On This Day
1938 – The Lions Gate Bridge, connecting Vancouver to the North Shore region, opens to traffic.
The Lions Gate Bridge, opened in 1938 and officially known as the First Narrows Bridge,[1] is a suspension bridge that crosses the first narrows of Burrard Inlet and connects the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, to the North Shore municipalities of the District of North Vancouver, the City of North Vancouver, and West Vancouver. The term “Lions Gate” refers to the Lions, a pair of mountain peaks north of Vancouver. Northbound traffic on the bridge heads in their general direction. A pair of cast concrete lions, designed by sculptor Charles Marega, were placed on either side of the south approach to the bridge in January 1939.[2]
The total length of the bridge including the north viaduct is 1,823 metres (5,981 ft). The length including approach spans is 1,517.3 metres (4,978 ft), the main span alone is 473 metres (1,552 ft), the tower height is 111 metres (364 ft), and it has a ship’s clearance of 61 metres (200 ft). Prospect Point in Stanley Park offered a good high south end to the bridge, but the low flat delta land to the north required construction of the extensive North Viaduct.
The bridge has three reversible lanes, the use of which is indicated by signals. The centre lane changes direction to accommodate for traffic patterns. The traffic volume on the bridge is 60,000–70,000 vehicles per day. Trucks exceeding 13 tonnes (12.8 long tons; 14.3 short tons) are prohibited, as are vehicles using studded tires. The bridge forms part of Highways 99 and 1A.
On March 24, 2005, the Lions Gate Bridge was designated a National Historic Site of Canada.[3]
Read more ->
Born On This Day
1863 – Leo Baekeland, Belgian-American chemist and engineer (d. 1944)
Leo Hendrik Arthur Baekeland FRSE(Hon) (November 14, 1863 – February 23, 1944) was a Belgian chemist. He is best known for the inventions of Velox photographic paper in 1893 and Bakelite in 1907. He has been called “The Father of the Plastics Industry”[2]:13 for his invention of Bakelite, an inexpensive, nonflammable and versatile plastic, which marked the beginning of the modern plastics industry.[3][4]
FYI
Craig Medred: Science struggles
Open Culture: Experience a Video Painting of Brian Eno’s Thursday Evening That Has Soothed & Relaxed Millions of People
Atlas Obscura: The Rise and Fall of the Hormel Girls, Who Sold America on SPAM The Spamettes sang and danced and glamorized canned meat.
Splashes of Joy: Grand Finale for An Alaskan Family Christmas by Beth Carpenter
By Lara Sorokanich, Fast Company: Still looking for Clorox wipes? Here’s how the company has innovated to meet unprecedented demand
By Mark Wilson, Fast Company: Forget Starbucks. Breville’s small, cheap espresso maker is all you need Yes, you do have room in your tiny apartment for the Bambino Plus.
Presenting the Hot Wheels Legends Tour where one custom built car is chosen to be immortalized as a Hot Wheels die cast sold around the world!
Hosted live at Jay Leno’s Garage with an expert panel of Hot Wheels designers, special guests and judges that will determine who will take home the ultimate prize! Get ready to hear what Jay Leno, Snoop Dogg and more have to say about the 13 custom built finalists from around the world.
Recipes
Little House Big Alaska: Buttery Shortcrust Pastry
Koti Beth: Instant Pot Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer Recipe
E-book Deals:
The Book Junction: Where Readers Go To Discover Great New Fiction!
Mystery & Thriller Most Wanted
Book Blogs & Websites:
Welcome to the Stump the Bookseller blog!
Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
Thanks to everyone involved to keep this forum going: our blogging team, the well-read Stumper Magicians, the many referrals, and of course to everyone who fondly remembers the wonder of books from their childhood and wants to share or revisit that wonder. Isn’t it amazing, the magic of a book?