Patent Pending Blog - Patents and the History of Technology

The Temple of Artemis, Ephesus in Modern Turkey

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was counted as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, that list of marvels that ancient world travelers were fortunate to visit in their lifetimes. 

The historian Philon of Byzantium said "I have seen the walls and Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon, the statue of Olympian Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the mighty work of the high Pyramids  and the tomb of Mausolus. But when I saw the temple at Ephesus rising to the clouds, all these other wonders were put in the shade."

The Temple was built in Ephesus near modern day Selcuk in Turkey.  It was built in about 560 B.C. on the site of much older temples to Artemis and other Greek gods. It was built so that broad steps led up to a rectangular terrace on which the temple was built. It was rectangular in shape, and approximately 260 ft by 430 ft (80 m x 130 m). The building (the 323 bc version) consisted of a roof held up by 127 marble pillars, each 60 ft (20 m) high. The base of the pillars was decorated with extensive carvings and artwork.  The pillars were arranged aound the perimeter of the building, with the center being left open. 

The temple was burned down the same year that Alexander the Great was born, in 356 B.C., and rebuilt by 323 B.C.  It was again destroyed by the Goths and rebuilt in 263 A.D.  The temple was finally torn down permanently in 401 A.D. by St. John Chrysostom. When ancient references were used to find the site of the temple in the late 19th century, the local residents had never heard of it, and it was buried in 20 feet of swamp and overgrowth.  After excavation in the early 20th century, a single column reconstructed from the debris now stands on the site.  The drawing below is from Bill Munn's Seven Wonders of the Ancient World site. 

By comparison, the Lincoln Memorial, built in 1922, is 188 ft x 118 ft, with 36 columns 44 ft tall. 

This photo of the Lincoln Memorial is courtesy of Keith Stanley, www.kestan.com .

The other Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were:

The Colossus of Rhodes
The Pyramids of Egypt
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
The Lighthouse at Alexandria

SlowWheel Cycling innovation

Nathan Womack is a serious bike rider, serious enough that he wanted to ride at a training pace on rides with his girlfriend.  The trouble was that his preferred pace for training for triathalons was about 20 mph, and his girlfriend’s pace is more like 15 mph.  He had the bright idea of making a wheel that would give him some resistance in his rides, so that his speed would equal his girlfriends speed, yet give him the training he wanted.

His solution developed into a bike product called the SlowWheel. The SlowWheel is a replacement rear wheel for a bicycle that allows the rider to increase the resistance of the wheel (in order to slow the rider down). Using the SlowWheel, Nathan and his girlfriend are able to ride together, and both get a workout!  The wheel can also be set to no resistance at all, for maximum speed.

Additionally, Nathan looks to have a children's model out (for children under 5) that will go on a small bike with training wheels to help "slow" the child down as they learn to ride a bike. This will help in coordination as well as be an incredible safety device (as the children will not be able to get going so fast they get out of control).

Ballet Lessons on the Beach

I have recently been teaching my daughter about ballet, and she is getting almost as good as me.  These photos of ballet on the beach and beach camping are from our backpack to the Olympic coast.   

Camp on the beach: