Google today's doodle

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Gideon Sundback, inventor of zipper, featured in Google doodle

Gideon Sundback, the Swedish-American electrical engineer, has been featured in a Google doodle today to celebrate his 132nd birth anniversary. Mainly known for his work in the development of the zipper, Soundback was born in Sweden in 1880, later he moved to Germany after finishing his schooling and joined a polytechnic school.
Gideon Sundback emigrated to United States in 1905 and was hired to work for the Universal Fastener Company the next year. This was the start of his work with the zipper, Sundback made several advances in the development of the zipper between 1906 and 1914.

In 1914, Gideon developed a version of zipper based on interlocking teeth, the "Hookless No. 2", which was the base of modern metal zipper. He later got a United States patent no. 1219881 for the "Separable Fastener".

Sundback was not only involved in the invention of modern zipper but also created the manufacturing machine for the new zipper. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in 1951. Gideon died of a heart condition in 1954 and was honoured by inclusion in the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his work on the development of the zipper.

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Royal Ploughing Ceremony

Date: 9 May 2012
Time: From 08:30
Location: Sanam Luang (Royal Field)

This highly ceremonial event marks an auspicious beginning to the new planting season every year. Presided over by HM the King or member of the Royal Family, the ceremony follows a strict agenda whereby court Brahmins, dressed in ceremonial gowns, lead two sacred oxen in a ploughing ritual around the Royal Field as they sow rice seeds onto the ground. The symbolic importance of this ceremony occurs when the sacred oxen eat from a plate of offering – rice, corn, green beans, sesame, fresh-cut grass, water and rice whisky – which predicts whether or not the upcoming planting season will be bountiful.

As with any events presided over by members of the Royal Family, be sure to dress appropriately in polite attire if you plan to attend the ceremony.

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Who was Bob Moog? Man behind today's Google doodle

Robert Arthur "Bob" Moog was an American pioneer of electronic music and popularly known as the inventor of the Moog synthesiser, which was one of the earliest electronic musical instruments. His innovation has been implemented in various synthesisers such as the Minimoog Model D, Minimoog Voyager and Little Phatty.

Born on May 23, 1934 in New York, Bob Moog had a Ph.D. in engineering physics from Cornell University. He began his career in building electronic musical instruments as a teenager and later went on to found two companies, Moog Music and Big Briar for manufacturing electronic musical instruments. The first Moog instruments were modular synthesizers.

In 1971 Moog Music began production of the Minimoog Model D which was among the first widely available, portable and relatively affordable synthesizers.

He also worked as a consultant and vice president for new product research at Kurzweil Music Systems from 1984 to 1988, helping to develop the Kurzweil K2000. In 1999, Moog partnered with Bomb Factory to co-develop the first digital effects based on Moog technology in the form of plugins for Pro Tools software.

Moog's work was recognised and honoured with a Grammy Trustees Award for lifetime achievement in 1970 and a Special Merit/Technical Grammy Award and an honorary doctorate degree from Berklee College of Music in 2002. Moog died of brain tumour at the age of 71.

Today on his 78th birthday, Google honours this creator and inventor with a unique doodle featuring a digital replica of the Moog electronic music synthesizer.

[Tommo]

Best one yet, I wasted a good 2 hours playing with the Synthesiser!

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Google doodles eggs for Peter Carl Faberge's 166th birthday

New Delhi: A set of six exquisite jewelled eggs adorn the Google home page in honour Peter Carl Fabergé. Wednesday is the 166th birth anniversary of the the legendary Russian jeweller.
Born on May 30, 1846 in St. Petersburg, Peter Carl Fabergé is most famous for his trademark Fabergé eggs. Having honed his jewellery skills in Germany, France and England, he joined his father's business in 1870.
It was in the 1882 Pan-Russian Exhibition in Moscow where he won the gold medal that his achievements were recognised. In 1885 he was appointed as the court jeweller of the Romanov Dynasty, and the work that he did for the last two Czars that earned him worldwide fame.

The Russian royal family had the tradition of presenting Easter gifts. Fabergé made his first Easter egg for Czar Alexander III in 1885 which the Czar gifted to his Danish wife Empress Maria Feodorovna. The first egg contained a jewelled hen.
The design of each of Peter Carl Fabergé's Easter eggs was a closely guarded secret before it was officially handed over to the Romanov family. Quite like today's much awaited electronic gadgets.
During the reign of Alexander III, Fabergé made one Easter egg every year. When Nicolas II ascended to the Russian throne in 1894, following the death of his father, Fabergé made two eggs - one for the current Czar's mother Maria Feodorovna and another for the Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna.
The Easter egg tradition continued till the October Revolution of 1917 that overthrew monarchy in Russia and established a communist government that soon seized Fabergé's assets, including his company. Fabergé fled to Switzerland where he died in exile on September 24, 1920.
Fabergé designed Easter eggs for the Romanovs for 37 years, a total of 54 eggs. Only 47 of the Fabergé eggs are believed to have survived.
It is not that Peter Carl Fabergé designed bejewelled eggs only for the Russian royals, a select few prominent families and individuals also had Fabergé specially made for them.
The legend of the Fabergé eggs have also found their way into popular culture. In the 1983 movie Octopussy James Bond (Roger Moore) a Fabergé egg (in fact two, a real and a fake) play an important role (Watch the video embedded below).

June 1935: Richly decorated and highly-ornate Faberge eggs, embellished with gold and precious stones, pictured as part of a Russian Art exhibition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NvcKSUD8ZvU

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Alan Mathison Turing's 100th birthday

NEW DELHI: Today Google celebrates the 100th birthday of computer genius Alan Mathison Turing (23 June 1912 - 7 June 1954) with an attractive doodle. He is also known as the founder of computer science whose work played a significant role in breaking the wartime Enigma- enciphered messages.

Alan Turing, born in London, from his early years showed deep interest toward science and mathematics. As he grew, Turing showed exceptional ability in solving advanced problems. His innovative mind conducted several test and also worked on the design of the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE). In 1946, he presented a paper which is known as the first elaborate design of a stored-program computer.

His life is full of achivements and because of this extraordinary work he was appointed Reader in the Mathematics Department at the University of Manchester in 1948. His contribution in mathematics and 'Computing machinery and intelligence' are still considered to be significant work.

Turing was convicted of his homosexual actions as criminal act in the United Kingdom in 1952. After two years of conviction he died from cyanide poisoning which was believed to be a suicide.

In 2009, after a campaign the then prime minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown issued an apology for Turing's treatment on behalf of the British government.

In Manchester, ahead of his 100th birthday, to pay tribute to this codebreaking genius an award has been named after Alan Turing for people who makes significant contribution to help victims of homophobia. The award will be conferred as part of the Lesbian and Gay Foundation's annual Homo Heroes Awards.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com