1847 – As you jog around the block today, think of Mormon pioneer William Clayton. It was on this day that he got tired of counting the revolutions of a rag tied to a spoke of a wagon wheel to figure out how many miles he had traveled. So, while he was crossing the plains in his covered wagon, he invented the odometer.
1862 – Adolphe Nicole of Switzerland patented the chronograph — a timepiece that allows for split-second timing of sporting events.
1877 – Edwin Holmes installed the first telephone switchboard burglar alarm there. It was that invention that would lead to the alarm systems that many of us have in our homes and businesses.
And this week in 1973 – Skylab, the United States’ first space station, was launched.