An orrery is a mechanical model of the solar system, demonstrating the motions of the planets and their satellites around the sun. Orreries were regarded as essential teaching equipment for 18th-century lectures on “natural philosophy” (the physical sciences). Such apparatus became popular from around 1700, when John Rowley built one for patron the Charles Boyle, …
Category Archives: Ideas
David Rittenhouse’s Thermometer
In 1767, the American astronomer and mathematician David Rittenhouse (1732-1796) described a pocket thermometer that contained a bimetallic mechanism. Bimetallic or deformation thermometers depended on different expansion rates of two metal strips set into a curl. As the temperature changed, the curvature of the metal curls also changed and moved a pointer along a marked …
David Rittenhouse’s Hygrometer
Wood swells and shrinks about 80 times as much around the growth rings relative to the same section of wood along the length of the fiber. This causes wood of certain cuts to warp when exposed to high humidity. As a clockmaker, this phenomenon greatly frustrated David Rittenhouse so he sought to understand it. Taking …
Help Wanted — Immersion Weekend in New York
I am looking for 10 solid tavern goers who are interested in an immersion weekend and willing to travel to Albany, NY. On August 8, the Admiral of the Blue Apron will be hosting an immersion weekend on 18th Century beverages and tavern culture. The program will include a full tavern in a fully restored …
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Help Wanted
The Regimental Brewmeister needs to recruit one or two people to help with upcoming paid events. Most events are in the general Philadelphia area but some require travel. Brewers: Learn to brew as an 18th Century Journeyman brewer. Talk to the public about beer, brewing, and sanitation in the 18th Century. Serve samples. Tavern Keepers: …
Help Wanted — Immersion Weekend in New York
I am looking for 10 solid tavern goers who are interested in an immersion weekend and willing to travel to Albany, NY. On August 8, the Admiral of the Blue Apron will be hosting an immersion weekend on 18th Century beverages and tavern culture. The program will include a full tavern in a fully restored …
Continue reading “Help Wanted — Immersion Weekend in New York”
Help Wanted
The Regimental Brewmeister needs to recruit one or two people to help with upcoming paid events. Most events are in the general Philadelphia area but some require travel. Brewers: Learn to brew as an 18th Century Journeyman brewer. Talk to the public about beer, brewing, and sanitation in the 18th Century. Serve samples. Tavern Keepers: …
Help Wanted — Immersion Weekend in New York
I am looking for 10 solid tavern goers who are interested in an immersion weekend and willing to travel to Albany, NY. On August 8, the Admiral of the Blue Apron will be hosting an immersion weekend on 18th Century beverages and tavern culture. The program will include a full tavern in a fully restored …
Continue reading “Help Wanted — Immersion Weekend in New York”
The Planet “George”
On March 13, 1781, William Herschel observed a faint object in the constellation Gemini and noted that it moved slowly relative to the background stars. Hershel first thought the object to be a comet but upon further study identified it as the seventh planet in our solar system. He wanted to name this newly discovered …
Fully Immersive 18th Century Tavern Weekend
Imagine coming to a fully recreated 18th Century New England Village, staying in period accommodations (they have TWO 18th C Taverns), eating food prepared in a colonial kitchen, enjoying good beer and cocktails and maybe a few tavern entertainments free of the technological chatter of the 21st Century. We are planning a full weekend of …
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Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 