Science writer David Bodanis(1) made his debut on the show, sharing stories about the development of electricity and the virtuoso scientists who plumbed its secrets. In the early 1800s, he said, Michael Faraday figured out how to harness electricity that could eventually power motors and generators. Later an American inventor named Joseph Henry developed a telegraph system that was then stolen by Samuel Morse, he detailed.
Thomas Edison, who grew up fairly deaf from childhood, was hired by corporations in his early career, to copy or devise alternate patents created by other inventors, said Bodanis. At the time someone said of Edison, "that young man has a vacuum where his conscience should be." He also revealed that Alexander Graham Bell was inspired to create the telephone as a way to win over the family of a girl he was trying to court.
The final frontier for electricity, speculated Bodanis, will be for it to move into applications inside the human body.He also shared tidbits from the life of Einstein, whom he said had a goofy sense of humor, and came up with his most creative ideas during his early years.

1. http://www.davidbodanis.com

Bigfoot Sighting

A group of longtime Bigfoot hunters say the plaster casts (shown in the photo) were taken from prints found two weeks ago next to a logging road near Clover Mountain, CA. The prints measure 15 inches long by 6 inches wide, with a stride length of more than 5 feet.
"These have to be two of the most pristine prints I've ever seen, and I've been in this business a long time," said Bigfoot hunter Tom Biscardi, who also claims to have seen the beast on the April 5th outing.
According to Biscardi, he heard a rustling noise in the brush and turned to watch as a "blurry blackness" rose from a squatting position about 100 yards away. After a brief pursuit the beast disappeared into the woods. "It walked upright like a man," said Biscardi. "It wasn't a deer. It wasn't a bear. It was unbelievable." Read more at redding.com(1) (free registration required).

1. http://www.redding.com/redd/nw_local/article/0,2232,REDD_17533_3705638,00.html

Bumper Music

Bumper music from Wednesday April 20, 2005