TheAmazing - Andrew Ferguson...C O N N E C T I N G T O I N D U S T R Y TheAmazing VanishingAct Controlled implosion reduces a building to less than the sum of its parts FALL 2009/WINTER

C O N N E C T I N G T O I N D U S T R Y

The AmazingVanishing Act

Controlled implosion reducesa building to less than the sumof its parts

F A L L 2 0 0 9 / W I N T E R 2 0 1 0a s i a / pa c i f i c – s p r i n g 2 0 0 9 / s u m m e r 2 0 1 0

16 Nikola Tesla

Father of the Modern Age

20Paris

City of Light is awalker’s delight

26 A Great Sea Change

The construction of theSuez Canal

34Darling Dimples

The beginning of the golf ball

“ L O T S O F S U P P L I E R S S A Y T H E Y ’ R E R E L I A B L E .

B U T O N E C O M P A N Y

P R O V E SI T T O M E E V E R Y D A Y : D I X O N . ”

dixonvalve.com

5 BUILDING CHARACTERA tribute to Lincoln

6 PROFILE OF COURAGEFormer prisoner of warCapt. Gerald Coffee

15 FACTS & FIGURESBuilding implosion records

26 MILESTONES IN HISTORYThe construction of theSuez Canal

30 KEEPING IT SAFEIt’s not my problem

32 HEALTH & FITNESSRunning for your life

34 INVENTIONSHow the dimpled golf ballgot its start

departments

featuresFALL 2009/WINTER 2010ASIA/PACIFIC – SPRING 2009/SUMMER 2010

20PARISCity of Light is a walker’s delight filled with art,magnificent architecture and delectable treats

16FATHER OFTHEMODERN AGEProlific inventorNikola Tesla’sinfluence onthe world isincalculable,yet oftenoverlooked

8THE AMAZING VANISHING ACTControlled implosion manipulates the laws of physics to reducea building to less than the sum of its parts

4 BOSS � F A L L 2 0 0 9/ W I N T E R 2 0 10

IF HISTORY REPEATS as it has a tendency to do, the

difficult economic times we find ourselves in will

pass. The question is, however, will our companies

and the business environment that they operate in

be the same coming out of this challenge as they

were going in? We should be concerned that some

of our government’s efforts to minimize the effect of

this downturn will dictate a new reality of bigger

and bigger government.

In the past, capitalism and the free-market system

righted the ship when it needed it and promoted growth. In this case, government

intervention seems to have gotten in the way of an orderly recovery by selectively

deciding who should receive assistance and who shouldn’t. The problem is that

when government interferes the delicate equilibrium of the market force is disrupted.

This causes the small and medium sized businesses that create most of the jobs

to be overlooked, except when it comes to increased regulation and taxes, to pay

for the bailout of the select few.

Dixon has been in business since 1916 and has weathered the inevitable ups and

downs by following solid business fundamentals and listening to our customers. It is

of concern that many companies now receiving government support have not followed

these sound principles, and yet have been permitted to survive not based on the

results of their balance sheets but on other questionable criteria. No longer can we sit

on the sidelines while government bureaucrats dismantle a system that has proven to

be so successful. We believe that government needs to support free enterprise and

allow the capitalist market to operate. Consider contacting your representatives and

let them know how you feel!

Thanks for reading.

FALL 2009/WINTER 2010ASIA/PACIFIC – SPRING 2009/SUMMER 2010

PublisherDixon Valve & Coupling Company

EditorYvonne Lyons

Editorial BoardRichard L. Goodall, CEOLouis F. Farina, Senior Vice President,DVCC, President, Dixon

Douglas K. Goodall, President, DVCCRichard F. Flaherty, Senior VicePresident, DVCC

Scott Jones, Vice President, Sales &Marketing, Dixon

Mark Vansant, Vice President, DixonBob Grace, Executive VicePresident, Dixon

Joseph Dawson, Vice President, DixonSpecialty Hose

Karen R. Hurless, Advertising &Communications Manager

Editorial & DesignAlter Custom Mediawww.altercustommedia.com

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Copy EditorChris Zang

Please submit address changes to:Alter Custom MediaAttn: Jessica Krznaric1040 Park Ave., Suite 200Baltimore, MD 21201443-451-0736Fax: 443-451-6025

BOSS is produced three times a year by Dixon Valve &Coupling Company and Alter Custom Media. The acceptanceof advertising does not constitute endorsement of theproducts or services by Dixon Valve & Coupling Company.The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertisementthat is not in keeping with the standing or policies ofDixon Valve & Coupling Company. Copyright 2009, all rightsreserved. Reproduction of any part of BOSS without writtenpermission is prohibited.

Dixon Valve & Coupling Company800 High St.Chestertown, MD 21620877-963-4966Fax: 800-283-4966www.dixonvalve.com

E-mail questions or comments about BOSSto: [email protected]

In my opinion ...

F A L L 2 0 0 9/ W I N T E R 2 0 10 � BOSS 5WWW. D I X O N V A LV E . C O M

OK, I’m an Abraham Lincoln groupie.He is by every measure my biggest hero.My daughter Abrielle was named afterhim and our dog is named Lincoln. Bysheer good fortune, my son Justin wasborn on Lincoln’s birthday. I often visitthe Lincoln Memorial and stand in aweof his magnificent eloquence and hislegacy of honor, courage, compassion,humility and humor.Yet in his own time he was more

often ridiculed than revered. He wasunmercifully belittled in the papers thatoften called him unrefined, simple, abumpkin. He was ungainly, to somedownright ugly.

But what a man! Self-educated, self-made, he was a skillful lawyer and effec-tive politician whose character made hisname almost synonymous with integrity.He was an inspirational leader whoreally believed in democracy—a govern-ment of the people, by the people, forthe people. Empathy and compassionwere in his blood. He felt the pain ofothers as deeply as any man could, yetduty made him a leader of our nation’sbloodiest war.Now one of the most esteemed men in

all history, Lincoln was often depressedby feelings of inadequacy. Groucho Marxonce joked, “I wouldn’t want to be in

any club that would have me.” But theoriginal source for this classic line wasnone other than a young, self-effacingAbraham Lincoln, who quite seriouslywrote to a woman who rejected hismarriage proposal: “I can never be satis-fied with anyone who would be block-head enough to have me.” It’s interesting,in a world that places such a high valueon self-esteem, that one of America’struest and greatest heroes was genuinely,perhaps excessively, humble.

Reprinted from You Don’t Have to be Sick toGet Better, Josephson Institute of Ethics. ©2004www.josephsoninstitute.com. Permission givenby the Josephson Institute of Ethics.

BUILDING CHAR ACTER

A Tribute to LincolnBY MICHAEL JOSEPHSON

6 BOSS � F A L L 2 0 0 9/ W I N T E R 2 0 10

“Eject! Eject!” Capt. Gerald Coffeescreamed to Lt. Robert T. Hanson, thenavigator of the RA-5C Vigilante aircraft.The Navy plane, piloted by Coffee, hadjust been hit by enemy fire during aFeb. 3, 1966, reconnaissance mission offthe USS Kitty Hawk. Coffee and Hansonhad been gathering intelligence against aheavily defended area of North Vietnam.Not hearing a response from Hanson,

Coffee immediately pulled the face cur-tain on his own ejection seat. Both menwere automatically released from theaircraft, which was still speeding acrossthe sky at 680 miles per hour.The crewmen managed to send a

signal on an emergency survival radiobeeper before ejecting safely from theirburning plane. The aircraft then exploded

and plummeted into the Gulf of Tonkinoff the coast of the North VietnameseNghe An Province. As Coffee andHanson’s parachutes hit the water, enemyboats raced to pick them up. Coffeewas captured immediately, and thoughhe reported seeing Hanson nearby whenthey landed in the water, Coffee neversaw him again. (In November 1988,Vietnam returned Hanson’s remains tothe U.S. government.)Though only 32, Coffee, who joined

the Navy in 1957 after graduating fromUCLA with a degree in commercial art,had seen his share of danger. He wasone of the first reconnaissance pilots tofly low-level missions over Cuba duringthe Bay of Pigs Crisis in October 1962.The photos from his mission proved

to the United Nations that Cuba wasstockpiling Soviet nuclear missiles, andhe was awarded the Distinguished FlyingCross. For the next three years, Coffeewas a flight and reconnaissance traininginstructor assigned to Heavy Reconn-aissance Attack Squadron Three inSanford, Fla., before being deployed toVietnam in 1966.For seven years and nine days after

he was plucked from the water by hiscaptors, Coffee was held as a prisonerof war and was tortured by the NorthVietnamese. Much of his time was spentin solitary confinement. Coffee’s firstprison cell—a dank, squalid cubicle 6 ½feet long and barely wider than hisbody—had a tiny, double-barred windowwith a view of the prison wall. When hemoved, the heavy wooden shacklesaround his ankles knocked into the small,lidless bucket that served as his bath-room. The tiny space did not prevent himfrommoving. To pass the hours, Coffee

PROFILE OF COUR AGE

A Life with PurposeDetermination and focus helped Capt. Gerald Coffeesurvive seven years as a prisoner of war

BY SARAH ACHENBACH

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Capt. Gerald Coffee joined the Navy in 1957 andspent a total of 25 years in the service.


“walked” several miles each day by takingthree steps around the perimeter of hiscell, turning with each step.Any communication with another

prisoner meant severe punishment.Using a tap code system based on 25letters except “K” arranged in five rowsof five, Coffee and his fellow POWs—many of whom he would never meetface-to-face—tapped out covert conver-sations on cell walls. Though there wasno formal teaching of the tap code,most new “residents” of POW campscaught on within a matter of days.Through tapping, they comforted andencouraged one another.“We encouraged and cared for each

other. We passed information, learnedpoetry, even learned languages,” saysCoffee. They also relied on humor tobolster spirits. “My first shower was in adank, converted cell with water drippingdown from a rusty pipe,” says Coffee.“Totally dejected, I looked up to letthe water splash on my face and saw

scratched on the wall the words: ‘Smile.You’re on Candid Camera’.”In 1970, the North Vietnamese trans-

ferred Coffee to the “Hanoi Hilton,” theinfamous Hao Lo prison in downtownHanoi. There he met fellow POW JohnMcCain, who would later become a U.S.senator and run for president in 2008.Over tapped conversations late intothe night, the two men became closefriends and were released together onFeb. 12, 1973.Upon release, Coffee was decorated

with the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, twoPurple Hearts, the Vietnam Service Medalwith 13 stars and other awards. He servedan additional nine years in the Navybefore retiring with a total of 25 yearsof military service. His sense of duty alsoextended to the political arena. Coffeemade two unsuccessful bids for office:first for state office in 2004 and for a U.S.Senate seat in 2006; and he worked for hisfellow POW as head of the JohnMcCain2008 presidential campaign in Hawaii.

Coffee earned a master’s degree inpolitical science from Cal-Berkeley afterhis release, and the California native,who now lives in Hawaii (a dream heheld while in captivity), has forged anew career as a motivational speaker.To survive in captivity, Coffee learnedto rely on both a personal creed hedeveloped—faith in yourself, in others,in America and in God—and the POW’sguiding principles of “Return withHonor” and “Unity Over Self.”Through his speeches and in his

autobiography, Beyond Survival:Building on the Hard Times—A POW’sInspiring Story (Coffee Enterprises,1990), Coffee, now 75, speaks of hisPOW experience as a metaphor forhuman survival: “I quit asking God‘Why me?’ … and asked him to help meto use this time productively so [thetime] is not … a vacuum in my life,”he says. “After that realization … everyday took on a new meaning becausethere was purpose.”

Controlled implosion manipulates the

laws of physics to reduce a building to

less than the sum of its parts

8 BOSS � F A L L / W I N T E R 2 0 09

BY SALLY ADEE

F A L L 2 0 0 9/ W I N T E R 2 0 10 � BOSS 9

Two buildings were about to vanish ina cloud of smoke and thousands ofonlookers choked the Las Vegas Strip.Neighboring casinos’ parking garageswere jammed with spectators bran-dishing cameras. The parking lot of theNew Frontier casino, across the Strip,was home to the official demolitionparty. Hundreds of well-heeled spectatorsmingled with lawn chairs and coolers,making the place look like an upscaletailgate party. It was March 13, 2007, andboth towers of the Stardust Resort &Casino were coming down.The skeletal shell towering in front

of the crowd bore little resemblance tothe majestic and mythical structure thathad once dominated Las Vegas’ cityscape.For 50 years, the 188-foot Stardust signhad been shorthand for Vegas itself.Now the building’s gutted husk waited

for the final signal from the explosivessubcontractor, Phoenix, Md.-based

Controlled Demolition Inc. (CDI),which had spent weeks painstakinglydistributing 428 pounds of explosivesamong strategically chosen girders andcolumns inside the 1,550 rooms of thesquat nine-story East Tower and the32-story West Tower, and connectingthem with just under two miles ofcaution-yellow detonating cord.At 2:33 a.m., an elaborate four-minute

fireworks tribute filled the sky over theStardust. When it was over, a pyrotechniccountdown exploded down the tallerbuilding’s façade while the crowd chantedalong like it was New Year’s Eve. With aseismic rumble, the 356-foot-tall WestTower elegantly folded in on itself. Thesimultaneous collapse of both towerstook less time than the actual count-down, leaving only a rising wall of fatblack clouds and screaming car alarms.Implosion is the fine art of causing a

building to collapse down into its own

footprint, as if a black hole in the middleabsorbed its mass. After the dust clears,the debris looks like much less than thesum of the former building’s parts. Thephysics of it looks so improbable as tobe unreal.Not all demolitions are implosions;

only a few require the extreme contain-ment that implosion imparts. Demolition,the less expensive way to bring down abuilding, involves cranes, wrecking ballsand bulldozers, and might take weeks ormonths to complete.Implosion is done for three main

reasons, says Anna Chong, president ofEngineered Demolition, a blasting com-pany in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Implosionis best when a building is either partic-ularly tall, has to come down on a tightschedule, or has delicate surroundingstructures. “Cost is a big factor,” she says.“The taller the building, and the tighterthe surrounding buildings, the morecostly a demolition will be.”In Las Vegas and other densely packed

cities, the point of implosion is to containas much of the mess as possible. As such,the implosion of a tall building is a bitlike a supersized magic trick. Spectatorsare momentarily dazzled by a physics-defying display but the technical acumenand months of grueling preparation thatgo into its planning are hidden.

Making Magic Look EasyLike any good magic trick, an

implosion is planned long before thetheatrics. The average implosion takesunder 10 seconds. The preparationtakes five months.The original Stardust opened for

business in 1958 as a nine-story, 109-foot building, and was augmented withthe 32-story, 356-foot tower in 1989.The doors closed for the last time onOct. 31, 2006.In 2006, Stardust owner Bill Boyd

hired CDI as the blaster and LVIEnvironmental Services of Nevada to bethe demolition contractor. LVI, whose

In the aftermath of the attacks

The 33-year-old, iconic Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia was implodedin a record 62 seconds on March 21, 2004, and replaced with parkinglots for the city’s new sports facilities.

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subsidiary promotes itself as the nation’slargest remediation firm, managed thesite before, during and after implosion.It took care of the asbestos abatement,deconstruction and hauling—every-thing except the actual implosion.

Behind the ScenesThe first step in any tall building

implosion is to strip the building downto its bare essentials, concrete and steel.The most important part is asbestosabatement—LVI hauled more than100,000 square feet of asbestos-contam-inated material out of the Stardust. Thelast thing any site owner wants is liabilityfor massive clouds of asbestos dustfloating through the city.The contractors have to remove as

much of the building material as possibleto minimize the chances of explosiveprojectiles flying out during the implo-sion. “No one has any conception ofhow fast this material is moving, untilthat air blast thumps them in the chest,”says Brent Blanchard, field operationsmanager for Protec DocumentationServices Inc., a demolition consultingfirm in Rancocas, N.J.Once the building has been stripped,

structural engineers are brought in todetermine where best to plant thecharges. They pore through architecturalblueprints, examine the naked supportand decide which explosives to use andwhere to put them. In rare cases, theyuse computer-based simulations, butBlanchard says those are rarely useful.“Structures are never built the way theywere supposed to be built—never,” hesays. “It takes a person to walk throughthere and literally look at every column, aperson who knows what they’re lookingfor. They can’t be replaced by computers.”Blasters tend to work bottom up;

they raze the major support columns onthe lower floors first and follow up witha few of the higher floors. The Stardust’ssmaller East Tower was typical of a 9-

story building: only the first two floorsneeded to be wired with explosives tobring the whole structure down. That’show implosion works: it collapses onesection, which weakens and collapsesthe section above it, and onward untilthe center can no longer hold.The structure also needs to be weak-

ened to prepare it for the implosion, soall non-weight-bearing walls are takenout. The crews notch columns and wallsto make sure they succumb easily: afterall, a building is not brought down bythe explosions—these only weaken thesupports so that gravity can do its job.Then more holes are drilled into thecolumns to hold the explosives.Methods depend on where in the

world a building is being imploded. MostU.S. buildings use either steel beams orconcrete columns filled with steel-rein-forcing bars (rebar). [For more infor-mation about how skyscrapers are built,see the fall 2007 issue of BOSS atwww.dixonvalve.com.] Buildings in theU.K. are often constructed with shearwall, a kind of concrete not usuallysupported by rebar. Demolition is trick-ier. “You have to be careful or you’llshoot the concrete everywhere,”Blanchard says. Elsewhere in the world,the concrete is less dense and supportive.In Greece and Malaysia, for example,Blanchard says, “If you rub the concretehard enough on the ground, it will turninto powder. It’s very unsafe. That’s whyyou see all those buildings collapsewhen there’s an earthquake.”Rebar doesn’t respond to the same

explosives as concrete. Concrete is noproblem for conventional dynamite,which is just absorbent stuffing saturatedwith combustible chemicals. Onceignited, the burning chemicals quicklygenerate a massive amount of hot gas.That expanding gas creates enormousoutward pressure, up to 600 tons persquare inch, which sends a supersonicshock wave through the column andsplinters it into tiny chunks.

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A worker inspects detonating cord connectionsbefore a blast in Glasgow, Scotland.

Steel beams, by comparison, aremore complicated. “Steel is a lot riskier,”Chong says. Severing them requirescutting the steel, which can only bedone with a specialized high-velocityexplosive called RDX, which is strongerthan dynamite. Contractors affix theRDX in shaped charges to the steelbeams. When it detonates, the shockwave tears the steel at a rate of 27,000feet per second. The addition of asmaller amount of regular dynamiteprovides a nudge that encourages thebeams to collapse in the right direction.Each baited floor of the Stardust’s WestTower had 56 concrete supportingcolumns, which were perforated with882 narrow holes. Another 339 werepunched into the columns of its shortersibling for a total of 1,221 holes. Onthe day of the demolition, the bore-holes would receive their volatile payload:856 sticks of nitroglycerin dynamite,connected by a long fuse to a detonatorhundreds of feet away from the building.Detonating cord is a flammable core

inside a flexible plastic casing. As percartoon physics, the contractor ignitesone end, and the steady-burning flametravels along the cord until it hits thedetonator at the other end, where it setsoff the primary charge. The burn rate ofdetonating cord is incredibly fast, but alsopredictable, ensuring the exact timingto control multiple detonations. But oncethe detonator is triggered, there’s nogoing back.

The First BlastThe 700-year-old Holy Trinity

Cathedral in Waterford, Ireland, was thefirst recorded explosive demolition,razed in 1773 with 150 pounds of gun-powder. Explosive demolition came tothe United States around the 1850s. Inits attempts to save San Francisco froma rash of fires, the local governmentordered the demolition of any buildingsthat might fuel the fire’s path. Later,Alfred Nobel came up with a stable, lessvolatile derivative of nitroglycerin thathas since become practically a synonymfor explosives: dynamite. [For a biographyon Alfred Nobel, see the summer 2008issue of BOSS at www.dixonvalve.com.]After World War II, blasters discov-

ered they could control the direction ofa building’s fall and minimize groundvibrations—by turning one massiveexplosion into a staggered series of sev-eral small explosions. By the late 1940s,movie newsreels showed large struc-tures collapsing in dense urban areaswithout so much as grazing anythingaround them. In the 1960s, RDX wasadded to the menu of explosives.A convergence of technological

improvements meant better explosives,better modeling and an accumulationof experienced blasting companies thathad been working with explosives fordecades. By the 1990s, implosion was aspectator sport. Because of the impressivephysics of the operation, implosionsdrew major crowds. A decision that had

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Apartments that were never completed are imploded in Bari, Italy, in 2005,below left. A worker connects detonating cord to explosives placed on acolumn in the Continental Bank building in Fort Worth, Texas, below right.

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The average implosion

takes under 10 seconds.

The preparation

takes five months.

Fireworks lit up the sky above the Stardust Resort & Casino as interiordynamite charges began to bring down the landmark, above.

Implosion’s claim to fame

14 BOSS � F A L L 2 0 0 9/ W I N T E R 2 0 10

previously been based on cost and logis-tical factors was now influenced by thewarm glow of media coverage. Implosionstarted to draw its own fan base.Blasters became minor celebrities,

sought for television interviews anddocumentaries. “We are deluged withmedia inquiries on a daily basis,” saysCDI Project Manager Stacey Loizeaux.Chong says her company has been inthe media spotlight as well, especiallywhile advising the government ofCanberra, Australia, after one of theworst engineering disasters shook thecountry and implosions virtually disap-peared from the media’s glare.On a Sunday afternoon in July of

1997, the seven-story Royal CanberraHospital and its four-story nursingdormitory, Sylvia Curley House, wereimploded to make room for the NationalMuseum of Australia. The governmentwas insistent on this timely implosionand had extended an official invitationto the public. The 100,000-plus whoshowed up formed the largest crowd inCanberra’s history.

Twelve-year-old Katie Bender was atthe show with her parents. Tens ofthousands of spectators thronged alongthe shore of Lake Burley Griffin to watchthe display on the other side. Whenthe hospital came down at 1:30 p.m., a2-pound steel fragment ricochetedabout 1,400 feet across the lake, killingKatie instantly.A subsequent inquest found that the

people in charge had no experience withimplosion. The investigation, in whichChong’s company provided expertiseto legal counsel, found that severalcolumns on the ground floor of thehospital’s main tower block were not fullysandbagged—including two columnsfrom which the forensic examinersdeduced the fatal shard came. After theCanberra disaster, almost overnight,implosions worldwide stopped beingpromoted as tailgate parties. Thoughthese events still manage to attractthousands, now, specific dates andtimes of implosion events are seldomannounced far ahead of time.When CDI gave the sign at 2:37 a.m.

to implode the Stardust Resort & Casino,four members of the Boyd family, ownersof the building, pushed down the plungeron a theatrical detonator right out of anold Western film.The aftermath of the implosion left

38,000 tons of rubble—about 2.5 feet ofconcrete and steel per floor. LVI spenttwo months cleaning up the rubble andpreparing the site for the June 19, 2007,groundbreaking for the $4 billionEchelon Resort, slated to open in 2010.

But one part of the Stardust will liveon. The light bulb-encrusted, 18-storysign that stood in front of the hotel will bepreserved at Las Vegas’ Neon Museum.The giant sign had to be painstakingly

disassembled wire by wire. Ultimately,dismantling the sign took just under aweek and restoring it is estimated to costmore than $1 million—a much slowerand more expensive endeavor thanimploding its namesake hotel.

Both Stardust towers crumbled intotheir own footprints as gravity tookover, above. The rubble left in theaftermath of an implosion can takemonths to clean up, left.

FACTS & FIGURES

By the Numbers: Implosion Records

1,217 feetCBC Transmission Tower (FM and TV transmission

mast for Canadian Broadcasting Co.)Shawinigan, Northern Quebec Province, Canada2001

NUMBER ......WHAT ............

WHERE .........WHEN ...........

Record Tallest Structure Imploded

20Stelco Steel PlantHamilton, Ontario, Canada1997

NUMBER ......WHAT ............WHERE .........WHEN ...........

RecordShared

Most Structures Leveled in aSingle Detonation


20Bow Valley Medical Center hospital complexCalgary, Alberta, Canada1998

62 secondsVeterans StadiumPhiladelphia, Pa.2004

Record Longest Implosion


12,000 pounds of explosivesSears Merchandise CenterPhiladelphia, Pa.1994

Record Most Explosives


906 feetMatla Nuclear Power Station

SmokestackJohannesburg, South Africa1982

RecordTallest Free-StandingStructure Imploded

NUMBER ......WHAT ............

WHERE .........WHEN ...........

16 BOSS � F A L L 2 0 0 9/ W I N T E R 2 0 10

BY SARAH ACHENBACH

Prolific inventor Nikola Tesla’s influence on

the world is incalculable, yet often overlooked

Nearly every ordinary, modern-dayoccurrence—flicking on a light switch,listening to the radio, watching televisionand wirelessly surfing the Internet—isthe result of the extraordinary NikolaTesla, the 19th- and early 20th-centuryinventor and engineer who fathered thesecond industrial age and heralded thewireless age.The holder of 700 patents worldwide,

he forever altered the fields of electricityand magnetism. He wrote of scientificdevices far ahead of their time, includingthe idea of using high-frequency radiowaves underwater to detect ships—oneof the first introductions of radar—andpiloting remotely wingless aircraftloaded with bombs. When the computerfield’s integrated circuit developerstried to file patents for basic logic gateson silicon, they were astonished to learnthat Tesla beat them to it at the turn ofthe 20th century using AC-based com-ponents. Tesla’s influence on science andhumanity is incalculable. Yet, at the

end of his prolific life, he died penni-less, ridiculed and nearly forgotten bythe world he literally illuminated.Born on July 10, 1856, in Croatian

Krajina to a Serbian Orthodox priestfather and a mother who invented amechanical eggbeater and other house-hold appliances, Tesla began inventingat an early age. He was only 5 when hecreated a working prototype, designinga paddle-less waterwheel that spunevenly in the current. In high school,when he saw an engraving of NiagaraFalls, he announced that, one day, hewould go to America and harness thefalls’ energy with a giant turbine.In 1881, forced to give up his electrical

engineering studies at the PolytechnicInstitute in Graz, Austria, due to a lackof funds, Tesla joined the Budapest tele-phone company as an engineer. At thetime, Thomas Edison’s direct current(DC) technology was widely used forgenerating electricity. With DC, electricalcurrent flowed continually in one direc-

tion, and though recognized as ineffi-cient—it could not handle high andlow voltages or transmission betweenuser and generator greater than twomiles—no one had been able to designan alternating current (AC) motor.That would soon change after the 26-year-old Tesla took a walk in a Belgradepark with a friend in 1882. “… Theidea came like a flash of lightning andin an instant the truth was revealed,”he wrote. “I drew with a stick on thesand the diagram shown six years laterin my address before the AmericanInstitute of Electrical Engineers.”His design for an AC induction

motor using a rotating magnetic fieldthat changed direction at a constantangular rate laid the foundation forthe field of electro-magnetism. Like allhis ideas and inventions, this discoverysprung from mind to stick in perfectdetail, as Tesla possessed the remark-able cognitive ability to completely visu-alize an invention in his head and tran-

scribe it fully realized onto paper.Unable to rouse any backing with hissuccessful prototype in Europe, he setsail for America in 1884 after Edisonhired Tesla to work in his West Orange,N.J., laboratory.Each day, the tall, stately Teslaarrived for work in a formal, full-length jacket and top hat, a habit thatannoyed Edison, though Edison wasimpressed with his abilities and askedTesla to redesign his DC generator.Tesla claimed that Edison verballypromised him $50,000 payment, butwhen the young Serbian present-ed a vastly improved design ayear later, Edison told him, “Youdon’t understand our Americanhumor.” Tesla immediatelyresigned and left for New YorkCity, broke but not broken.To keep from starving, he

worked for a time digging ditches beforeA.K. Brown of the Western Union Co.financed Tesla’s application for 40 basic

U.S. patents on his cost-effective, effi-cient polyphase AC system generators,motors and transformers. After Tesla’s1888 AIEE presentation, industrialistand inventor George Westinghousepurchased Tesla’s patents for $60,000and hired him as a consultant.Edison did not take lightly Tesla’s

success or the introduction of reliableAC-powered generators as competitionto DC. The ensuing war of currentsincluded Edison’s smear campaign,declaring that “just as certain as death[AC power] will kill a customer withinsix months.” In addition to lobbyingand leaflets, Edison paid his techniciansto use AC to publicly electrocute straydogs and cats, farm animals and even acircus elephant.Meanwhile, Tesla, who became a U.S.

citizen in 1891, and the WestinghouseCorp. beat General Electric, the companybacking Edison, to create a “City ofLights” at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair,the world’s first all-electric fair. Tesla’sAC system won over the 27 million fair-goers. One convert was Lord Kelvin, theBritish physicist and head of the inter-national Niagara Falls Commission,who post-Fair asked Westinghouse Corp.to tackle Tesla’s childhood dream ofharnessing the power of Niagara Falls.On Nov. 16, 1895, the switch was flippedon the first hydroelectric power plant inNiagara Falls. Miles away, electricitysurged into Buffalo, N.Y., streetcars, andthe long-awaited project was a success.Tesla, the darling of the scientific com-munity and international press, enjoyedhis celebrity by hosting lavish dinnerparties at his home in the old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.The war of currents, with its pro-

longed litigation, had left Westinghouseand GE in dire financial straits. GE alsostruggled after its purchase of Edison’scompany. Westinghouse, meanwhile,was on unsure financial footing withinvestors due to Edison’s propagandaand Tesla’s very generous royaltyagreement of $2.50 for every horsepowerof AC equipment sold. At GeorgeWestinghouse’s request, Tesla famouslytore up the agreement in a grand gestureof thanks to the man who gave him his

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An observer sits in Tesla’s Colorado Springslaboratory near his magnifying transmitterwhile it generates high voltages in theform of 23-foot-long electrical arcs, below.

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start. Though publicly lauded for hisgenius and even though his AC systemquickly became (and remains) the stand-ard for generating and transmittingelectricity, Tesla would struggle finan-cially the rest of his life.In 1895, a fire consumed Tesla’s New

York City lab, a disaster made all themore difficult with the awarding a yearlater in England of the first wirelesstelegraphy patent to an Italian inventor,Guglielmo Marconi.Tesla was granted a U.S. patent for

the basic radio in 1900, and Marconi’ssubsequent U.S. patent applicationswere rejected. But with financial back-ing from Marconi’s family, Edison andAndrew Carnegie, the Marconi Wireless

Telegraph Co., Ltd., founded in 1900,thrived in the stock market. In 1904, forreasons never explained, the U.S. PatentOffice suddenly reversed its previousdecision and awarded Marconi a U.S.patent for the invention of radio. Fiveyears later, Marconi won the Nobel Prize.An infuriated Tesla attempted to sue forcopyright infringement, but he couldnot afford the litigation.He returned to New York later that

year and immersed himself in his futur-istic vision of a world of wireless com-munication, piquing the interest of“robber baron” J.P. Morgan, who offeredTesla $150,000 to construct a transmis-sion tower powerful enough for the job.Unfortunately, Morgan prematurely cut

off funding for Tesla’s massiveWardenclyffe on Long Island. Marconiwas transmitting radio signals across theAtlantic Ocean without a massive tower;Tesla accused his rival of using hispatents to make the transmissions butMorgan would not reinstate the funds.The project continued from 1901 to1905, but the cut-off of Morgan’s fundingin 1904 and a lack of other willinginvestors ultimately spelled doom.Unable to fund it himself, Tesla

abandoned the incomplete tower in 1905after producing only a few remarkablelight displays. The press dubbed it “Tesla’smillion-dollar folly,” and Tesla suffered anervous breakdown after being publiclyridiculed again.Though some of his experiments

made him fodder for the press, through-out his adult life, Tesla’s intellectualprowess and productivity earned hima worldwide reputation as a genius.Both Columbia and Yale universities

Tesla in front of his spiral coil’s high-frequency transformer athis laboratory on East Houston Street in New York, above.

Some of Tesla’s Inventions• Rotating magnetic field• Polyphase alternating current (AC) induction motor• Fluorescent light• Tesla Coil used in radios, television sets and other

electrical devices• Wireless communications and transmission of

electrical energy• Remote control• Robotics• Terrestrial stationary waves• Radio• Electric car• Vertical takeoff aircraft• Bladeless steam turbine

awarded him honorary doctoral degrees,and he was honored by numerous sci-entific organizations.On his 75th birthday in 1931, Time

magazine printed his photograph onits cover. But as his eccentricities grew,so did questions of his sanity. Celibatethroughout his life, Tesla lived inincreasing seclusion in New York hotelrooms. He ranted in the press againstAlbert Einstein, and comic book creatorMax Fleischer even used Tesla as theinspiration for his mad scientist in theSuperman series.Tesla also became obsessed with

pigeons and spent hours in New York’sparks feeding the birds. He rescuedinjured pigeons, an odd habit given hishand-washing compulsion and aversionto germs. At the Hotel New Yorker,where he lived during the finaldecade of his life with a “Do NotDisturb” sign posted permanentlyon his door, he often broughtpigeons home and asked the hotelchef to prepare a birdseed recipe ofhis own creation.

In 1934, Tesla made front-pageheadlines once again with his claimof a new invention of inexhaustibleenergy that could be transmittedwirelessly across the world.Using his discovery of a protec-tive radiation principle or“peace beam,” as he preferredto call it, Tesla proposed a sys-tem of beam weapons alongthe U.S. and European bor-ders to prevent attacks.He was unable tosecure financing forthe prototype, so in

1937, with Europe on thebrink of war, Tesla mailed his drawingsto the Allied nations, thus providing—free of charge—the first technical speci-fications of the modern charged particlebeam weapon.

Just after Tesla’s death of heart failureon Jan. 7, 1943, the U.S. Patent Officerestored Tesla as the rightful patent-holder for the invention of the radio,reversing its previous decision.The day after Tesla died, his nephew,

Sava Kosanovic, discovered that many ofhis uncle’s technical papers and journalshad disappeared from Tesla’s hotel room.They have never been found. Two daysafter Tesla’s death, the U.S. Office ofAlien Property impounded his remainingbelongings. In 1952, the U.S. govern-ment returned them to his family, andtoday his belongings and remainingpapers are housed in the Nikola TeslaMuseum in Belgrade, Serbia.Memorials now abound to the

father of the modern age—frompostage stamps, statues and street signsto the AIEE’s prestigious Nikola TeslaAward and an International Unit ofMagnetic Flux Density, the “Tesla Unit”(T=W/m2), upon which all MRImachines are calibrated.The influence of Nikola Tesla’s

genius is perhaps best embodied in theaccolades given to him at the height ofhis fame, in 1917 when he received theEdison Medal, the most coveted electricalprize in the United States. “Nature andnature’s laws lay hid by night,” said B.A.Behrend, AIEE vice president, in hisaward remarks. “God said, ‘Let Tesla be’and all was light.”

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The holder of

700 patents

worldwide, Tesla

forever altered

the fields of

electricity and

magnetism.

TheWardenclyffe Towerwas named after westernbanker and lawyer JamesS.Warden, who offeredTesla 200 acres to buildhis wireless communica-

tions tower.

PHO

TOCO

URT

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LEO

BLA

NC

HET

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PARIS

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I love Paris—from the heights of Montmartreand the Eiffel Tower to the depths of the city’s sewers(yes, you can tour Les Egouts de Paris, on the leftbank at Pont de l’Alma), I simply adore the place.So my husband, Chris, and I took a trip to Paris.

His first. My 12th or so. I’ve been lucky over theyears to work for a company that sent me therealmost every year for a decade, for a week or twoat a time.But when we went recently, it was the first time

I’d been in eight years. I’d missed it. But what I hadloved about the city was still there to be loved.Paris, the look of it, doesn’t change. It’s big, bold

and beautiful. Full of graceful elegance and analmost indescribable feeling of—what?OK, joie de vivre! Love of life. So cliché. So true.How can a city filled with so many massive

buildings still give the air of lightness of being andspirit? I have no idea, but it does. When it is referredto as the City of Light it is a reflection not only ofits art, social awakenings and actual lighting of itsmost important and impressive buildings, but ofits very structure and core.Hemingway found a virtual “Moveable Feast”

there, telling a friend, “If you are lucky enough tohave lived in Paris as a young man, then whereveryou go for the rest of your life, it stays with you.”And it does, even if you’re only lucky enough to

visit at some point in your life.

BY SANDRA MCKEE

The City of Light is a walker’s delight filled with

art, magnificent architecture and delectable

treats on almost every corner

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The city, its people, its architecture, itsart, bakeries and cafés—whether or notMarie Antoinette actually said, “Letthem eat cake!” the French seem to havefollowed the directive wholeheartedly.Bakeries abound. Le gateau chocolat

(chocolate cake) is readily at hand. Oneof my favorite places for somethingwarm to drink with a decadent pastry isAngelina’s near the Tuileries, at 226 Ruede Rivoli. I was introduced to it yearsago, while covering the French Open, byanother hot chocolate lover.They serve a thick, decadent chocolat

chaud and an even denser “MountBlanc torte.”There is joy in Paris. The Eiffel Tower,

which twinkles in tiny blue lights after10 p.m. The Champs-Élysées, with itstree-lined sidewalks and graceful facades.The Musée d’Orsay, a redesigned train

station, inside and out is a marvel andcontains an extensive collection ofimpressionist masterpieces. The simpleapartment building at the bottom of thesteps leading to Place du Tertre, whereyou can find a square full of artists readyto sell you a painting of Paris or sketchyour portrait, is charming with its creamyexterior and wrought-iron balconies.You can enjoy lunch in an open win-

dow of a nearby café. The square, just feetfrom Sacré Coeur, one of the most beau-tiful basilicas in the world, is surroundedby cafés offering indoor and outdoorseating from where you can watch thepainters and the crowd.There is serenity in Paris. You can find

it behind Notre Dame Cathedral, onthe Ile St. Louis, having dinner or justeating an ice cream cone from the famousBerthillon shop while sitting on a bench

Petit Course in FrenchNon-French-speaking visitors canfare quite well in Paris, but thenatives appreciate you at leastmaking a bit of an effort. Here is theshort-list of French phrases thatwill come in handy:

Parlez-vous anglais, s’il vous plaît?Do you speak English, if you please?

Merci.Thank you.

Merci beaucoup.Thank you very much.

Les toilettes?Oui-oui won’t get you directionsto a restroom but this will.

C’est combien ...?How much is it?

Bonjour.Good day.

Bonsoir.Good evening.

—Chris Zang

French architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff designed the elegant andintricate fountain in Paris’ Place de la Concorde in 1836, upper left.The grand Arc de Triomphe, honoring those who fought for France,stands at the end of the Champs-Élysées, lower left. Notre DameCathedral in the heart of Paris is widely considered one of thefinest examples of French Gothic architecture in the world, below.

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Getting there: Paris has two major international airports—Charles de Gaulle(CDG) and Orly (ORY). Both are easily accessible to Paris by taxi, bus or subway(the RER). Most major airlines make the trip and most flights from the UnitedStates leave in early evening, which means you arrive in early morning, usuallybetween 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Getting around:While Paris is a walker’s dream, not everyone wants to two-steparound the town. The subway system is easy to navigate and will take you any-where quickly. Taxis are everywhere, and often the best choice for getting back toyour hotel late at night. Though the bus system can be a challenge, buses dotravel several good sightseeing routes. There are Seine River cruises—day andnight. And, if you don't mind being with tour groups, you can take Cityrama Tours,which will transport you everywhere from Notre Dame to Versailles. You canusually find information about all of these at your hotel.

Trains are also easily accessible for day trips beyond the city. You can findFrench railroad information before you go at www.sncf.com.

When to go: May is ideal. In May, the tourists are beginning to arrive, but thesummer deluge hasn’t arrived just yet. The weather is usually mild, around 68degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius). In early August, temperatures are in themid-70s to low-80s F (24-28 C) and the city enjoys its smallest crowds of thesummer. The Parisians go on their own vacations in August, which means somerestaurants are closed—and some museums, too, but the major museums are open.

September and October are beautiful, but the weather can be iffy, swingingfrom weeks of sunshine to cool and rainy.

The City of Light glows during the Christmas season.

What to see and do: Paris is made for walking. If your time is limited and youwant to hit the high spots, start early in the morning at the Arc de Triomphe andthen head straight down the Champs-Élysées. You will see the finest of Frenchstores and will pass lovely restaurants and gardens, emerging at the Place dela Concorde, where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette lost their heads during theFrench Revolution. Be careful here, as you make your way across or around oneof the most amazing traffic circles in the world. Continue straight on to the Louvreand beyond to Notre Dame. Then collapse in a historic old restaurant on the Ile St.Louis, directly behind the grand cathedral.

Where to eat and drink: It seems a restaurant, bistro or patisserie beckonsaround every corner in Paris.

Try Les Deux Magots at 6 Place, St. Germain des Pres, for breakfast.Locals like La Fontaine de Mars, 129 Rue St. Dominique, for dinner. It’s typically

French on a tiny square with closely wedged tables.The lively Marais offers a smorgasbord of choices; Ile St. Louis has a main

street filled with atmospheric restaurant choices and ice cream shops.

Where to stay: It is the small Paris hotels that usually make a stay most interestingto the adventurous. Guidebooks like Rick Steves’ Paris will lead you to manyrelatively reasonably priced ones, like Hotel du Champ de Mars near the EiffelTower, or you can also try SmallandElegant.com to find more elaborate ones.

Paris also has a selection of large and popular tourist hotels. Check the majorAmerican chains, like Holiday Inn, Best Western and Courtyard, among others.They all have multiple Paris hotels. Holiday Inn, for instance, has the Garden Courtat 24 Rue de Miromesnil, in the 8th arrondissement.

Scaling upward, Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt chains are also represented. Marriott’sRive Gauche Hotel and Conference Center near the Latin Quarter, at 17 BoulevardSaint Jacques, may be one of the largest, while the Park Hyatt-Vendôme, nearPlace Vendome and the Parisian fashion district, one of the most chic.

—Sandra McKee

or strolling along the Quai de Bourbon.On the evening we were there, the smallbridge that leads to the island, Pont St.Louis, was closed to traffic and a Frenchquartet was playing American jazz, aspeople sat in nearby cafés or on the side-walks to listen. Some folks just strolledby, tossing a few euros in the open guitarcase laying on the street.The peacefulness of Paris can also be

found while sitting in the garden at theMusée Rodin at 79 Rue de Varenne. Orin the Tuileries Garden, with its low-slung iron chairs surrounding a reflect-ing pool and backed by trees that turngolden in the fall. It’s located just off thePlace de la Concorde, near the Muséede l’Orangerie, which is home to Monet’soriginal “Water Lilies,” and other impres-sionists’ works.There is the liveliness of Paris in the

Marais, where tourists and locals bothenjoy good food and the narrow, windingstreets. And the Latin Quarter, where jazzcan be found.There also is the happiness that comes

from long walks, even on brisk dayslike we experienced. Stroll the Champs-Élysées, drop in at classic perfume makerGuerlain or at the all-American Gap.Of course, Paris is known for its fine

food. Pick up a quick ham and cheesesandwich at the Paris version of a subshop or sit at an outdoor café for lunch.Or, if you have time, enjoy a meal at oneof the city’s many wonderful restaurants.We had two memorable meals.One, a three-hour lunch at a small

establishment about a 10-minute walkfrom the Eiffel Tower called Restaurantde La Tour at 6 Rue Desaix. It was thebest meal of the entire trip, served gra-ciously and warmly by the husband and

Make reservations todine several months

in advance at theJules Verne atop the

Eiffel Tower.

wife who own the restaurant in a cozydining room with walls and woodworkin the yellow and blue colors of Provence.The other, a five-hour dinner that was

a completely different experience, at LeGrand Colbert, 2-4 Rue de Vivienne. Forthose who saw the Jack Nicholson, DianeKeaton movie Something’s Gotta Give,the name may be familiar, as it is the siteof the scene in Paris where Nicholson hascome to announce his love for Keatononly to have Keanu Reeves beat him tothe punch.

Le Grand Colbert is 19th-centuryParis, a golden brasserie. It’s located in ahistoric building with frescoes and brassrailings reflecting the golden light thatemanates from street lamp-like fixturesthat lead you through the dining room.It’s a big restaurant with a cozy atmos-phere and friendly service.I think you could spend a lifetime

seeing Paris. But the nice thing about itis that you can be happy just seeing alittle. And while the dollar exchange maybe steep, the price of getting aroundtown can be very inexpensive.Though you might hope for a com-

panion with less appreciation for walkingthan me, Paris is a city made for thelong walk.You can leave your hotel in early

morning and walk the day away. There’sa wonderful boxed set of books calledParis, 50 Adventures on Foot by ChristinaHenry de Tessan and travel writer RickSteves’ Paris 2008 offers suggestionsfor walks around Paris for one to sevendays and nights.But with or without such directions,

Paris is a walker’s delight. All you need isa street map and desire to see the city. Itis all out there, waiting for you.

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How can a city filled with so manymassive buildings still give the air

of lightness of being and spirit?

The stunning Pont Alexandre III bridge spans the Seine River. Decorated with ornate ArtNouveau lamps and sculptures, it is the most extravagant bridge in Paris, below.


Tips from a LocalArmel Deslandes came to Paris to look for a summer job in 1989and never left. That first summer he worked as a hotel nightsecurity officer. He’s still working in a hotel.

When we spoke, he was the head concierge at the Paris Hilton,about two blocks from the Eiffel Tower. He is still the headconcierge in the same hotel, but it has been sold and is now thePullman Paris Tour Eiffel.

“I love Paris for its spirit,” he said. “Paris is a very free city withlots of opportunity. You live here and you live in the meetingplace ... but to find the joy, you have to communicate.”

While there is more English being spoken in Paris thesedays, it is still true that in the minds of the French, “Bad Frenchis better than no French” when trying to communicate.

Deslandes says, “Paris is a city to get lost in. It is the best wayto discover the city.”

But if you are a traveler who prefers a plan, Deslandes describesthat Paris is divided into 20 independent neighborhoods calledarrondissements. They are numbered consecutively, spiraling outclockwise from the Louvre and almost every one of them holdssomething of interest, though the heart of the city, its famoussights and museums, are mostly within a five-block walking dis-tance of the Seine River, which splits the city in half—Rive Gauche(Left Bank) and Rive Droite (Right Bank).

A good place to start for both the eyes and the taste buds,says Deslandes, is Paris’ most familiar sight: The Eiffel Tower.

“The best way to see the tower is to go for lunch or dinner,” hesays. “That way you avoid the lines by being able to go directly up

to the restaurants—Altitude 95, which is 95 meters above sealevel, or the Jules Verne, which features the cooking of AlainDucasse, one of the most famous cooks in France and the world.”

Deslandes advises to book the Jules Verne at least threemonths in advance and Altitude 95 up to a month ahead of time.The prices, about $200 per person at Altitude 95, and $400 perperson at the Jules Verne for lunch, reflect the location.

But there are other, more reasonable places. Deslandes suggestschecking out the city’s open air markets. One of his favorites is openon Sunday morning, the “Creation” Market in Montparnasse.

And, if time permits, he recommends a day trip to Versailles.“Go see where France came from, what it evolved from,”

says Deslandes, who was born in the Brittany region. “It is definitelysomething special. The home of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

“I love Paris,” he says. “And I am quite optimistic about theenchantment of its daily life.”

—Sandra McKee

A view of the Tuileries Garden reflecting pool located near the Placede la Concorde.

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MILESTONES IN HISTORY

A Sea Change for World Trade:The Construction of the Suez Canal

BY EUGENE FINERMAN

“This enterprise would cut in half the distance between the Orient and theOccident. Anyone preoccupied with questions of civilization and progress cannotlook at a map and not be seized with a powerful desire to make disappear theonly obstacle interfering with the flow of the commerce of the world.”

—Ferdinand de Lesseps, proposing the construction of the Suez Canal


A hundred miles of sand and rock werethe only physical barrier that separatedthe Mediterranean Sea from the RedSea and the Indian Ocean, but that des-olate isthmus impeded world trade.Ships sailing from Europe to Asia hadto go south around Africa, a detour of6,000 miles. Looking at the map wouldsuggest an obvious and practical alter-native; indeed other men—includingNapoleon—had speculated on the con-struction of a canal across the isthmusof Suez. But Ferdinand de Lesseps(1805-1894) did more than theorize.His vision, audacity and vanity createdthe Suez Canal.Ironically, the builder of the Suez

Canal was not an engineer. De Lessepswas a diplomat. He served as the Frenchconsul in Cairo from 1833 to 1837, andduring that time he made a lastingfriend in Mohammed Said, a prince ofEgypt’s ruling family. De Lessepsresigned from the diplomatic corps in1849 and retired to his rural estate inFrance; but he had loftier ambitionsthan agricultural management. As heconfided to his mother-in-law, “I wantto do something great, without hiddenmotive, and without personal interestin money.” He saw the need for a SuezCanal, and he could count on oneinvaluable ally in such a project. Hisfriend Said now was the heir apparentin the ruling family of Egypt.Said became the viceroy of Egypt in

1854, and de Lesseps was soon in Cairopresenting his proposal. His experienceas a diplomat made him a talentedsalesman. De Lesseps first enumeratedthe practical advantages of a Suez Canal.It would strengthen and enrich Egypt,making the country a center of worldtrade. Then de Lesseps appealed to Said’svanity. “The names of the Egyptiansovereigns who erected the Pyramids,those useless monuments of humanpride, will be ignored. The name of theprince who will have opened the grandcanal through Suez will be blessed cen-tury after century for posterity.” Finally,de Lesseps promised to undertake all ofthe laborious chores while Said couldjust sign decrees and get rich.

Of course, Said agreed. De Lessepsreceived exclusive rights to constructand manage the Suez Canal. To assist inthe project, Egypt would waive all importtaxes on supplies and equipment, itwould provide quarries for constructionmaterials at no charge and it would pro-vide a work force of laborers. Said issuedthe decree on Nov. 30, 1854; but it wouldbe 4 1/2 years before the constructionactually began.De Lesseps simply looked at the map

to decide the route of the canal. It wouldbe a 100-mile channel, extending fromthe Mediterranean Sea directly southto the Red Sea port of Suez. But such amonumental undertaking required French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps

died in 1894 at the age of 89.

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investors, and de Lesseps had to persuadea wary public that the proposed canalwould be both feasible and profitable.He welcomed scientific and engineeringevaluations of the project; he was confi-dent their findings would verify hisclaims. Indeed, they did. In its evalua-tion, the French Academy of Sciencesapproved of de Lesseps’ plan and addedit seemed a bargain. At the same time,de Lesseps was conducting a one-manpublic relations campaign. Fluent in anumber of languages—includingEnglish—and with a diplomat’s charm,he traveled from Russia to Britain, meet-ing with businessmen and politicians topromote the idea of a Suez Canal.In 1858, de Lesseps was ready for

business, launching the Suez Canal Co.and offering stock to raise money. Initialstudies estimated that the cost of con-structing the canal would be 200 millionfrancs (or $40 million in 1858 dollars).That would be the equivalent of $1.1 bil-lion today. The initial public offeringproved disappointing, however. Only 56percent of the stock was purchased. Saidagreed to buy the unsubscribed shares.The construction finally began in

April 1859. In addition to digging andblasting through 100 miles of sand androck, the canal required the constructionand dredging of a deep-sea harbor at thenorthern end of the canal. The newMediterranean port was tactfully namedPort Said. The Egyptian government hadpromised to provide the work force, andit did so by forced labor. Sixty thousandpeasants each month were coerced intoworking on the canal. They were obligedto spend two months, although half oftheir time was spent traveling to andfrom the project. Over a year, 720,000peasants were part of this work force;and the total population of Egypt wasonly 4 million.The reports of this forced labor

appalled Europe’s public. Britain andFrance had outlawed slavery, and serf-dom had been abolished throughoutmost of Europe. Public opinion did notsee the difference between those formsof servitude and forced labor. The SuezCanal Co. attempted to defend the prac-tice as a tradition of Egypt; the same

practice that had built the Pyramids.De Lesseps vowed that the workers werepaid, fed and sheltered—as if that wouldmitigate the fact that they were forced towork on the canal. But this bad publicitydid not stop the construction.The death of Viceroy Said did. De

Lesseps’ old friend died in January 1863and was succeeded by his nephew Ismail.The new viceroy did not oppose the ideaof a canal, but he did resent de Lesseps’control of the project. Ismail wanted torenegotiate the terms of the agreement;to put pressure on de Lesseps, Egypthalted the supply of laborers. Withoutthe workers, construction on the canalhalted. But de Lesseps had the contract,and its terms could not be so arbitrarilyamended. In those days, there was noWorld Court to settle such matters.However, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte III,the emperor of France, offered to arbi-trate the dispute. Ismail accepted but hecould not have picked a more biasedjudge. De Lesseps was regarded as a heroin France, French investors had a majorstake in the Suez Co., and de Lessepshappened to be the cousin of Eugenie,the wife of Louis Bonaparte. As if therecould be any doubt, the French emperordecided in de Lesseps’ favor. If Ismailrefused to supply laborers for the project,then he had to provide the funds for deLesseps to employ other workers.With that money, de Lesseps pur-

chased machines to replace the manuallabor. These machines, powered bycoal or steam, were designed to excavateand extract specific and various types ofsoil in the Suez. Between 1864 and 1869,the Suez Co. used 300 such machines,operating them 16 hours a day. A yearhad been wasted during the dispute withIsmail, but the machines more thanmade up the lost time. Constructing thecanal required the removal of 74 millioncubic meters of soil, sand and rock; andthe machines did more than 75 percentof the work. As the project neared com-pletion in October 1869, de Lesseps anda now cooperative Ismail occupiedthemselves in planning the festivities tocelebrate the opening of the canal.On Nov. 17, 1869, nearly 15 years

after Said issued the decree, a flotilla of

Over a year, 720,000peasants were part of thework force; and the totalpopulation of Egypt was

only 4 million.

As ships approached Port Said’sentrance, they were greeted by a

large statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps,which was destroyed on Dec. 24, 1956,

as a symbol of Egyptian patriotism.


vessels embarked from Port Said on aleisurely, three-day journey through thecanal. Starting the procession was theship bearing the French delegation ledby Eugenie, empress of France and—nodoubt—de Lesseps’ favorite cousin.Other royal yachts carried the emperorof Austria-Hungary and the crown princeof Prussia. The flotilla stopped at Ismailia,the midway station along the canal, andthe guests disembarked for a day and anight of lavish festivities: feasts, a balland fireworks. The next day the flotillaproceeded to Suez for further celebra-tions. A train then took the royal guestsback to Cairo for yet more extravaganzas,including another ball and a horse race atthe Pyramids.And with that, the Suez Canal was

in business, charging ships a toll of 25francs ($5 in 1869 dollars or $137.50 intoday’s dollars) for each ton of cargo.However, the business did not live up tode Lesseps’ predictions, the shareholders’expectations or Ismail’s financial needs.In 1870, fewer than 500 ships passedthrough the canal; de Lesseps had antici-pated 10 times that traffic. The shares ofthe canal stock had lost half their value,and the government of Egypt was look-ing at a terrible shortfall in the antici-pated revenues.Heavily in debt, Ismail was obliged in

1875 to sell Egypt’s shares in the canal.The British government was quite happyto buy them; the world’s greatest mar-itime power soon gained control of theSuez Canal. As for de Lesseps, his nextproject was to build a canal acrossPanama; unfortunately for he and hisinvestors, the challenge of Panamarequired an innovative engineer ratherthan a charming diplomat. The build-ing of the Panama Canal would not beaccomplished in his lifetime.But the Suez Canal was a success, and

time has proved de Lesseps a prophet.The canal now is a main thoroughfare ofworld trade. In 2007, 18,000 ships sailedthrough it with cargo amounting to 7.5percent of commercial sea trade. DeLesseps had told Viceroy Said that theman who built the Suez Canal would behonored by posterity. He was right.

In 1956, the 4,000-ton minelayer,Manxman, cruises the Suez Canal,below. Between Port Said and Ismailia, an Egyptian patrol ship travelsthrough the canal, bottom.

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In today’s fast-paced world, peopledon’t stop if they can keep going. Evenif we see something that is not right,we don’t often take initiative to changeit. It’s easy to take the attitude that it’ssomeone else’s problem. Sometimesthere is a price to pay for an “it’s some-one else’s problem” attitude.A core drill rig is a complex piece of

equipment. There are various styles andmethods in which a core drill rig candrive a drill bit into the ground in searchof minerals or water. One of the morecommon types is a pneumatically drivenrig. In essence, this style of rig is a giantair compressor mounted on a truckframe with a boom containing the drillbit and connecting pipe. In someinstances, the operator’s platform is rightnext to the boom. The air, at very high

pressure and tremendous volume, rotatesthe drill bit while a ram simultaneouslydrives the bit into the earth. Whenexploring for minerals, air also blows thecuttings back up to the surface for exam-ination by a geologist. These rigs, whenin operation, are noisy, dirty and have atremendous amount of vibration.At one such mineral exploration site,

the core drill rig operator was operatingthe rig controls from his platform. Heonly had one more hole to drill beforehis shift was over when he noticed twoof the four bolts were missing from aclamp. This clamp holds the air hose atthe connection to the drill pipe, whichblows the cuttings up to the surface.When the drill pipe is in its lowest posi-tion, this air line connection is only afew feet from the operator. Having

changed these clamps before, he knewthis task would be time consumingand would keep him at work late. Besides,he thought, why should he be botheredwith this at the end of his shift whenthe next operator can deal with it at thebeginning of his? He loaded the nextlength of drill pipe and continued drilling.With the drill pipe nearing its lowest

position, the clamp, in its compromisedcondition, could not hold onto the hoseany longer. In an instant the hose wasout from underneath the clamp. Itsounded like a cannon, rattling the win-dows at the site office several blocksaway. The whipping hose struck theoperator, throwing him more than 20feet and causing severe injuries.When something needs attention,

especially in the workplace, take the timeto correct the situation, or communicatewith someone who can. Your time is nomore valuable than your co-workers’. Bynot taking corrective measures when aproblem is identified, you are puttingyourself and others in harm’s way.

KEEPING IT SAFE

It’s Not My ProblemCorrecting workplace problems immediatelykeeps everyone safe

BY PHIL KIMBLE

An operator controls a core drill rig at an ironore mine site near Port Hedland, Australia.

DRILLERThe first computermouse was inventedby Doug Engelbart in 1963 and wasmade of wood.

Astronauts cannot burp in space.

The Pacific entrance of the PanamaCanal is farther east than the Atlanticentrance.

Forest fires move faster uphill thandownhill.

Bill Gates’ house was designed usinga Macintosh computer.

U.S. scientists calculated that Santa

would have to visit 822 homes a secondto deliver all the world’s presents onChristmas Eve, traveling at 650 milesa second.

A coffee tree yields about 1 pound ofcoffee in a year.

Milk is heavier than cream.

The 7-Eleven Extreme Gulp is 50 per-cent bigger than the volume of thehuman stomach!

All of the Earth’s continents are widerat the north than in the south.

Months that begin on a Sunday willalways have a ‘Friday the 13th.’

Of the six men who made up theThree Stooges, three of them were realbrothers (Moe, Curly and Shemp).

Rubber bands last longer when refrig-erated.

The chance of you dying on the way toget your lottery tickets is greater thanyour chances of winning.

(http://www. funfactz.com)

Dates inHistory

A little boy returned from Sundayschool with a new perspective on theChristmas story. He had learned allabout the Wise Men from the East whobrought gifts to the Baby Jesus. He wasso excited he could hardly wait to tellhis parents.

As soon as he arrived home, heimmediately began, “I learned all aboutthe very first Christmas in Sunday schooltoday! There wasn’t a Santa Claus wayback then, so these three skinnyguys on camels had to deliver allthe toys!

“And Rudolph the Red-NosedReindeer with his nose so bright wasn’tthere yet, so they had to have this bigspotlight in the sky to find their wayaround!”

As a little girl climbed onto Santa’slap, Santa asked the usual, “And whatwould you like for Christmas?”

The child stared at him open-mouthed and horrified for a minute,

then gasped: “Didn’t you getmy e-mail?”

A burglar broke into the house of aQuaker in the middle of the night andstarted to rob it.

The Quaker heard the noise andwent downstairs with his shotgun.

When he found the burglar hepointed his gun at him and said gently,“Friend, I mean thee no harm, but thoustandest where I am about to shoot!”

THE DIXON

“Published once a moon since 1932”1888On Dec. 23, Dutch painterVincent van Gogh, suffer-ing from severe depres-sion, cuts off the lowerpart of his left ear witha razor while staying inArles, France. He laterdocumented the event ina painting titled “Self-Portrait” with BandagedEar. Today, van Gogh isregarded as an artisticgenius and his master-pieces sell for record-breaking prices; however,during his lifetime, hewas a poster boy for tor-tured starving artists andsold only one painting.

1932On Dec. 27, Radio CityMusic Hall in New YorkCity opened. The 60-foot-by-100-foot stagewas designed with asophisticated system ofhydraulic-powered ele-vators, which allowedspectacular effects in stag-ing. Many of its originalmechanisms are still inuse today. It remains thelargest indoor theater inthe world.

(http://www.history.com)

TRIVIA

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

Did you know that...

ProductSpotlightCAM & GROOVE REDUCERS

Dixon offers a variety of reduc-ing cam and groove fittings for manyapplications. These fittings are availablein aluminum, brass and stainless steel.Some products may be manufactured aswelded fabrications and identified as such in

the Dixon catalog. Reducingcouplers and adapters are pro-duced to interchange with allproducts produced to com-mercial item descriptionA-A-59326B. For complete

details and availability call877-963-4966 or visit us on-line at www.dixonvalve.com.

Product SafetyNo Cam and Groove couplingsystem should ever be usedfor air, nitrogen or any othercompressed gas service dueto the decompression of thegases and the hose whip that

will result in an accidental opening ofthe quick-acting arms.An ongoing program of inspecting cam

and groove handles, rings and pins must bein place to eliminate problems. Damaged,missing or broken parts of fittings must bereplaced. These parts are durable but notindestructible. Every effort must be madeto be certain that no one attempts to use thecam and groove couplings with damaged ormissing cam arms.

The ongoing inspection program shouldalso include the gaskets of these couplingsto be sure they are not worn or missing.The gasket system must be compatible withthe media that flows through the assembly.A corrosion resistance reference guide is

provided in the Dixon catalogand also on our Web site underthe ‘technical’ tab.

DECEMBER 2009

DIXON VALVE & COUPLING COMPANY | PHONE: 410-778-2000 | 877-963-4966 | WWW.DIXONVALVE.COM

Animals run in the wild. Children runon the playground. But adults? Sure, theyrun to meetings, run programs on theircomputer or run out to grab a salad atlunchtime. But many don’t ever lace uptheir sneakers, hit the road and run.They should. Most adults need at

least 30 minutes of moderate physicalactivity at least five days per week, andrunning provides a good cardiovascularworkout in a relatively short period oftime. Consider this: If you weigh 155pounds and run at 6 mph for 30 minutes(about a 10-minute mile) your bodywill burn 320 calories. By comparison,playing tennis or biking for that sameamount of time burns 281 calories.“I love the efficiency of running,” says

Josh Levinson, owner of Charm CityRun, a Baltimore-based running specialtystore and event management company.Levinson runs about 30 miles a week,more when he’s training for a race.“You’re hard-pressed to find an exer-

cise that will give you the same benefitsthat running can give you in just 40minutes and you don’t even have todrive anywhere. You just put on yourshoes and you’re out the front door.”

Some of the physical benefits ofrunning include weight loss, increasedcoordination and improved cardiovas-cular and bone health. “In the shortterm, running benefits how you feel,”says Keith Williams, a fellow with theAmerican College of Sports Medicinewho is an associate professor of exercisebiology at the University of California,Davis. “Running also has potentiallong-term benefits in how your bodyresponds over time,” adds Williams, whostudies the biomechanics of runningand has served as a consultant to thefootwear industry.And then there’s that runner’s high

that regular runners talk so much about.It’s no joke. Last year, researchers at theTechnische Universität München andthe University of Bonn in Germanysuccessfully used an imaging study toshow, for the first time, increased releaseof endorphins in certain areas of theathletes’ brains during a two-hour joggingsession. These endorphins are associ-ated with mood changes and can makeyou feel good.There are 41 million people in the

United States who run, according to a

2008 survey by the Sporting GoodsManufacturers Association, and some16 million of them run frequently, at least100 days a year. But running is hardlyjust an American sport. Every year some70,000 people run in the 3.5-mile JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge inFrankfurt, Germany, making it the largestrace in the world. Other races worldwidethat draw a huge number of participantsinclude the Cursa de El Corte Ingles 11Kin Barcelona, Spain (53,000 participants)and the Stramilano, a no-competitionrun where more than 40,000 partici-pants have five hours to complete a 12Kcourse through the city of Milan, Italy.Every single one of those runners had

to start somewhere. And with a littleguidance, a few pointers and a pair ofwell-fitted running shoes, almost anyonecan join them and become a runner, too.Some things to keep in mind:

Get the right equipment. “We’re notbuilt to run on hard surfaces, but that’sthe place where most people run,”Williams says. Buying a good pair ofwell-fitted running shoes is the first stepbecause they can help prevent injuries.(See sidebar for more information.)

Start slow. “The people who are mostlikely to get injured are the ones whodo too much too soon,” says Williams.Start slowly with walking, then shortruns, then longer runs. Beginningrunning schedules like “Couch to 5K”at www.coolrunning.com can help

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HEALTH & FITNESS

Run for Your Life!Well, at least you can run to stay fit—even if you haven’tever done it before. Here’s how to get started.

BY MARIA BLACKBURN


Step Out with the Right ShoesRunning or walking for fitness requires a good pair ofwell-fitted shoes. Expect to pay an average of $85 to$150 for running shoes and expect them to last for about400 miles of running (and you can wear them for other uses after).

Here are some tips from the American College of Sports Medicine on howto purchase the right pair:

Eighty-five percent of people wear shoes that are too small. Check for adequateroom at the top. There should be at least a half inch of space between the top ofthe shoe and the longest toe. The shoe shouldn’t be tight but it shouldn’t slidearound and your heel should fit snugly into the rear of the shoe.

Try shoes on later in the day and bring the socks you are most likely to run in.Make sure you try on both shoes and keep them on your feet for about 10 minutesto make sure they remain comfortable.

Consider purchasing two pairs of running shoes. Alternating their use increases thelife expectancy of each pair.

Consider purchasing shoes at a running specialty store where salespeople aretrained in fitting running shoes and there is often a treadmill available in the storeso that they can observe how a shoe fits your foot while you are running.

Once you’ve purchased new shoes, don’t try them out for the first time with a12-mile run or a heavy track workout. The key point is to have sufficient time tobreak in the shoes.

you. Or if you’d rather do it yourself,remember not to have more than a 15percent increase in mileage per week,Levinson says.

Set a goal. Maybe you want to runto the library and back or maybe youwant to run a half marathon. “Set a goaland work toward it by gradually addingto your mileage,” Levinson says.

Have a plan. The worst thing you cando if you’ve registered for a race is to nothave a plan. “You’re fine and going tocomplete it, but you’re not well-trained,”says Levinson. There are basic trainingprograms on how to prepare for 5Ks,10Ks and even marathons on the Internetat sites like www.runnersworld.com.

Seek help when you’re hurt. “Muscleaches should feel better if you give themadequate time for rest,” says Williams.“But if you’re experiencing Achilles’tendon pain, heel pain or pain on thebottom of your foot that won’t go away,seek a diagnosis.”

INVENTIONS

What’s round, dimpled, white and wildlyaerodynamic, but in its infancy was ahomely, lumpy leather sphere stuffedwith chicken feathers?The golf ball, that’s what.Historians assert that the very earliest

golf balls date back to the mid-15thcentury, when sportsmen in Hollandand Scotland used primitive clubs towhack at hard little clunkers carvedfrom beech or elm wood. Records tellus, in fact, that the Dutch shipped thoseearly balls by the barrel-load across theNorth Sea to sportsmen in Scotland,which would become the country bestknown for golf.It took at least a hundred years for

the Scots, fed up with the wooden balls’lack of flight capability, to invent thefeather golf ball, or “featherie.” Featherieswere made by packing a top hat’s worthof wet goose down or chicken feathersinto moistened cowhide or horsehidecasings, which shrunk and hardened asthey dried. The resulting slightly lop-sided orb was hammered to make it asspherical as possible, and then coatedwith several layers of paint.That imperfect and costly orb was

used for about 300 years, until the Rev.Adam Paterson of St. Andrews,Scotland, came up with a better idea in1848: a ball fashioned from a rubberysubstance made from the dried juice of

the Gutta tree. These so-called “gutta”balls were fashioned by rolling sheets ofthe softened material on a board to cre-ate an orb and they had the advantage ofbeing easily repaired and reshaped.Gutties were deliberately imprinted withvarious patterns, because it had been dis-covered long before that an imperfectball had a truer flight than did a moreperfect one. The new ball’s main draw-back was that it tended to break apart inmidair, which forced a rule change:players were allowed to play a fresh ballwhen an old one disintegrated.As enthusiasm for the sport grew, so

did interest in improved equipment. Sofew were surprised when, in 1901, anew ball—this one with a rubber core,invented by an employee of the Ohio-based Goodrich Tyre and Rubber Co.—made its British debut.The inventor, Coburn Haskell, figured

that wrapping elastic thread tightlyaround a rubber core and then encasingit in a sheet of patterned gutta wouldmake for a very aerodynamic ball, andhe was correct! The new ball was madefamous when, in 1902, Sandy Herd usedit on the Royal Liverpool course to playfour rounds in a score of 307 to beatgreats James Braid and Harry Vardon bya single shot.“Dimples” were added around 1908

for improved aerodynamics. Physicistsand engineers tell us that the balls

with dimples travel longer distancesthan their smooth counterparts fortwo reasons: one, because the unevensurface increases air turbulence in thelayer of air directly around the ball,pushing it farther and faster and two,the dimples reduce “drag.”By 1920, both the United States Golf

Association (USGA) and the Royal &Ancient, St. Andrews (R & A) beganstandardizing the sport and its equip-ment. In 1931, the USGA introduced aslightly larger ball that could weigh nomore than 1.62 ounces and have adiameter of no less than 1.68 inches.After claims that the bigger ball was thereason for American golf dominance,the R & A made the ball compulsoryfor the Open Championship in 1974and has since outlawed smaller ballsaltogether.Today, fans of the links can choose

from a dozen types of golf balls inprices ranging from $5 a ball to $10 fora dozen balls.The most common ball on the course

is comprised of two pieces: a solid innercore and a hard cover. But increasingnumbers of players are using multi-lay-ered balls, made of a core, middle andtop layer. And finally, there is a growingassortment of technologically advancedfour-layer balls with liquid cores.Quite an improvement over wet feath-

ers stuffed into an cowhide sphere.

34 BOSS � F A L L 2 0 0 9/ W I N T E R 2 0 10

Where Did You GetThose Dimples?

The lopsided beginning of the golf ball

BY LISA DE NIKE

“WHEN I T COMES TO DE L I V ER I NG TOP - QUA L I T Y PRODUCTS ,

C LOSE DOESN ’ T COUNT. H ERE AT D I XON , THERE ’ S NO SUBST I TUTE FOR

E X P E R I E N C E“ W H E N I T ’ S G O T T O B E R I G H T — E V E R Y T I M E . I T A K E T H A T

R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y S E R I O U S L Y . ”

dixonvalve.com

BILL POULIN,Machinist, 17 years

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TheAmazing - Andrew Ferguson...C O N N E C T I N G T O I N D U S T R Y TheAmazing VanishingAct Controlled implosion reduces a building to less than the sum of its parts FALL 2009/WINTER

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