Mad Volcano Destroys City -- April 1, 2024

Minneapolis Journal, 08-April-1906

MAD VOLCANO DESTROYS CITY

TIDAL WAVE KILLS THOUSANDS

PEOPLE ESCAPE

BUT BEL0NGINGS

ARE DESTROYED

Ten Thousand Leave Doomed

City in Nick

of Time.

Detonations Continue With

Frequent Brilliant Electric Flashes.

New York Herald Special Service.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 8. -- Telegraph Hill is still in violent eruption and the panic in the neighborhoods near the volcano is increasing.

The neighborhood of North Beach and the northern waterfront were burned today by the lava which flowed from the crater. The inhabitants abandoned the city, in time to save their lives. They had lingered in the hope of saving their belongings, but the destroying stream advanced so fast that they finally fled in terror, leaving their possessions behind.

The hill is enveloped in a dense cloud of smoke, steam and dust. Besides the lava, huge blocks of rocks are emitted. The upper part of the funicular railway has been destroyed. A heavy rain is falling and this adds to the discomfort of the residents who have been compelled to abandon their homes and camp in the parks and squares.

An appeal for aid was sent to Governor Pardee by Mayor Eugene Schmitz. He asked for troops and artillery wagons from the National Guard to assist. New craters have opened in the sides of the hill, some of them opposite the city's Financial District.

Other Cities in Peril.

The eastern side of the hill, weakened by years of quarrying, collapsed during the initial eruption, sending a wall of rocks and debris across the warehouse district and into the bay. The resulting tidal wave caused undetermined damage all along the east shore of the bay.

More Craters Open.

New craters have opened and from them the lava is pouring down the hillsides in wide streams. It
Continued on 3d Page, 6th Column.

Tragedy Strikes Bird-Plane -- April 1, 2023

Sal si Puedes, April, 1923

Tragedy Strikes Bird-Plane

Inventor Carried Off

Aeronautical engineer Hector Gaviota poses in the cockpit of his bird-plane, moments before he started the mechanism to flap the wings. The bird-plane rolled steadily down the runway until it reached sufficient speed to take to the air. The bird-plane rose steadily at a steep angle to a height of about 20 meters. There it flew on a level path until a golden eagle of unusual size swooped from the sky and caught 
Gaviota in its talons. As the great bird flew away towards the mountains with its victim, the bird-plane continued in level flight for a few meters and then dove towards the ground. It was completely destroyed when it hit the ground. 

The Big V Riot Squad -- April 1, 2022

Some of my correspondents, including Dr Josiah S Carberry, esteemed professor of Psychoceramics at Brown University, have told me that some cheese brain calling himself Joe Thompson has created a blog in imitation of this one called "The Big V Riot Squad." I won't grace it with a link.

Inventor and Bird-Like Flying Bicycle -- April 1, 2021

 

Metropolis Daily Planet, 03-June-1928

TOWN ASTOUNDED

AT FLYING BICYCLE

Successful Flight of Birdlike

Contraption Followed Secret Work at Home.

Ocean Hop to Paris Next.

BY LEMUEL F. PARTON.

Special Dispatch to The Planet

NEW YORK. June 2.—Folks in West Egg, Long Island, know now what young George White was up to during those six months when he was working on some secret contraption in his father's cellar. In the best Dick Merriwell tradition, the young man kept the cellar padlocked and the basement window boarded up, so nobody could find out what he was doing.

Now the town learns, from St. Augustine. Fla. that the busy and secretive Mr White was making himself a flying bicycle. and furthermore that it has flown 30 miles an hour for eight tenths of a mile.

With flapping "feathered" wings of transparent celluloid, this rig approaches nearer the original Icarian model— which has stirred the imagination of man for thousands of years than the more businesslike and less poetic outfits which finally got man into the air.

It is contoured like a bird and the inventor seeks a perfect simulation of bird flight in ascent, descent and guidance. Foot treads, flapping the wings, supply the power.

News of the first successful flight attracted little public interest. It has since been learned that Mr White is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a former Army aviator and instructor in flying and an indefatigable student of airplane design. Hence, news of his continued experiments at St. Augustine have caught the attention of technicians and designers here and his operations are being closely watched.

Predicts Ultimate Success.

Prof. Alexander Klemin of the Guggenheim School of Aeronautics of New York University, said he was astounded with White's achievements and saw no reason why the inventor would not eventually develop a foot-propelled flying machine, modeled on bird flight, that could cross the Atlantic Ocean.

It was said by friends of White here that the experiments now being made in Florida are preliminary studies and the attempt at Trans-Atlantic flight will be made after a schedule of fundamental experiments has been carried through.

While Mr. White is equipped with the knowledge of aerodynamics which the last 20 years have made available, his creation is entirely novel, having nothing in common, in propulsion, guidance or control, with airplanes now in use.

 
The machine weighs 137 pounds and its inventor says it could be built for $350.

Has Artificial "Feathers."

The 14-foot wings are built with a skeleton of strong, light chrome molybdenum covered with non-inflammable celluloid. The skeleton, showing through the transparency, gives it the appearance of a pre-historic flying monster. Artificial "feathers" on the upper surface, made of strips of molybdenum, further the bird-like appearance. Mr White contrived to increase the forward momentum gained, as in bird flight, by the upward strokes of the wings comparable to the action of an oar in sculling a boat forward. This theory is regarded as an entirely new idea by technicians here, and it is agreed that if Mr White proves its soundness he will have made a valuable contribution to aerodynamics.

Mr White is financing himself in his experiments. He sends word to his friends here that he will send them a telegram as soon as he lands in Paris.

Metropolis Daily Planet, 03-June-1928

UTB Testing -- April 1, 2020

from the SFMTA (San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency):
In light of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and Governor Gavin Newsom's shelter-in-place order, the San Francisco Municipal Railway is testing the use of UTBs (Unmanned Transit Buses).  Here we see driver Robert Smith driving a 38-Geary Rapid bus from his living room.  The new system will protect drivers from becoming infected by viruses and will help to separate them from potentially violent riders. This project could also ease the problem of long commutes for drivers who live outside of San Francisco.  

Thank you to Graeme Knappick for the photo of this secretive project. 

Don't Forget This is First of April -- April 1, 2019

Washington Star, 01-April-1919

DONT FORGET THIS IS FIRST OF APRIL

Watch for Silk Hat Loaded With Bricks, Beware of Phone Numbers, Etc.

IN FACT, "PLAY IT SAFE"

Look out for the April fool jokester today.

The world probably does more, at least in some directions: for example, note the league of nations, bolshevism, wireless telephony, Gene Debs sentenced to jail, rumors of the discovery in Washington of a landlord with human emotions and a few other things.

But in other ways -- well, it's a safe bet that about the first thing Ham, Shem and Japhet did when they reached their port of debarkation was to rig up an old silk hat with a couple of bricks in it, for their poor old dad to crash his unprotected toes against.

And boys have been doing the same thing every recurrent April 1 since then.

Phone Means of Jest.

Also, perhaps if Alexander Graham Bell et al. had realized the glee with which merry jesters who attain perihelion on April 1 each year would fly to the well known telephone as an aid and abettor of their quips, they might have hesitated before giving the invention to the world. Wherefore, if one calls today and leaves a message to the effect that you are to get in touch with Mr. Lyon at Columbia 3892, or says that Mr. Fish, at Main 5240, wishes to speak with you, burst into raucous laughter, bearing in mind that the first number is the National Zoological Park and the other is the bureau of fisheries.

Likewise, heed not the altruistic person who accosts you on the street and tells you your shoelace is untied or your garter has broken its moorings. Perhaps it is true and perhaps it isn't. Anyhow, safety first is a good motto for this entire day.

Hard to Trace Its Origin.

The origin of All Fools day is not easy to trace. No one seems to be able to say how far back the custom existed in England nor from whence it came, but the literature of the last two centuries has many allusions to April fooling. In France the same custom exists. The pranks played there on that day are called poissons d'Avril or April fishes. There is evidence of April fooling existing in France at an earlier date than in England.

The earliest trace of the practice which is so widely prevalent over the earth is a Hindoo festival which is celebrated on March 31 and is precisely similar in character.

Confederate Heritage Month - April 1, 2016

Fort Pillow Massacre

I wish this was an April Fools' Day joke.  The Governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant, has declared that April is Confederate Heritage Month.

“Whereas it is important for all Americans to reflect upon our nation’s past, to gain insight from our mistakes and our successes, and to come to a full understanding that the lessons learned yesterday and today will carry us through tomorrow if we carefully and earnestly strive to understand and appreciate our heritage …”  Notice that the proclamation does not mention slaves or slavery.

To help celebrate Confederate Heritage in Mississippi, here is one of the high points of the Confederacy in that state, the Fort Pillow Massacre.  General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who later founded the Ku Klux Klan, captured the fort on 12-April-1864.  After the garrison of US Colored Troops surrendered and gave up their arms, Forrest and his cavalrymen slaughtered almost every one of them.  Many were castrated and lynched.  

I was happy to learn that the Mississippi NAACP has proposed that May should be Union Army Appreciation Month, to remember honorable men from Mississippi, black and white, who fought against treason:
http://naacpms.org/union-troops-appreciation-month/#1458570559639-14a3a768-bec6

NBC Announces New Fall Lineup -- April 1, 2014

NBC announced that its Fall lineup will be "going back to basics."  Among the stars of new shows is beloved veteran Felix the Cat. 

Third Carnival Cruise Ship Having Trouble at Sea -- April 1, 2013

Passengers are making their return home from sea as mechanical problems crippled three different Carnival Cruise liners, cutting guests' vacations short.

Two thousand passengers aboard the Carnival Honolulu are on their way back to San Pedro, California, after a technical problem with a poolside barbecue caused ventilation issues.

A Carnival spokesman said "Technical issues will occur from time to time. We take each one seriously."

The Carnival spokesman went on to insist that potential vacation goers should still choose the company, saying, "We provide enjoyable vacations to 4.5 million people each year. It is important to remember that in most instances guest and crew safety was not compromised." 

Novel Solution to the Traffic Problem -- April 1, 2012

From the 17-October-1913 San Francisco Golden Gate Gazette.

Novel Solution to the Traffic Problem.

United Railroads Proposes Express Service from the Ferry Building to the Grounds of the Exposition.

A collaboration between Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH of Lake Constance, Germany and the United Railroads of San Francisco has proposed a new idea to speed transportation on San Francisco's Market Street, providing express service from the Ferry Building to Castro Street. Service is also planned to the Panama Pacific Exposition in 1915.

Icarus of Twentieth Century -- April 1, 2011

From the 27-October-1911 San Francisco Golden Gate Gazette.

Icarus of Twentieth Century Follows the Wake of the Hawk

Student of Aeronautics Has Touched the Sky

[Special Dispatch to The Gazette]

SAN JOSE. Oct. 26. -— The Wright brothers are not the only students of aviation who believe that man will eventually soar as easily as the buzzard high above the earth.

Long before Wilbur Wright announced that his brothers were experimenting with a motorless aeroplane, Capt. George H. Schoedsack of this city, originator of the rolling lint brush, devised a pair of wings patterned after those of the hawk. These are strapped to the: body, with a corset-like arrangement and by an ingenious system, of pulleys the wearer is able to exert all of the strength of his arms and legs into the flapping of the wings.

Schoedsack has tried hops from small elevations and has worked out balance and other problems. This Saturday at Noon he will attempt a more ambitious flight from the 21st floor of the Gazette Building at Third and Market Streets. The public is invited to observe his experiment.

Cool iPad Translation App -- April 1, 2010

The latest cool iPad app: Simultaneous translation into as many as two languages at the same time. Here it is demonstrated on the Max-iPad.

Parum Vir, Ave Atque Vale -- April 1, 2009

The San Francisco Chronicle announced today that the Little Man's chair will be empty forever. He has been laid off. We will miss him.

Big iPod News -- April 1, 2008

A friend who works at Apple informs me that the next big thing in iPods will be the one terrabyte, multiuser version. Watch for it.