Hey @sunkat2048, thanks for the follow request!
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@dzwiedziu @dan @alice Especially in the 1850s! Before reading more about undersea cables, I would've said they were invented in like... 1920. It's amazing that they go back so much further.
@theorangetheme @dzwiedziu @alice Well, I didn't say the original 1858 cable was a *good* one.
The first telegram it carried was a 98-word congratulatory note from Queen Victoria to James Buchanan. It took 16 hours to transmit.
It only lasted a couple months before one of the engineers, hoping to get a better signal, cranked the voltage way up and completely fried the cable.
Long undersea cables weren't really practical until they figured out how to add and power repeaters along the line, originally using miniature tube amps, closer to the 1950s.
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@alice this hand plane is certainly the oldest human made thing I own, being from about 1890
I have some things I think are even cooler but I keep this just because it feels good to have something from so long ago
@recursive @alice They make great pencil sharpeners too
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@theorangetheme @dzwiedziu @alice Well, I didn't say the original 1858 cable was a *good* one.
The first telegram it carried was a 98-word congratulatory note from Queen Victoria to James Buchanan. It took 16 hours to transmit.
It only lasted a couple months before one of the engineers, hoping to get a better signal, cranked the voltage way up and completely fried the cable.
Long undersea cables weren't really practical until they figured out how to add and power repeaters along the line, originally using miniature tube amps, closer to the 1950s.
@dan @dzwiedziu @alice Undersea tube amps! That's so cool. Thanks for the history lesson.
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Hey @sunkat2048, thanks for the follow request! Unfortunately there's not enough vibe on your profile to check, so...
What's one of the coolest things you own?
I have a puzzle lockbox that was handmade by one of my friends, then delivered from Australia by another friend. It has three weird locks on it, one of which was designed and built by said friend, and the bitting on the key is shaped like my name. It's pretty fucking cool. I also have an amtique 8-lever padlock that's stamped with "Mastodon" from circa the late 1800s.
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@alice I have a box of obsolete cables in my closet like everyone else, except mine are just a tad more obsolete than most
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@alice (the extent to which one can own a Gus is a matter of some debate; Gus, for example, considers himself my owner.)
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Hey @sunkat2048, thanks for the follow request! Unfortunately there's not enough vibe on your profile to check, so...
What's one of the coolest things you own?
I have a puzzle lockbox that was handmade by one of my friends, then delivered from Australia by another friend. It has three weird locks on it, one of which was designed and built by said friend, and the bitting on the key is shaped like my name. It's pretty fucking cool. I also have an amtique 8-lever padlock that's stamped with "Mastodon" from circa the late 1800s.
@alice
I think for me it's this. My father in law once gave my wife and me this old kitchen knife of his to take for camping. He had no use for it anymore. Turns out it was a wedding gift his grandparents received. Sadly he passed away two years ago. He was born in 1945 and at this point I have no idea when his grandparens married but I guess it was somewhere around 1900 or 18something. Which makes this knife at least 125 years old.I cleaned the blade (very rusty and still spotty), oiled the grip, sharpened the edge with a whetstone and put it on our knife holder for daily usage. It doesn't like to stay wet but boy, it's the fucking sharpest thing in our kitchen!
@sunkat2048
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<Glances in the direction of my profile pic>
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Hey @sunkat2048, thanks for the follow request! Unfortunately there's not enough vibe on your profile to check, so...
What's one of the coolest things you own?
I have a puzzle lockbox that was handmade by one of my friends, then delivered from Australia by another friend. It has three weird locks on it, one of which was designed and built by said friend, and the bitting on the key is shaped like my name. It's pretty fucking cool. I also have an amtique 8-lever padlock that's stamped with "Mastodon" from circa the late 1800s.
A toy musicbox (one from a crib) that plays Frère Jacques (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A8re_Jacques )
Its mine from when I was a baby and growing up. It has the teeth marks as I would bite the pull-handle. My mom kept it, and after her passing, my brother gave it to me - knowing it was mine. I never knew she kept it.
And yes, it still works
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@recursive @alice Huh, I wonder if any of my second-hand hand-planes are that old. The oldest thing that I have with an actual date on this is silver dollar from 1878 that is exactly 100 years older than I am.
@mikemccaffrey @alice With the Stanley ones you can find a guide online to figure out when they're from based on various details
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<Glances in the direction of my profile pic>
@petherfile oh my goodness! It never registered with my brain what that was a photo of
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@alice I have a box of obsolete cables in my closet like everyone else, except mine are just a tad more obsolete than most
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A toy musicbox (one from a crib) that plays Frère Jacques (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A8re_Jacques )
Its mine from when I was a baby and growing up. It has the teeth marks as I would bite the pull-handle. My mom kept it, and after her passing, my brother gave it to me - knowing it was mine. I never knew she kept it.
And yes, it still works
@Aprazeth wow, that's so sweet! The only two things I own from my childhood are my dad's old hammer from when I was pre-teen (I emancipated myself from his ass, but I kept his hammer), and the leather biker jacket I bought when I was 15. I'm a lot less muscular now than when I was in fighting shape, so it's big on me now. I gave it to my girlfriend who is a little bigger than me, and she wears it now 🥰
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@Aprazeth wow, that's so sweet! The only two things I own from my childhood are my dad's old hammer from when I was pre-teen (I emancipated myself from his ass, but I kept his hammer), and the leather biker jacket I bought when I was 15. I'm a lot less muscular now than when I was in fighting shape, so it's big on me now. I gave it to my girlfriend who is a little bigger than me, and she wears it now 🥰
Yeah, I've got a few items like that. Like a pretty hefty toy Bumblebee (from the Transformer movie) that my group of friends bought together for my birthday. Just the bit that they all, collectively, did that makes it so much more special
There is also a plant that I have now owned for almost 18 years now? Bought it at IKEA, friends said it wouldn't last (because you know, cheap stuff) Still thriving, still getting new growth.
Huh, guess I got a lot of stories lol
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Yeah, I've got a few items like that. Like a pretty hefty toy Bumblebee (from the Transformer movie) that my group of friends bought together for my birthday. Just the bit that they all, collectively, did that makes it so much more special
There is also a plant that I have now owned for almost 18 years now? Bought it at IKEA, friends said it wouldn't last (because you know, cheap stuff) Still thriving, still getting new growth.
Huh, guess I got a lot of stories lol
Also, we gotta see that leather jacket now. I mean, you hyped it up soooooo
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Also, we gotta see that leather jacket now. I mean, you hyped it up soooooo
@Aprazeth rind me some day when I'm home, and I'll post a photo of me wearing it.
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@alice Ooh, I have a seriously-conflicted cool item.
As part of a contest, I won a King's Quest box signed by Roberta Williams.
It's King's Quest VIII: Mask of Eternity.
@drsbaitso @alice Ooof. The "Die Another Day" of the King's Quest series.
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@drsbaitso @alice Ooof. The "Die Another Day" of the King's Quest series.
@acroamatis the "Quest for Glory V" of the series.
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