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Former Robot Wars judge and resident DesignSpark blogger Dr Lucy Rogers is joined by comedians Bec Hill and Harriet Braine for the History Makers podcast, exploring modern technology and the people throughout history who have made it all possible.
In episode four, the trio discusses finding longitude and whether GPS will be our salvation or damnation. Dr. Lucy explains how GPS works, “robot” Harriet uses her databanks to bring some makers to life and Bec tells us why we should have never moved on from using moss on trees to navigate.
So set your ears to receive and your mind to blown for History Makers episode four!
Listen Now
Missed our previous episodes?
Where have you been? There are three other episodes for you to catch up on, which you can find below:
Episode 1 - Wireless Communications: “It’s addictive, dangerous and I don’t trust it”
Episode 2 - Artificial Intelligence: “What would Mary Shelley make of Westworld?”
Episode 3 - Computer Programming: "The first computer bug was a moth"
Meet The Maker
John Harrison; Horologist Genius
John Harrison was destined to become a carpenter, well, that was the family business, but young John had other ideas, he had a keen interest in watches and their mechanisms and had built his first Grandfather clock when he was just 20!
Back in 1714 the British government offered a prize for the person who was able to solve the tricky puzzle of calculating Longitude when navigating the seas and oceans. John, deciding he fancied winning the £20k prize on offer (serious dosh back then), set about the task at hand. After many years, and various designs he had created the Sea Clock, a hefty device that worked, to a degree, but never really pleased our intrepid watchmaking inventor.
A little while later, he came up the idea that smaller was better, and with a team of watchmakers set about creating the World’s first maritime watch that could accurately measure longitude. Six year later and the H4 Marine Chronometer arrived, a brilliant handheld device that spawned a plethora of similar devices and changed the world of ocean travel forever!
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Feel free to let us know what you thought of this episode in the comments below.
Disclaimer
Listener discretion is advised. The contents expressed in these Podcasts are the clever creation of the comedy teams involved, and although suitable for a wide range of audiences, please be aware of colourful language and the abuse of politicians. No robots (or humans) were harmed in the making of these podcasts.