Did you you know that:

"Computer" was originally a 19th century job title?

The first powered aircraft flew in 1852?

Steam powered airplanes have been built and flown?

One of the primary reasons the first programmable mechanical computer
was never completed was because screws and nuts were not available in
standard sizes at the time?

The wireless telegraph may have been invented much earlier than the
historical record shows?

Inductive electric motors, fuel cells, and internal combustion engines
were all invented in the 19th century?

Passenger rail service of the 19th century often exceeded 70 mph and
sometimes topped 100 mph? Yet it was a common belief well into the 20th
century that if human beings were subjected to speeds in excess of 60
mph they would suffocate. This medical "fact" was often quoted in
anti-automobile legislation.

Stay tuned for articles on these and other tidbits of 19th century
technological history and culture.