisements, and more. Gallaher cigarettes, a UK-founded tobacco company that was once the largest in the world, decided to print a series of helpful how-to’s on their cards, which ranged from mundane tasks (boiling potatoes) to unlikely scenarios (stopping a runaway horse). Most of them are insanely clever, though, like how to make a fire extinguisher at home. Who even knew you could do that?
The entire set of life hacks is now part of the NYPL’s George Arents Collection. Check out some of the cleverest ones we could find below. You never know when you’ll have to clean real lace!
“We do not act because we know, but we know because we are called upon to act; the practical reason is the root of all reason.”
— Johann Gottlieb Fichte, The Vocation of Man (via philosophybits)
All drinks bottles and cans round the world should have the same deposit on them - one which is high enough to encourage redemption, and returning them must be easy!
I can’t remember when they became returnable around here, although I have a very vague memory of there being a store that just sold Towne Club pop and you’d bring your empty bottles back there.
I remember Towne Club from my childhood, too. They’re back, and available in stores. I occasionally grab a bottle of their Michigan Cherry soda - it is sooo good. :) I thought Michigan eneacted its bottle return some time in the 70s, but hadta google it; ‘twas 1976. Bottle return laws meet stiff opposition from capitalist arseholes who have apparently never - nor ever known anyone who - got a flat tire from a broken bottle, nor noticed the garbage alongside the roads!
