A.C. Gilbert, the American inventor who created the Erector Set & other educational toys, was born #OnThisDay in 1884. Perhaps the most (in)famous of Gilbert's creations was the Atomic Energy Lab, which let kids perform over 150 exciting experiments w/radioactivity! #histSTM #histsci #physics ⚛️🗃️📜

Devastated to learn that Univ of Texas at Austin is closing the American Studies dept. The years I spent there earning my PhD were formative, making me the teacher, thinker, and writer I am today. I've passed on what I learned at UT to thousands of students over the past 20 years. Just awful.

Walked by here by complete chance a few weeks ago in Boston.

150 years ago today (Feb. 14, 1876), Alexander Graham Bell & Elisha Gray both tried to patent inventions that would transmit sounds over long distances. Read about the priority dispute surrounding the invention of the #telephone. (HT @librarycongress.bsky.social) 🗃️📜☎️ #OnThisDay #histSTM #histtech

Three days left to submit your abstracts! Join us for the Midwest Junto at Purdue in April! #histsci #HPS #histSTM #STS #philsci

As a historian of science, I was raised to think rejecting science was a pathology of anti-democratic governments. Well, this might be the proof of that. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/c...

UT's new math: African & African Diaspora Studies + American Studies + Mexican American & Latina/o Studies + Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies _____________ = Social & Cultural Analysis French & Italian + Germanic Studies + Slavic & European Studies _____________ = European & Eurasian Studies

"I have taken the liberty of directing Murray to send you a copy of my book on the Origin of species..." -Charles #Darwin to John Herschel (Nov. 11, 1859) (Today you can consult Herschel's copy of the Origin here @ransomcenter.bsky.social!) sites.utexas.edu/ransomcenter... #histSTM #DarwinDay 🗃️📜

Happy International Day of Women & Girls in Science! If you're looking for a fun way to celebrate the occasion, why not check out the latest season of @lostwomenofsci.bsky.social, focusing on GE chemist Katharine Burr Blodgett? #histSTM #histsci #histtech #chemistry #nanotech #WomenInSTEM 🗃️📜🧪

Pro tip: Need a break from doomscrolling? Watch an episode of Genndy Tartakovsky's #Primal. The near-total absence of dialogue makes it impossible to look away w/o missing out on the animated action! (Note: Not recommended for those averse to violence or sticklers for paleontological accuracy...)

Summer jobs: NASA History Internship. "The NASA History Office is offering internships at several NASA centers this summer. Be sure to submit your application before the deadline on February 27." 🔭 #History #HistSTM #STS #Internship

In January 1979, @nytimes.com "polled a sampling of well-known personalities from the arts, politics & sports" about that year's #SuperBowl matchup between the #Steelers & #Cowboys. Here are a few replies from authors whose papers can be found @ransomcenter.bsky.social. #booksky #SuperBowlXIII 🏈📚🧵

In anticipation of tonight's big game, here's a Superb Owl from @ransomcenter.bsky.social's digital collections. This pastel drawing was created by Frank Reaugh, sometimes called the “Dean of Texas Artists." hrc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/coll... #SuperbOwl #owl #Texana #birdsky #NatHist 🦉🏈🗃️📜🎨

"I wished to establish some sort of system of simple bodies in which their distribution is not guided by chance, as might be thought instinctively, but by some sort of definite & exact principle." -Dmitri Mendeleev (born #OnThisDay 1834) on the origins of the #PeriodicTable #chemistry #histchem 🧪🗃️

"The Muppets Take Edinburgh" has a nice ring to it. Wouldn't you agree, @historyscience.bsky.social? #HSS2026

These two have attended every meeting since 1963 and refuse to wait for someone to pass them a microphone before sharing their thoughts on this year's plenary speaker...

Some say the world will end in fire, H.G. Wells says ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, A sudden appearance out of the sea of a race of amphibious monsters, capable of sweeping man out of existence Is also great And would suffice.

There is a sizable fleet of "autonomous" Waymos here in Austin. I wonder how many of them are being remotely guided by underpaid operators on the other side of the world... #Austin #ATX #Waymo

Question for #histsci, #histastro & #MaritimeHistory colleagues-This is a portrait of William Puntine (1752-1833), of Jamaica, Queens. Do you recognize the instrument he is carrying? (The friend who shared it w/me thought the lenses at the end might be used w/a sextant to protect viewers' eyes.) 🗃️📜

"A Flyer on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But in our little city of Philadelphia, you might say every one of us is a Flyer on the roof..."

"The #WorldFactbook appealed to researchers, news organizations, teachers, students, and international travelers." Indeed, it was so popular that the CIA has decided to stop publishing it! #geography #trivia #ReferenceBooks 🌎 📖

"I'm sure that in 1985, plutonium is available in every corner drugstore, but in 1955, it's a little hard to come by..."

Richard Carrington was the namesake of history's largest known geomagnetic storm, but no one knew what he looked like--until now! Today's #histSTM & #astronomy lunch read: @royalastrosoc.bsky.social archivist Kate Bond discusses the serendipitous discovery of the 1st known photo of Carrington 🗃️📜🔭📷

HSS Dissertation Travel Grant to support travel to sources for PhD students in history of science and technology working on their dissertation. Grants may be up to US$2,500. Grad students from any university are eligible Deadline Tuesday, March 31. hssonline.org/page/dissert... #HPS

A neat short video that introduces our Science and Technology Studies degree programmes at @stsucl.bsky.social Please share if you like what we do! #histsci #philsci #sts www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYYE...

“Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today!”

There's something poetic about promoting a podcast that examines Katharine Burr Blodgett's scientific accomplishments on Irving Langmuir's birthday. (No kidding...Langmuir was born #OnThisDay in 1881!) #histsci #histchem #WomenInScience 👩‍🔬

"She's 100% in command of her science. She is an inspiration, but for the duration of her career, Katharine Burr Blodgett worked in Irving Langmuir’s shadow." Today's #histSTM & #WomenInSTEM lunchtime listen: The premiere episode of @lostwomenofsci.bsky.social's new season, Layers of Brilliance! 🗃️📜

Happy #FindingAidFriday, movie fans! @ransomcenter.bsky.social recently published the finding aid for the papers of Irwin Winkler, the producer of Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and the Rocky & Creed franchises. research.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/fin... #filmsky #FilmHistory 🗃️📜📽️

"I heard him then, for I had just Completed my design To keep the Menai bridge from rust By boiling it in wine." -Lewis Carroll The Menai suspension bridge, designed by Thomas Telford to connect Wales & Anglesey, opened #OnThisDay in 1826. www.gov.wales/iconic-menai... #histSTM #Menai200 🗃️📜🌉

Spotted on the Bortposting Facebook group: A perfectly cromulent meme about the proliferation of #AI! #Simpsons #ArtificialIntelligence

"Seven individuals have left us a legacy--live, love, laugh, learn. I can think of no better tribute to them than to follow their example." -Doris Grigsby, #NASA program officer, on the #Challenger disaster, 40 years ago today. (Science & Children, 3/86) #histSTM #Challenger40 #OnThisDay #AdAstra 🚀

Submissions for our upcoming hybrid conference, SIGCIS 2026: Known Error (June 17-18, Berkeley, CA) are due 2/16. Dwai Banerjee is our keynote speaker. See the full CFP here: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Fifteen years ago today, dinosaurs roamed the snowy wasteland that was once @princeton.edu's campus! Gradosaurus (L) is seen here defending its thesis/egg from Advisorsaurus (R) during what may be the earliest known example of a dissertation defense. #OnThisDay #dinosaurs #SnowArt #Princeton ⛄🦖

AAAS voting ballots should've arrived in your inbox today. Lots of #HPS scholars on the ballot, including @jordicat.bsky.social & @bhgross144.bsky.social Donald Opitz & Mary Susan Lindee. Voting open through February 2nd.

One hour from now! If you're interested in the current state of academic publishing or the history of technology, you don't want to miss this conversation with T&C editor Ruth Oldenziel!

#ICYMI: Ruth Oldenziel, editor-in-chief of Technology & Culture (@shothisttech.bsky.social's flagship journal), will be speaking w/CHSTM's History of Tech. working group tomorrow (Jan. 27) from 1:00 to 2:30 PM, EST. Please join us! www.chstm.org/group/histor... #histSTM #histtech #publishing 🗃️📜⚙️

Of potential interest to friends in the Injury Studies Network? (cc: @safetyworkhstm.bsky.social) #histSTM #safety 🗃️📜

"Recognizing that Edison’s carbon filament may have been the first synthetic graphene is not only a matter of historical clarification. It also suggests that innovation can emerge from reinterpreting the past with fresh tools and new questions." (Eddy, et al, 2026) #histSTM #histsci #nano #nanotech

Coming up soon!

Can you tell the difference between a hydrometer & a hygrometer? A Leyden jar & a Crookes tube? An armillary sphere & an equatorial ring? Then you should follow @sis-instrument-soc.bsky.social for updates concerning the history of scientific instruments! #histSTM #histsci #histtech #FollowFriday 🗃️

"Slavery was real" Tiny sign at the base of a brick wall that, until yesterday, held panels about the people enslaved by George Washington. Presidents House, Philadelphia.

#BookHistory friends, take note! @printinghistory.bsky.social is holding its annual meeting tomorrow, and you can participate virtually. I'm particularly excited for a speech by this year's APHA individual laureate Elizabeth Savage. Details: printinghistory.org/apha-annual-... #booksky 🗃️📜📚

(Dr. Smith) "Oh, the Paine! The Paine of it all..." (/Dr. Smith) #LostInSpace

Compare the photograph below w/the equally lovely lithograph that Elizabeth Gould created for A Century of #Birds from the Himalaya Mountains (London, 1832). The colors are somewhat muted, but the species is still instantly recognizable. More on Gould: www.lindahall.org/about/news/s... #sciart 🗃️📜

After Ann Blair's excellent lecture on Renaissance publishers, I went home and watched #Jeopardy. Last night's show had a surprising amount of #BookHistory content. Not only was there a Caxton clue, but the Final Jeopardy category was "Old Books." Sadly, none of the contestants got it right. 🗃️📜📚

If you missed Ann Blair’s @ransomcenter.bsky.social Pforzheimer Lecture last night, you can check it out on YouTube: www.youtube.com/live/u16QHaI... I think you’ll agree that it’s both sharp and a lot of fun.

Ann Blair’s Pforzheimer Lecture on Renaissance publishing will begin in just a few minutes. Can’t make it to @ransomcenter.bsky.social? Here’s a link to our YouTube livestream! #RareBooks #BookHistory #booksky #histbookchat 🗃️📜📚

In one hour!

Starting in an hour & a half: 👇 📚 #EarlyModern #Renaissance #BookSky