First independent artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles Chart
The first independent artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles Chart is Brandy Moss-Scott (USA), with her single ‘I Don’t Really Know’ on 22 June 2002.
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First indoor Olympic figure skating
The figure skating events at the Winter Olympic games were held in indoors for the first time in 1960 at the VII games held in Squaw Valley, California, USA. Prior to these games, all figure skating events were held outdoors.
First individual to win both a Nobel and Ig Nobel prize
The Ig Nobel Prizes began in 1991 and are awarded for seemingly trivial or amusing advances in research. They are organised by the Annals of Improbable Research, a US publication which takes a humorous approach to science. Andre Geim (Russia), won an Ig Nobel in 2000 for levitating a frog using magnets. Geim then won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for his research into graphene.
First industrial moving assembly line
The Ford Motor Company initiated the First Moving Assembly Line in the automobile industry in 1913 in Highland Park, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Not only was Ford the first to implement this, it also marked the first truly advanced and mechanized assembly line in any modern industry, with the result that cars cost less and could be easily purchased by the American middle class. Although there had been the assembly of interchangeable parts of guns going back to the mid-19th Century, (rifles manufactured in Continue reading →
First instant telecommunication
The telegraph system was the first form of instant communication. It was invented by Samuel Morse (USA). The first link, from Washington DC to Baltimore Maryland, USA, was completed by May 1844. The first message was sent by Morse himself and read ‘What Hath God Wrought!’. The arrangements of dots and dashes became known as Morse Code.
First internal combustion car
The first successful petrol-driven car, the Motorwagen, built by Karl Friedrich Benz (1844-1929) of Karlsruhe, Germany, ran at Mannheim, Germany, in late 1885. The three-wheeler weighed 254 kg (560 lb) and could reach a speed of 13-16 km/h (8-10 mph). Its single-cylinder engine (bore 91.4 mm; 3.6 in, stroke 160 mm; 6.3 in) delivered 0.63 kW (0.85 hp) at 400 rpm. It was patented on 29 January 1886. Its first 1-km (0.6-mile) road test was reported in the local newspaper, the Neue Badische Landeszeitung, on Continue reading →
First interactive digital graphic novel for the PlayStation Portable
Released on 13 June 2006 in North America, Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel is the first interactive comic for the PSP. Made by Kojima Productions, the graphic novel features character backstories, Manga-style art and original music. GWR Video Gamer’s Edition 2008, title: First interactive digital graphic novel for the PSP.
First interactive automotive route planner
Although sat nav devices are associated with the digital age, they had a remarkable precedent in the Plus Fours Routefinder, created in 1920. This device took the form of a UK road map on a small scroll, mounted on a wristband; by rotating rollers, the map on the scroll could be turned, enabling a driver to navigate the route. A number of different route scrolls were included, each of which included helpful directions, mileage and a ‘Stop’ instruction, informing the driver when the journey had Continue reading →
First iPod game
The original iPod model contained a version of the bat-n ball game Breakout entitled Brick. It was included as an Easter egg and the only way to access the game was to visit the About menu and hold down Select for five seconds. In subsequent models, Brick was added to the Extras menu. It was fitting that Brick should be the first iPod game as Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were involved with the design of the original Breakout arcade game in 1976. Continue reading →
First internet radio station
The first full-time internet only radio station was Radio HK (USA) which began broadcasting music by independent bands in February 1995. The station, created by Norman Hajjar of Hajjar/Kaufman New Media Lab of Marina del Rey, California, USA. used a CU-SeeMe web conferencing reflector connected to a custom created audio CD in endless loop.