Ernest Bazin Invented A Ship With Rolling “Wheels” And Named It After Himself
This month in 1893, the formal start of an effort to build a new kind of seagoing vessel: a ship with rolling wheels.
When Missouri Banned Schools For Black Students, John Berry Meachum Started A School On A Riverboat
Today in 1847, the state of Missouri put a significant obstacle in front of a civil rights activist's efforts to educate Black students in St. Louis. But he found a way around it.
On the boat
This kid's got an eye for detail.
In The 19th Century, Steamboat Racing Was An Extreme Sport
Today in 1811, the first known steamboat race takes place on the Hudson River. Yes, a couple centuries ago, racing steamboats was a thing.
The “Vantafish” Is A Fish That Absorbs Light
Vantablack is a color that's so black it absorbs almost all of the light nearby. There's new research out about a "vantafish" that does almost the same thing to avoid its hungry bioluminescent neighbors.
Will Kryptos, The Unsolvable CIA Puzzle Sculpture, Finally Be Solved?
Kryptos is a puzzle sculpture that’s been on the grounds of CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia since 1990. Three of its four coded messages have been solved - and now we have a clue that might reveal the fourth.
On The Lake
You can take pontoon boat rides on Madison's Lake Mendota, and we picked one of the nicest nights to try it out.
Row, Row, Row Your Bot
Autonomous robot boats are a thing! Over time, researchers have taught them to row themselves gently down the stream and to connect to each other autonomously - soon they could help clean the water or even turn themselves into temporary footbridges.