Another example of technology originally developed for military purposes and later used for a non-military purpose centers on World War II. The United States had more military personnel in this war than any other in its entire history. Letters sent by military personnel to their family and friends, as well as letters to them, was creating quite a problem due to the high volume of mail. Even an entire fleet of airplanes loaded with nothing but mail could not keep up with the sheer volume. A letter would take weeks, if not months, to be received. A big meeting was called that not only included military personnel, but also experts in various fields of industry. They were presented with the problem and asked to help solve it. The experts went back home and busily engaged into trying to solve the problem - and they did solve it! First, special cameras were developed to enable high quality photos to be taken - high enough quality to read the text on a page. Next, a central receiving station was employed to receive ALL letters sent to military personnel overseas. Central stations were also placed in several countries in Europe. Mail being sent to or from military personnel was then photographed. One reel of negatives - think of the roll of film being a movie containing several thousand frames - could hold over 1,000 letters. One reel of film weighed less than 2 pounds and occupied less than one-half cubic foot. The same stack of original letters weighed over 150 pounds and occupied 4 cubic feet of space. On the other end, each letter was then developed on a small sheet of photographic paper, which in turn was then delivered to the recipient. This system was called "V Mail" - "V" for victory. After the war, this technology was used for other purposes. Today we call it microfilm.

For more information about V-Mail, go to http://www.historybuff.com/exhibits/V-Mail/index.html

I was born and raised in the small town (10,000 people) of Logan, Utah. Unlike most other children, I LOVED school. I never got interested in sports. In elementary school, while others played Dodge Ball or Kick Ball, I preferred to lean against a tree and read during recess. In sixth grade I read 59 books. I still have the certificate of award I received for it.

One winter we went to Ogden, Utah to spend the weekend with friends of the family. Ogden was about 80 miles from Logan and required driving through a canyon. Come Sunday afternoon, when it was about time to leave for home, a problem arose. On the radio they announced that a bad snowstorm had closed the canyon. We would have to spend Sunday night with our friends. I LOVED school so much that I threw my first and only temper tantrum - I was 10 at the time. I was bound and determined that if I had to, I would WALK back to Logan so I could go to school on Monday. Mother won out.

(Despite loving school so much, I received mostly C ‘s and an occasional B or D in junior high. In high school my grades suddenly improved to where I graduated with a 3.85 GPA. In college I finished with a GPA of 3.75.)

Now colleges like Albertus Magnus are utilizing computers on a daily basis.

I LOVED school so much that I was actually depressed when school let out for the summer. However, during the summer between sixth and seventh grade, I had the opportunity to attend "school" at Utah State University for 6 weeks. They had a study going to see if utilizing computers could help children learn. There were 12 of us in the experiment. We each had our own computer. For 3 hours a day, Monday through Friday, we sat at our computer and would read a few paragraphs on the computer screen and then take a short test about what we had just read. As I recall, the subjects were history, social studies, and math. Being ever so inquisitive, I snooped around to see where all those cords from the computers went. I now realize that at the time (1960) our computers were running off a mainframe and in DOS - no fancy Windows like now. Imagine, because I LOVED school so much, I was present when the concept of using computers in schools to facilitate learning was "born" - 45 years ago!

That same summer I was also present for another milestone in technology. When I got out of "school," I snooped around the campus from building to building. In one basement laboratory, I witnessed a college student who had developed what he called a laser. He showed me how this thin red beam of light could "bounce" off walls. I thought it was cool but at the time I could not see any practical use for it. (I was 12 at the time.) Little did I know how commonplace they would be just a generation later.

That next winter I also saw and rode the first snowmobile. A neighbor across the street from us worked for Thiokol Chemical in Brigham City, Utah. He was part of a team that was developing a vehicle that could travel over deep snow. He brought it home one weekend and showed the neighborhood how it worked. I even rode on it once. I now know that this was the first snowmobile.

Oh yes, as a child, my favorite meal was liver and spinach with red beets and vinegar, and I put applesauce on my scrambled eggs!

QUESTIONS:

1) What denomination of American currency has the names of several states engraved on one of the images on it?

ANSWER: The $5 bill.

2) How many states are engraved on the bill?

ANSWER: 26

WINNERS:

• Michelle Guichard - California
• Diane Moceri - Hawaii
• Sharon Armstrong - Iowa
• Rudy Scala - New York
• Derrick Barnett - Ohio
• Brooky Porter - Maryland
• Ashley Jones - Maryland

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