By Richard T. Cartwright, PE, CHMM, (IHMM, AHMP and APICS) Fellow. Richard died April 21, 2025; honoring the work he did with hazmat history is one small way to keep his memory alive.
The saying, “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it” is more than a cliché. It is a reminder that we must constantly be learning from the past. Here’s a look back at major historical events that happened today in the world of hazardous materials.
August 15, 1994
The National Institute of Standards and Technology announced their physicists had cooled atoms to 700 nanokelvins, the coldest temperature ever recorded for matter. NIST scientists chilled a cloud of cesium atoms very close to absolute zero using lasers to catch the atoms in an optical lattice. Atoms reached 700 nanokelvins, or 700 billionths of a degree above absolute zero. Zero Kelvin (-273ºC), or absolute zero, is the temperature at which atomic thermal motion would cease. Physicists have sought to use lasers to cool atoms closer to absolute zero, primarily for improving atomic timekeeping, for certain experimental measurements and for lithography processes for the semiconductor industry.
August 15, 1914
The Panama Canal officially opened. Original construction began in 1880 by French engineers. After 20,000 workers died of malaria and yellow fever during construction, the French gave up. In 1906, Americans started eradicating tropical diseases. About 240 million cubic yards of earth was moved along a 40-mile-long canal.
August 15, 1912
Peter Hodgson, American marketing executive and entrepreneur, was born. He named a unique new material Silly Putty and promoted it as a toy. It was a lump of rubber-like material that could be stretched, rolled into a bouncing ball, or used to transfer colored ink from newsprint. The original discovery was made while trying to make synthetic rubber. No significant application initially existed for the material. However, it was passed around by company employees as a curiosity. When Hodgson saw a sample of polydimethylsiloxane, he realized its potential simply for entertainment. He sold it in one-ounce lumps packaged in plastic eggs.
Historical hazardous materials management events are posted 365 days a year at this LinkedIn discussion group.
