Daisy Bell Basics

When did Homo sapiens first arrive in Asia?

80,000-60,000 years ago

When did Homo sapiens reach Europe, and when did Neanderthals become extinct?

40,000 years ago and 25,000 years ago

When did humans reach North America?

15,000 years ago

When were horses and camels domesticated?

5,000-4,000 BCE and 2,000 BCE

Who was Paul Salopek, and what was his expedition?

A journalist who began the 24,000-mile Out of Eden Walk in January 2013 to retrace human migration from Africa to South America

Where did Paul Salopek begin and plan to end the Out of Eden Walk?

Herto Bouri, Ethiopia, to Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America

When was the wheel invented, and where was early evidence discovered?

3500-3350 BCE; Uruk (Iraq), Flintbek (Germany), and Bronocice (Poland)

Who invented the Laufmaschine, and when was it introduced?

Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun; June 12, 1817, in Mannheim, Germany

What was the Laufmaschine, and what were its alternative names?

A two-wheeled, pedal-free wooden vehicle propelled by pushing one's feet against the ground; also called the draisine or dandyhorse

Who developed a pedal mechanism for the dandyhorse in 1839?

Kirkpatrick Macmillan, a Scottish blacksmith

Who introduced front-wheel pedals to the vélocipède during the 1860s?

Pierre Michaux and Pierre Lallement

Why was the vélocipède nicknamed the boneshaker?

Its wooden wheels provided little cushioning over rough ground and cobblestone roads

What was the penny-farthing, and what were its approximate wheel sizes?

A 1870s high-wheeler bicycle with a front wheel about five feet in diameter and a rear wheel about sixteen inches across

Who created the first commercially successful safety bicycle, when, and what was it called?

John Kemp Starley; 1885; the Rover

What developments made the safety bicycle more comfortable?

Equal-sized wheels and pneumatic rubber tires, which replaced wooden or iron wheels during the 1890s

Who wrote Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two), and when did it become a major hit?

Harry Dacre (pen name of Frank Dean); 1892

Which entertainer helped popularize Daisy Bell in 1892?

Katie Lawrence, whose performances popularized it in the United States and Great Britain

Which computer first synthesized speech using Daisy Bell, and when?

The IBM 704 at Bell Laboratories in 1961

How did Daisy Bell influence 2001: A Space Odyssey?

Arthur C. Clarke witnessed the IBM 704 demonstration, which inspired HAL 9000's singing of Daisy in the 1968 film

What are the vocoder and Vocaloid4 Cyber Diva?

The vocoder is an electronic device developed by Bell Labs in 1937 that compresses and synthesizes a person's voice; Cyber Diva is virtual singing software

When did Homo sapiens reach Europe?

40,000 years ago

When did Neanderthals become extinct?

25,000 years ago

When were horses domesticated?

5,000-4,000 BCE

When were camels domesticated?

2,000 BCE

Who was Paul Salopek?

A journalist who undertook the Out of Eden Walk to retrace human migration from Africa to South America

What was Paul Salopek's expedition?

The 24,000-mile Out of Eden Walk, begun in January 2013 to retrace human migration from Africa to South America

Where did Paul Salopek begin the Out of Eden Walk?

Herto Bouri, Ethiopia

Where did Paul Salopek plan to end the Out of Eden Walk?

Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America

When was the wheel invented?

3500-3350 BCE

Where was early evidence of the wheel discovered?

Uruk (Iraq), Flintbek (Germany), and Bronocice (Poland)

Who invented the Laufmaschine?

Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun

When was the Laufmaschine introduced?

June 12, 1817, in Mannheim, Germany

What was the Laufmaschine?

A two-wheeled, pedal-free wooden vehicle propelled by pushing one's feet against the ground

What were the alternative names for the Laufmaschine?

The draisine or dandyhorse

What was the penny-farthing?

An 1870s high-wheeler bicycle

What were the approximate wheel sizes of the penny-farthing?

A front wheel about five feet in diameter and a rear wheel about sixteen inches across

Who created the first commercially successful safety bicycle?

John Kemp Starley

When was the first commercially successful safety bicycle created?

1885

What was the first commercially successful safety bicycle called?

The Rover

Who wrote Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)?

Harry Dacre (pen name of Frank Dean)

When did Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two) become a major hit?

1892

Which computer first synthesized speech using Daisy Bell?

The IBM 704 at Bell Laboratories

When did the IBM 704 first synthesize speech using Daisy Bell?

1961

What is the vocoder?

An electronic device developed by Bell Labs in 1937 that compresses and synthesizes a person's voice

What is Vocaloid4 Cyber Diva?

Virtual singing software