Clint Stallard

Stinky Bottom

It’s Monday and on this day in history:
1842 First US design patent for typefaces and borders is issued to George Bruce of New York City
I chatted to AI about this:
George Bruce (1781-1866) was one of America's leading printers, type founders, and inventors. He helped modernise the printing industry during a period when newspapers, books, and advertising were expanding rapidly across the United States.
Bruce and his company manufactured metal type, the individual pieces of cast metal used in letterpress printing. Before digital fonts, every letter had to be physically cast and arranged by hand.
The patent covered the ornamental design of typefaces and decorative borders rather than a new printing machine. These borders were commonly used to decorate:
* Books and pamphlets
* Newspaper advertisements
* Certificates and official documents
* Posters and notices

Clint Stallard

Stinky Bottom

161 comments were added to the Stinky Bottom visitor book this week.
Thanks for visiting :)
The 100th individual comment was left on Monday 15-Jun-2026 (146 days ago).
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Clint Stallard

Stinky Bottom

It’s Saturday and on this day in history:
1631 Pierre Gassendi observes 1st ever transit of Mercury predicted by Kepler
I chatted to AI about this:
This was a landmark event in the history of astronomy.
On 7 November 1631, French astronomer Pierre Gassendi became the first person to successfully observe a transit of Mercury, an event in which Mercury passes directly between Earth and the Sun, appearing as a tiny black dot moving across the Sun's face.
Why was it important?
The observation had been predicted by Johannes Kepler in his Rudolphine Tables, published in 1627. Kepler's calculations indicated that a transit of Mercury would occur in 1631.
When Gassendi observed the event from Paris, it was a major confirmation that:
Kepler's planetary calculations were remarkably accurate.
Planets orbited the Sun as described by the heliocentric model.
Astronomers could successfully predict celestial events years in advance.

Clint Stallard

Stinky Bottom

It’s Friday and on this day in history:
1153 Treaty of Wallingford (Oxfordshire) signed between King Stephen and the Empress Maude (aka Matilda)
I chatted to AI about this:
The Treaty of Wallingford (also called the Treaty of Winchester) was one of the most important peace agreements in medieval English history.
The Background: The Anarchy
For nearly 20 years, England had been torn apart by a civil war known as The Anarchy (1138-1153).
The conflict began after the death of King Henry I. Henry's only legitimate son had died in the White Ship disaster of 1120, so Henry named his daughter, Empress Matilda (Maude), as his heir. However, when Henry died in 1135, his nephew Stephen of Blois seized the throne instead.
This led to years of warfare between supporters of King Stephen and Empress Matilda.

Sarsanto Sidhi

Braga

Explored!

You find 1 Bald Eagle souvenir.

James Calhoun

Stegosaur Quarry

You find 1 Sand Verbena Memento souvenir.

Clint Stallard

Stinky Bottom

It’s Thursday and on this day in history:
1228 Wu MeKuan, a collection of 48 Zen koans, is compiled in China
I chatted to AI about this:
The Wúménguān (“The Gateless Gate”) is a collection of 48 koans. A koan is a short story, dialogue, question, or paradox used in Zen Buddhism to challenge conventional thinking and encourage direct insight into the nature of reality.
Unlike ordinary riddles, koans are not meant to be solved through logic alone. They are intended to help students move beyond intellectual reasoning.
The meaning of "Gateless Gate"
The title itself is a Zen paradox. If there is no gate, why must one pass through it? The idea is that the barriers to enlightenment are often creations of our own minds. Realisation comes when those imagined barriers disappear.
In much the same way that Euclid's Elements shaped mathematics or Confucius's Analects shaped Chinese philosophy, the Wúménguān became one of the foundational texts of Zen practice and thought.

Clint Stallard

Stinky Bottom

It’s Wednesday and on this day in history:
1846 American inventor Benjamin Palmer from Meredith, New Hampshire, patents the artificial leg
I chatted to AI about this:
Before Palmer's invention, many artificial legs were little more than wooden pegs or very simple mechanical devices. His design introduced:
A more natural-looking leg shape.
Improved joints at the knee and ankle.
Springs and mechanical features that helped mimic the motion of walking.
Greater comfort and mobility for the wearer.
The goal was to make walking smoother and less tiring than with earlier prosthetic limbs.

Melina Popovic

Pooltown

Clint Stallard

Stinky Bottom

It’s Tuesday and on this day in history:
1869: Canada's Hamilton Football Club forms
I chatted to AI about this:
The Hamilton Football Club, founded on 3 November 1869, is one of the oldest football clubs in North America and is the direct ancestor of today's Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
The club was established in Hamilton, Ontario, during the early development of Canadian football.
At that time, the game was quite different from modern Canadian football. It resembled a mixture of rugby football and association football (soccer), with rules still evolving.
The club quickly became one of Canada's strongest teams and helped shape the sport's development.

Clint Stallard

Stinky Bottom

It’s Monday and on this day in history:
1867 Women's fashion magazine "Harper's Bazaar" is 1st published
I chatted to AI about this:
Harper's Bazaar is one of the world's most influential women's fashion magazines. Founded in New York City on 2 November 1867 by Harper & Brothers, it is widely regarded as the oldest continuously published fashion magazine still in operation.