Hacker News with Generative AI: History

Russia's nostalgia machine works for strongman Putin (japantimes.co.jp)
Walk around any Russian city, from Moscow and St. Petersburg to Yekaterinburg and Kazan, and you will come across people wearing dark blue or red sweatshirts emblazoned with that unmistakable Soviet emblem — hammer, sickle and star. You will also see plenty of traditional fur hats — often topped with a red star — even though recent winters have been the warmest on record.
Russia, Politics, Culture, History
6 points by PaulHoule 2 hours ago | 0 comments
A Sad Moment in American History [video] (youtube.com)
History, United States, Video
9 points by itronitron 10 hours ago | 0 comments
First pharaoh's tomb found in Egypt since Tutankhamun's (bbc.com)
Egyptologists have discovered the first tomb of a pharaoh since Tutankhamun's was uncovered over a century ago.
Archeology, Egypt, History, Ancient History
4 points by below43 16 hours ago | 1 comments
What I Saw at the Evolution of Plan 9 (Geoff Collyer) [pdf] (adi.onl)
Operating Systems, Conferences, History
9 points by adriangrigore 20 hours ago | 4 comments
1972 Unix V2 "Beta" Resurrected (tuhs.org)
Hi everyone, First-time poster here. Near the end of last year, I did some forensic analysis on the DMR tapes (https://www.tuhs.org/Archive/Applications/Dennis_Tapes) and had some fun playing around with them. Warren forwarded a few of my emails to this list at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, but it was never my intention for him to be my messenger, so I'm posting here myself now.
Unix, History, Software, Operating Systems, Archive
374 points by henry_flower 22 hours ago | 104 comments
What 5 Megabytes of Data Looked Like in 1966 (62,500 punched cards) (vintag.es)
In 1966, computing was in its infancy, and the concept of data storage and processing looked drastically different from today’s instant access to vast amounts of information.
History, Technology, Data Storage
18 points by dxs 1 day ago | 10 comments
Steve Jackson Games Is Bringing the Fighting Fantasy Books to the US (sjgames.com)
AUSTIN, TX 10/17/24 – In 1982, British game designers Sir Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson introduced Fighting Fantasy, a revolutionary set of solo adventure books that combined nonlinear narratives with dice-rolling tabletop RPG mechanics. Now, this fantastical, multi-million-selling book series returns to the United States thanks to an historic 50-book publishing collaboration with Steve Jackson Games. The first books in the series will be available in early 2025.
Gaming, Books, Publishing, History
103 points by mattl 2 days ago | 62 comments
1561 Celestial Phenomenon over Nuremberg (wikipedia.org)
An April 1561 broadsheet by Hans Glaser described a mass sighting of celestial phenomena or unidentified flying objects (UFO) above Nuremberg (then a Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire). Ufologists have speculated that these phenomena may have been extraterrestrial spacecraft. Skeptics assert that the phenomenon was likely to have been another atmospheric phenomenon, such as a sun dog,[1] although the print doesn't fit the usual classic description of the phenomena.[2][3]
History, UFOs, Astronomy, Germany
11 points by handfuloflight 2 days ago | 0 comments
Appeasement at Munich (snyder.substack.com)
As American and Russian negotiators converge today in Munich for a major security conference, carrying in their briefcases various plans about Ukraine without Ukraine, the temptation is to recall another meeting in that city. Appeasement of the aggressor seems to be the plan now, as it was with Germany in 1938.
Politics, History, International Relations, Ukraine
93 points by zfg 3 days ago | 48 comments
Sony FX-300 Jackal: A technological marvel of the late 70s (2021) (swling.com)
I’m a child of the 1970s and I’m glad I never knew about the Sony FX-300 “Jackal 300.” It would have been the ultimate unobtainable machine of my dreams…this, even despite the lack of shortwave.
Technology, History, Consumer Electronics
133 points by cainxinth 3 days ago | 55 comments
The "Unbreakable" Beer Glasses of East Germany (hackaday.com)
We like drinking out of glass. In many ways, it’s an ideal material for the job. It’s hard-wearing, and inert in most respects. It doesn’t interact with the beverages you put in it, and it’s easy to clean. The only problem is that it’s rather easy to break. Despite its major weakness, glass still reigns supreme over plastic and metal alternatives.
History, Materials Science, East Germany, Glassware
20 points by jnord 3 days ago | 3 comments
South Africa's history uncovered: the 1k-year gap they don't teach in school (theconversation.com)
Were you told that gold mining in southern Africa started after 1852? Or that the export of iron, steel, copper and gold began in the late 19th century? Or that South Africa became integrated into a global trading system only after 1652? Or that the first powerful state in South Africa was the Zulu kingdom?
History, South Africa, Education, Archaeology
22 points by PaulHoule 3 days ago | 1 comments
How Louis Armstrong shaped the sound of Ghana (atlasobscura.com)
When jazz great Louis Armstrong’s plane touched down in Accra—the capital of what was then the British Gold Coast—on a spring morning in 1956, thousands of spectators awaited him on the tarmac.
Music, History, Ghana
45 points by prmph 3 days ago | 7 comments
GNU/Darwin (2000) (gnu-darwin.org)
It has been amusing to watch the office of the President and Georgetown University professors responding to the culture shock of multiband social media.
Operating Systems, History, Social Media
6 points by lizstar_ 3 days ago | 4 comments
Did missing/corrupt dates in COBOL default to 1875-05-20? (stackexchange.com)
Does or did COBOL default to 1875-05-20 for corrupt or missing dates?
Programming, COBOL, History, Dates
274 points by SeenNotHeard 4 days ago | 498 comments
The 8-Bit Era's Weird Uncle: The TI-99/4A (wordpress.com)
It’s been awhile since I’ve looked at an architecture that’s completely new to me, and I haven’t done any since creating my new scheme for dedicated platform guides. I’ve now gotten enough material together that I can kick off an exploration of a new platform for me: the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A. For this new introduction, I’ll be splitting it into three parts, two of which go live today:
Retro Computing, Texas Instruments, Hardware, History, Technology
148 points by rbanffy 4 days ago | 93 comments
At 100, He's the Last Original Owner of a Frank Lloyd Wright House (abc7.com)
MOUNT PLEASANT, New York -- In June 1952, Roland Reisley settled into his freshly completed modern house in Westchester County, New York, and almost 73 years later, he still lives there.
Architecture, History, Real Estate
8 points by pseudolus 4 days ago | 0 comments
He who saves his country, violates no law (wikipedia.org)
"He who saves his country, violates no law" (or "He who saves his country does not violate any law") is a purported quotation attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.[1][2] It is often interpreted as a justification for extraordinary actions in times of national crisis.
History, Politics, Morality, Leadership
10 points by hn_acker 4 days ago | 4 comments
So Many Unmarried Men (aeon.co)
In the 1950s, the philosopher Mary Midgley did something that, according to philosophical orthodoxy, she wasn’t supposed to do. In a BBC radio script for the Third Programme (the precursor of BBC Radio 3), she dared to point out that almost all the canonical figures in philosophy’s history had been unmarried men.
Philosophy, Gender Studies, History
64 points by makerdiety 4 days ago | 131 comments
Russia launched a giant space mirror in 1993 (bbc.com)
It sounds like a scheme a James Bond villain might hatch: launching a giant mirror into orbit to harness the Sun's rays, then redirecting them to beam down on a target on Earth. Yet this was exactly what the Russian space agency Roscosmos attempted to do on 4 February 1993.
Space Exploration, History, Russia
4 points by wslh 4 days ago | 1 comments
The TOMY Screwball Scramble (medium.com)
The patent of the first version of the Screwball Scramble was filed in 1979. The Associated Press described it as “a challenging game, based on a clever concept.”
Toys, Games, History
19 points by biscuits1 4 days ago | 10 comments
Vatican Astronomer Releases 'A Jesuit's Guide to the Stars' (vaticannews.va)
The latest book from the director of the Vatican Observatory combines personal reflection with a detailed history of Jesuit engagement with astronomy.
Astronomy, Religion, History, Books
13 points by reaperducer 4 days ago | 0 comments
The Sims Game Design Documents (1997) (donhopkins.com)
NameLast modifiedSizeDescription
Game Design, History, The Sims
443 points by krykp 5 days ago | 60 comments
Lake-harvested cocktail ice is an old business making a comeback in Norway (vinepair.com)
Frosty, cooling drinks like juleps and cobblers were trending in early 1800s America, their popularity driven by the recent year-round availability of ice.
History, Norway
39 points by ohjeez 5 days ago | 42 comments
The San Francisco stadium that fog killed (sfgate.com)
The fervor over San Francisco’s glorious new baseball park was cresting. It didn’t matter that the first game was delayed several weeks by a tough winter. When Opening Day at Ewing Field came on May 16, 1914, thousands of fans traversed up to Lone Mountain and poured into their new baseball home.
Baseball, San Francisco, History, Weather
69 points by PaulHoule 6 days ago | 38 comments
George Eliot's reflections on AGI from 1879 (learningfromexamples.com)
George Eliot, or Mary Ann Evans as she was known to her friends, was one of the most influential writers of Victorian England. Amongst her greatest hits were The Mill on the Floss, a novel about two siblings grappling with family life, and Middlemarch, a meditation on marriage, idealism, and self-interest.
Artificial Intelligence, Literature, History
144 points by benbreen 6 days ago | 56 comments
Ask HN: Any good examples of multimedia local history web sites? (ycombinator.com)
I have an opportunity to work with students on creating a local history project using historical and new photos and both audio and video interviews.
History, Web Development, Education, Local History
6 points by subpixel 6 days ago | 3 comments
US Park Service erases ‘transgender’ from website commemorating Stonewall riot (apnews.com)
References to transgender people were removed Thursday from a National Park Service website for the Stonewall National Monument, a park and visitor center in New York that commemorates a 1969 riot that became a pivotal moment for the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
LGBTQ+, History, Politics, Government, US
74 points by impish9208 6 days ago | 24 comments
Delphi Is 30 (marcocantu.com)
Today is 30 years since Delphi was launched, in February 1995.
Programming, Software, History, Anniversaries
142 points by andsoitis 6 days ago | 88 comments
Edgware 1924: The Making of a Suburb (modernism-in-metroland.co.uk)
One hundred years ago, the new Edgware Underground station was opened. It marked the completion of the tube extension from Golders Green, on the line we now call the Northern, but what was then the Charing Cross. Euston & Hampstead Railway, owned by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, the forerunner to London Transport.
History, London, Transportation, Suburbs
16 points by benbreen 6 days ago | 4 comments