State-of-the-art in its day, a catapult-like contraption known as a hysplex was used to start footraces in Greece around the 5th century B.C. At a time when athletes competed in the nude, the hysplex made sure that no runner had an advantage.

A modern version of the ancient hysplex starting mechanism was reconstructed in the stadium at Nemea, Greece in 1993 and has been used during revivals of the Ancient Nemean Games held every four years.

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jtotheizzoe:

Antikythera mechanism as luxury wristwatch

For your anachronistic bling needs.

(via Boing Boing)

Timewise riff off of this story: World’s First Computer May Be Older than You Think.

129 Notes   jtotheizzoeReblogged   Comment

The seeds of the digital revolution were planted with the invention of the transistor in 1947, which led to the integrated circuit in the late 1950s followed by the world’s first microprocessor in 1971 that later gave birth to the personal compute…

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cwnl:

The Columns of Athena Temple

Captured in an all-sky image, the nearly full moon sets in the morning sky above the Athena Temple in Assos, a village in the Aegean seaside amid ancient ruins. Also known as Behramkale, it is located in Canakkale province of Turkey, close to the westernmost point of Asia.

By Tunc Tezel

271 Notes   ikenbotReblogged   Comment