Antiquated Technology

Biological Technology

Two types of animals were used in ancient medicine, for similar but distinct purposes. They fell out of use due to leaps in medical science but recently have come back into use. Name them.
What was the first anaesthetic, save booze?
What was the second anaesthetic?
Describe the origin of the term "mad hatter".
What was the original computer bug, and who discovered it?
Which Soviet scientist rejected Mendel's heredity theory, thus setting Soviet genetic doctrine and holding their research back by decades?
What was his theory of genetics?
What innovation in warfare allowed the Punic Wars, and made their leader famous?
When amputation became a specialty, around the time of the Civil War, one doctor decided to show off. He amputated a man's leg, using a saw, in 11 seconds flat. One thing, however, went wrong in that operation. The man survived, butÖ?
During the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, workers occasionally were made seriously ill, or even killed, by a mysterious sickness that came to be known as Caisson Sickness. What is it?
In 1870, Wilhelm Mensinga designed a hollow rubber hemisphere with a watch spring aroung the head to secure it in place. What modern device did he pioneer?

RCA won the battle for creating the standard for the color television transmission signal. Who was their main competitor?
What was the first city to be lit by gas lamps?
What innovation, which allows battlefield units to know each others' position, made radio tank warfare obsolete, as first demonstrated in the Persian Gulf War?
Essay question: Describe the method by which color TV signals were implemented, while maintaining the ability to transmit and receive a black and white signal.
What was the first fluorescent light bulb called, and who invented it?
What did the aforementioned man also discover (more notably)?
Which inferior technology took over the video casssette recording industry? Which technology did it defeat?

Who owns the basic patent on the microcomputer?
What was the first microprocessor, and for what was it designed?
In the late 1800s, a computer was designed. Why was this computer peculiar to today's standards, and who designed it?

What invention won the Battle of Crecy, and changed war tactics completely?
Years before that, what invention led to the dominance of mounted warfare?
Why was the M-16 rifle much more deadly before it was "improved"?
Which famous British intelligence agent, active in the Arabian peninsula during World War I, is known for having successfully engaged enemy tanks with a troop of camelback riders?
What well-known antt-cavalry tactic was glorified in a recent Oscar-winning movie?
What is the oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy?
What was the name of the original explosive-propelled gun?
When Farragut exclaimed his famous line "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!", the torpedoes seemingly had no effect. What design flaw negated their presence?
Sed tamen salispetrae LURU VOPO VIR CAN UTRIET sulphuris et sic facies tonitruum et coruscationem; sic facies artificium; Vides tamen utrum loquor in seneigmate, vel secundun veritamet. These lines are arguably the most well known passage from Francis Bacon's treatise "On the marvellous power of art and of nature and on the nullity ofmagic,' which appear after cryptic accounts of purifying 'arial stone,' referring to 'burnt shrub or willow,' and to 'vapour of Pearl.' What is he talking about?

What "improvement" to the governor of an old railroad steam engine caused the engine to shake and oscillate violently?
Why do the call them "carbuerators"?
Most lighter-than-air craft currently use Helium as their buoyant gas. Why?
The first known fire truck was in ancient Rome, where a man with a truck full of water would go to a fire, and then negotiate a price. What was the price, and why were his negotiation tactics suspect?
Kindly explain the physics behind the Tacoma Narrows disaster.
In the 1890s, Conrad Hubert joined forces with Joshua Lionel Cowen to create the Electric Houseplant. Though this invention failed, both the partners struck it rich, with products spun off their interest in electricity. What two products did they make?

Darkened glasses were invented in China prior to 1430. What was their use before Europeans decided to use them to shield their eyes from the sun's glare?
Where was the first nuclear reaction on Earth?
What was a "waterframe"?
Where was the cyclotron invented?