Category Archives: History

One Hundred and Thirty Years Ago …

Karl Benz first unveiled the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, German patent number 37435, widely regarded as the world’s first automobile as it was designed to be propelled by an internal combustion engine.

The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was a three-wheeled automobile with a rear-mounted engine that was constructed of steel tubing with woodwork panels, steel-spoked wheels, and solid rubber tires.

It was pretty primitive by today’s standards, but it was an important advancement as we wouldn’t have the delivery modes we have today without this historic invention.

LOLCats loved it … the swing just didn’t fulfill their need for speed.

One Hundred and Thirty Years Ago Today

This appeared in the Atlanta Journal for the first time:

And it wasn’t long after that (about 30 years) that it was being bottled in a standard process using a standard (and distinctive) package (bottle). While often known for its marketing, Coca Cola was an early pioneer in bottling and distribution — which should be obvious from the fact that it in the last 130 years the enterprise grew from a business with a single production plant limited to servings at local soda fountains to a global enterprise that serves up almost 2 Billion beverages (across all its brand lines) daily. And its continued ability to innovate is what keeps it a market leader.

One Hundred and Forty Five Years Ago Today …

Saw the opening of the first rack railway in Europe (and the second in the world), the Rigi-Bahnen, which even today is the highest standard gauge railway in Europe. Located between the two arms of Lake Lucerne on the Rigi Mountains, described by Mark Twain as “the charmingest place we have ever lived in for repose and restfulness”, this could be seen as the beginning of mountain tourism in Switzerland. It’s hard getting people up a mountain, and this is an important landmark in human (and cat) logistics history.