Bigfoot sightings go back for several decades at least, but it would be very surprising if a large humanoid had managed to live mostly undetected in North America. Bigfoot believers can take some encouragement from the fact that the world’s most famous former cryptid is a nonhuman primate. English sailor Andrew Battell, who was held captive by the Portuguese in West Africa around 1600, claimed to have seen a monster on the Dark Continent: “The Pongo is in all proportions like a man; for he is more like a giant in stature than a man ... They cannot speak, and have no more understanding than a beast.” (Descriptions of hairy, manlike creatures were scattered throughout early Western literature as well.) In all likelihood, Battell was ... Continue reading →
22 May 2012 Last updated at 13:29 ET TV remote control inventor Eugene Polley dies at 96 A 1955 advertisement for Flash-Matic, the first wireless TV remote control The inventor of the television remote control has died at the age of 96, his former employer has said. Eugene Polley passed away of natural causes on Sunday at a Chicago hospital, said Zenith Electronics. His 1955 invention, Flash-Matic, pointed a beam of light at photo cells in the screen, turning the set on and off and changing the channels. His invention was a luxury add-on in the days before hundreds of cable television channels. Born in Chicago in 1915, Polley began his engineering career in 1935. He worked at Zenith for 47 years, earning 18 US ... Continue reading →
CHICAGO — The United States and Pakistan are not expected to secure a deal to reopen supply lines to Afghanistan before a NATO summit begins on Sunday, casting a pall over talks that are to focus on winding down the alliance’s combat role in the Afghan war, American officials said. American and Pakistani officials had expressed optimism last week that an agreement was imminent. Negotiators were narrowing their differences after three weeks of intense deliberations, they said, and it was hoped that an invitation for Pakistan to attend the summit would engender the good will needed to close the gap between the two sides. The invitation was accepted, and Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, arrived in Chicago on Saturday. But a deal on the supply ... Continue reading →
