Enigma Cryptography and war Enigma: This is the exciting story of an ingenious machine for encrypting messages and the brilliant minds who cracked it - and thus crucially influenced the course of the Second World War, which ended 80 years ago. During WWI, on 23…
The Spirit of Currywurst 75th anniversary of a popular dish with tangy sauce – or was it completely different after all? It is said to have happened 75 years ago: On 4 September 1949, Herta Heuwer’s snack stand on the corner of Kantstrasse/Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse in…
Classifying designs Locarno Classification for Designs The Locarno Classification allows you to organise registered designs and to make them easier to research. This search has the additional advantage of being language independent. To that end, the Locarno…
Computer pioneers Integrated Circuit: The 'big bang' of microelectronics Jack Kilby 65 years ago, on February 6, 1959, Jack Kilby applied for a patent for "Minituarised electronic circuits" (US3138743A) - the first integrated circuit. It made him "father of…
Food & Drink Of monks and marks "O'zapft is!" Taking beer to Munich would be like carrying coals to Newcastle, owls to Athens or rolling cheese to Switzerland. In Bavaria, beer is generally regarded as a staple food and elixir of life. Munich has a long brewing…
The Beatles Apples & Beatles The end of the most commercially successful and artistically influential rock band of all time came rather quietly: Paul McCartney sent out a press release for his first solo album on 10 April 1970. In it, he succinctly stated that he was…
The Antikythera mechanism The "first computer" - an ancient miracle of technology Spring 1900 in the Aegean Sea: Off the coast of the small Greek island Antikythera men dive for sponges. They reache into depths of 50 meters and more. One of them, Ilias Stadiatis,…
The 'Big bang' of microelectronics The very first IC Here is the story of an engineer who was not allowed to take a vacation - and who made a groundbreaking invention during this time. Jack Kilby had just started his new job at Texas Instruments in Dallas in the…
Freddie Mercury´s 80th birthday Astrophysicist Dr Brian May visits ESO´s Paranal observatory, 2015 Queen - A band with many Talents Freddie Mercury is considered one of the greatest rock singers of all time. Brian May is a much-admired guitarist. But the two rock…
William Shatner Fascinating, Captain Kirk! He boldly went where no man had gone before: Captain Kirk of the starship „Enterprise". He turned 90 and finally really flew into space in 2021. No, not the captain, who, according to "Star Trek" mythology, will not be born…