On this day in 1895, x-rays were discovered, quite by accident. A German physicist, W.C. Rontgen, was messing around with cathode rays and suddenly a glow appeared in a dark tube. He spent weeks in the lab obsessively studying the rays he had dubbed x, which passed through some solids, including human skin, and left impressions of others, including bone. One of the first X-rays captured via photograph showed the skeleton of Rontgen’s wife’s hand.

It was a world-changing phenomena, and some folks were very concerned that the x-rays could be used in a naughty fashion to peer beneath other folks clothing. Some London stores even sold “x-ray proof clothing” at the time.

I wasn’t around for the 19th century x-ray craze, but I was very familiar with the ads in the comic books selling x-ray specs…

And then there was Bazooka Joe…

I chewed the gum, blew gigantic bubbles that exploded on my face, read my fortune on the comics like it was prophecy, but never wondered what happened to his eye? And his buddy, Mort, with his turtle neck pulled up over his mouth – what’s with that? I must look into this…

Oh, by the way, Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen’s discovery changed the world, ushering in new eras of medicine, physics, and atomic science, but he refused to patent his work. He believed the amazing X-ray belonged to everyone. We need more people like that in our world…

So, we had ourselves quite an exciting election last Tuesday. As we have weathered the last ten years, I began to despair that our country (and my old GOP) would ever be free of the MAGA strongman, or that the Dems would ever field some decent candidates, but now I can see the end in sight. It’s going to be brutal, and I don’t expect miracles, but this will probably be my new favorite soap opera, especially since General Hospital is in a slump, and Harry and Meghan have become sordid.

The temps have dropped and we’re running a fire full-time. Tree colors have peaked, and now the leaves are falling quickly. Autumns don’t always live up to the hype, and this year’s been rather meh, but back in 2023, Jack Frost painted our woodlands with all the hues.

How Beautifully Leaves Grow Old…

Posted on October 29, 2023•Edit”How Beautifully Leaves Grow Old…”

It’s been unseasonably warm, but seasonably beautiful this past week. We walked through scrunchy red and yellow leaves, admiring the sunlight through the canopy of colour, grateful to have such beauty in our backyard.