Hacker News with Generative AI: History

Hill or High Water (royalsociety.org)
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been cataloguing a collection of over 300 photographic slides from the Royal Society expedition to Southern Chile, which took place from September 1958 to March 1959.
Photography, History, Expeditions, Chile
25 points by benbreen 6 hours ago | 0 comments
The Dark History Behind Radio Communication (substack.com)
Radio Communication, History
9 points by TheLadyParadox 7 hours ago | 0 comments
Usenix ATC Announcement (usenix.org)
USENIX celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025. We celebrate decades of innovations, experiments, and gatherings of the advanced computing system community. And in the spirit of our ever-evolving community, field, and industry, we announce the bittersweet conclusion of our longest-running event, the USENIX Annual Technical Conference in July 2025, following USENIX ATC '25.
Computer Science, Conferences, Announcements, History
57 points by eatbitseveryday 7 hours ago | 3 comments
Newsreels from the UCLA Film and Television Archive (newsreels.net)
In 1981, the Hearst Corporation donated its newsreel collection to the University of California.
History, Film, Archives, UCLA
24 points by billfor 12 hours ago | 3 comments
How the US built 5k ships in WWII (construction-physics.com)
Among the most impressive manufacturing achievements of the US during WWII was the number of ships it produced.
History, Manufacturing, Military
94 points by rbanffy 13 hours ago | 71 comments
The Rise and Fall of the Visual Telegraph (2017) (parisianfields.com)
Sometimes we go looking for blog ideas, and sometimes they come along and tap us persistently on the shoulder. This one did – three times.
History, Technology, Media
33 points by geox 15 hours ago | 6 comments
Augustine of Hippo (wikipedia.org)
Augustine of Hippo (/ɔːˈɡʌstɪn/ aw-GUST-in, US also /ˈɔːɡəstiːn/ AW-gə-steen;[22] Latin: Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430)[23] was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa.
Philosophy, History, Religion, Theology
8 points by lordleft 17 hours ago | 3 comments
First American pope elected and will be known as Pope Leo XIV (cnn.com)
Religion, History, Catholicism
558 points by saikatsg 18 hours ago | 881 comments
Why the rich paid less tax in the 1970s – despite 98% tax rates (taxpolicy.org.uk)
It’s sometimes said that we should go back to the tax system of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, with very high rates of tax on the highest earners. We’ve spoken to people who were around at the time – both tax avoiders and HMRC officials – and looked at the data.
Taxation, History, Economics
44 points by barry-cotter 21 hours ago | 19 comments
Short History of Four Wheel Steering (arstechnica.com)
With roots in early 20th-century trucks, 4WS is not widely understood.
History, Automotive, Technology, Engineering
3 points by xrayarx 21 hours ago | 0 comments
Egyptologist uncovers hidden messages on Paris’s iconic obelisk (artnet.com)
Egypt, Archaeology, History, Secret Messages
101 points by isaacfrond 1 day ago | 92 comments
Yggdrasil Linux/GNU/X (wikipedia.org)
Yggdrasil Linux/GNU/X, or LGX (pronounced igg-drah-sill), is an early Linux distribution developed by Yggdrasil Computing, Incorporated, a company founded by Adam J. Richter in Berkeley, California.
Linux Distributions, Operating Systems, History, Open Source
6 points by doener 1 day ago | 2 comments
A One-of-a-Kind Chinese Typewriter Emerges from Obscurity (thisiscolossal.com)
Chinese Typewriters, History, Collectibles, Vintage Technology
4 points by thunderbong 1 day ago | 0 comments
How the US Built 5k Ships in WWII (construction-physics.com)
Among the most impressive manufacturing achievements of the US during WWII was the number of ships it produced.
History, Manufacturing, Engineering
20 points by chmaynard 2 days ago | 14 comments
Before the Undo Command, There Was the Electric Eraser (ieee.org)
I’m fascinated with the early 20th-century zeal for electrifying everyday things. Hand tools, toasters, hot combs—they all obviously benefited from the jolt of electrification. But the eraser? What was so problematic about the humble eraser that it needed electrifying?
Technology, History, Innovation
7 points by bookofjoe 2 days ago | 0 comments
Failed Soviet spacecraft Kosmos 482 could crash to Earth this week (livescience.com)
Space Exploration, Satellites, Space Debris, History
4 points by Brajeshwar 2 days ago | 0 comments
Telling Lies: Bowie and Online Music Distribution in 1996 (cybercultural.com)
Online music retail was thriving by 1996, thanks to sites like Music Boulevard and CDnow. But music downloads and streaming was more of a challenge — as David Bowie discovered in September 1996.
Music Industry, History, David Bowie
69 points by herbertl 2 days ago | 59 comments
Today's AI can crack second world war Enigma code 'in short order', experts say (theguardian.com)
The Enigma code was a fiendish cipher that took Alan Turing and his fellow codebreakers a herculean effort to crack. Yet experts say it would have crumbled in the face of modern computing.
Artificial Intelligence, History, Cryptography
6 points by Brajeshwar 2 days ago | 1 comments
Pyrotechny: The art of making fireworks at little cost with complete safety 1873 (gutenberg.org)
The art of Pyrotechny has, like almost every other art in these days of experiment and research, undergone many processes of change and improvement.
History, Fireworks, Safety, Art
5 points by petethomas 2 days ago | 0 comments
Instruments of Empire (newleftreview.org)
In the historiographical field of intelligence studies, ideological blinkers abound.
History, Politics, Intelligence Studies
3 points by Petiver 2 days ago | 0 comments
How "Night of the Living Dead" Accidentally Became Public Domain (screenrant.com)
Public Domain, Film, Horror, History, Copyright
7 points by edavis 3 days ago | 1 comments
Rich Schroepell responds to Ron Rivest and the RSA MIT algorithm (1977) (archive.org)
TIL Alice and Bob were almost Adolf and Bertholdt. Rich Schroepell responds to Ron Rivest and the RSA paper in 1977 and suggests naming the protagonists Adolf and Bertholdt. Rivest, Shamir and Adleman eventually used Alice and Bob, but the suggestion came from Schroepell originally.
Cryptography, History, Computer Science, Security
5 points by iloveburritos89 3 days ago | 0 comments
A Brief History of Cursor's Tab-Completion (coplay.dev)
In building our own Unity tab-completion feature, I explored existing solutions and their fascinating history. This led me to the story of Cursor acquiring Babble, the best tab-completion model available today. Originating from Jacob Jackson's early code-completion tool TabNine, Babble revolutionized the space by using edit sequences for training—far superior to traditional Fill-in-the-Middle methods. With a groundbreaking 1M context window, Babble dramatically outperformed competitors in speed and scope.
Software, Programming, History, Tab Completion, Language Models
33 points by josvdwest 3 days ago | 2 comments
The Viking Age is undergoing a revisionist transformation Essays (aeon.co)
In the middle of the 9th century, in an office somewhere in the Jibāl region of what is now western Iran, a man is dictating to a scribe.
History, Revisionism, Viking Age, Middle East
5 points by rbanffy 3 days ago | 0 comments
WWII Aircraft Recognition Posters (pacificwarmuseum.org)
WWII Aircraft Recognition Posters
History, Posters, Military, Aviation
17 points by Michelangelo11 3 days ago | 3 comments
Open Document Format standard turns 20 (theregister.com)
It's been 20 years since the Open Document Format (ODF) became a standard, marking a milestone in the push for open, vendor-neutral file formats — and the beginning of a long but largely unsuccessful attempt to loosen Microsoft Office's grip on the desktop.
Open Standards, File Formats, Microsoft Office, Technology, History
7 points by rbanffy 3 days ago | 1 comments
Inheritance was invented as a performance hack (2021) (catern.com)
Inheritance was invented by the Simula language as a way to support intrusive lists, save memory, and simplify the garbage collector.
Programming, History, Performance Optimization, Garbage Collection
189 points by aquastorm 3 days ago | 227 comments
What were the intended uses of those icons in moricons.dll? (microsoft.com)
Since Windows 3.1, the moricons.dll file contains, well, more icons. What were these icons for?
Windows, Icons, History, Software, Programming
10 points by paulmooreparks 3 days ago | 0 comments
History of the Centrifuge (asimov.com)
The modern centrifuge was first designed for milkfat separation in the dairy industry. Today, it is ubiquitous in research laboratories. To whom do we owe its astonishing versatility?
Science, History, Engineering, Technology, Dairy
15 points by mailyk 4 days ago | 0 comments
Phoenician culture spread mainly through cultural exchange (mpg.de)
Study challenges long-held assumptions about the Mediterranean Phoenician-Punic civilization, one of the most influential maritime cultures in history
History, Archaeology, Culture, Mediterranean
70 points by gmays 4 days ago | 23 comments