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07/20 Open Thread – The Pyréolophore [1]

['Enhydra Lutris', 'Dan K', 'Chloris Creator', 'Greg Dworkin', 'Thom Hartmann']

Date: 2026-07-20  

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Five enemies of peace inhabit with us – avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace.

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Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something.

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On July 20, 1807, Nicéphore Niépce got a patent for arguably the world’s first “internal combustion engine”: the Pyréolophore. The engine did not operate as we today visualize such things, as near as I can tell, and was very much integrated into the propulsion system of the boat it powered. It did have a combustion chamber into which fuel was introduced and within which it was ignited. There things get a bit strange. It did have a piston, to operate all of the linkages valves, and whatnot that governed the introduction of fuel and air and the ignition flame, but the motive power all came from the exhaust. The exhaust pipe was underwater and naturally filled with water. The engine’s exhaust forced the water out of the exhaust pipe, moving the boat forward by reaction, and the pipe refilled while awaiting the next shot of exhaust. Apparently the water was sucked in from the front of the boat before being expelled from the rear, non unlike ye classic Berkeley Jet Drive. Nonetheless, it was pulsed and henxce sounds very much like an aquatic V-1 buzz bomb built with steampunk technology. Whatever, it did work, though it was very much directly limited to nautical propulsion as configured.On July 20, 1848, the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, ended> It would be nice to describe all the progress they made, and that which followed, but women in the US are still really seriously deprived of basic civil rights, starting with self ownership, the fundamental right from which others flow. In the US control over women’s bodies passes from their fathers, brothers, uncles, random priests and sacerdotes and such to their husbands, doctors, legislators,and, of course, random priests and sacerdotes, etc. There have been attempts to grant women equal rights under the constitution since at least 1923, 103 effing years ago, but, so far, nada. Yet, the Epstein class roams the globe criticizing other nations for their alleged human rights failings, such as jailing the insurgents we sneak into their countries to try to effect regime change. Sorry ladies, maybe in the year 3030, as in “political power comes from …”1402 – Timur defeated forces of the Ottoman Empire sultan Bayezid I at Ankara This led to the Ottoman interregnum, possibly saving Europe’s bacon.1738 – French Colonist/adventurer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye reached the western shore of Lake Michigan.1807 – Nicéphore Niépce was awarded a patent for the Pyréolophore, the world’s first internal combustion engine, after it successfully powered a boat upstream on the river Saône in France.1810 – Citizens of Bogotá, New Granada declared independence from Spain.1848 – The first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, ended1871 – British Columbia joins the confederation of Canada.1917 – The Corfu Declaration, which led to the creation of the post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, was signed by the Yugoslav Committee and Kingdom of Serbia.1922 – The League of Nations awarded mandates of Togoland to France and Tanganyika to the United Kingdom.1934 – Police in Minneapolis fired upon striking truck drivers, killing two and wounding sixty-seven.1934 – Police tear gassed and clubbed 2,000 striking longshoremen in Seattle, and the governor of Oregon called out the National Guard to break a strike on the Portland docks.1936 – The Montreux Convention was signed in Switzerland, authorizing Turkey to fortify the Dardanelles and Bosphorus but guaranteeing free passage to ships of all nations in peacetime.1940 – Denmark left the League of Nations.1940 – California opened its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.1941 – Stalin consolidated the Commissariats of Home Affairs and National Security to form the NKVD. Kind of like the the way we created DHS as an umbrella over our vastly more numerous “security” organizations.1960 – Ceylon elected Sirimavo Bandaranaike Prime Minister, the world’s first elected female head of government.1960 – A Polaris missile was successfully launched from a submarine for the first time.1961 – French military forces broke the Tunisian siege of Bizerte, but eventually ceded the base anyway..1968 – The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held at Soldier Field in Chicago.1969 – Apollo 11’s crew successfully made the first manned landing on the Moon; Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.1976 – The Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.1977 – The Central Intelligence Agency released documents under duress which showed that it had engaged in mind-control experiments, but see May 14, 2026.1985 – The government of Aruba passes legislation to secede from the Netherlands Antilles, a notorious tax haven of long standing.1989 – Burma’s ruling junta put opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.2005 – The Civil Marriage Act legalized same-sex marriage in Canada.2015 – The United States and Cuba briefly resumed full diplomatic relations~~ Petrarch356 BC – Alexander the Great1304 – Petrarch, poet and scholar1591 – Anne Hutchinson, Puritan preacher banished from Boston for thoughtcrime1804 – Richard Owen, biologist, anatomist, and paleontologist1822 – Gregor Mendel, monk, geneticist and botanist1847 – Max Liebermann, painter and academic advocate for impressionism1864 – Ruggero Oddi, physiologist and anatomist (Oddi’s sphincter)1873 – Alberto Santos-Dumont, pilot inventor, and aircraft designer1882 – Olga Hahn-Neurath, mathematician and philosopher, part of Vienna circle1918 – Cindy Walker, country music singer, songwriter, and dancer1933 – Buddy Knox, singer, songwriter, and guitarist1933 – Cormac McCarthy, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter1935 – Sleepy LaBeef, rockabilly singer and musician1936 – Alistair MacLeod, novelist and short story writer1939 – Judy Chicago, painter, sculptor, and promoter of feminist art1944 – T. G. Sheppard, country music singer and songwriter1945 – Kim Carnes, singer and songwriter1945 – John Lodge, singer, songwriter, bass player, and producer1947 – Carlos Santana, singer, songwriter ,and guitarist1953 – Dave Evans, singer and songwriter1953 – Marcia Hines, singer and actress1954 – Jay Jay French, guitarist and producer1955 – Jem Finer, banjo player and songwriter, creator of the now playing “Longplayer”1956 – Paul Cook, drummer1958 – Mick MacNeil, keyboard player and songwriter1959 – Radney Foster, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer1964 – Chris Cornell, singer, songwriter, and guitarist1966 – Stone Gossard, singer, songwriter, and guitarist1967 – Courtney Taylor-Taylor, singer, songwriter ,and guitarist~~ Pancho Villa1616 – Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, rebel soldier1866 – Bernhard Riemann, mathematician and academic1897 – Jean Ingelow, poet and author1922 – Andrey Markov, mathematician and theorist1923 – Pancho Villa, general and politician, Governor of Chihuahua1937 – Olga Hahn-Neurath, mathematician and philosopher from the Vienna Circle1937 – Guglielmo Marconi, physicist and engineer1945 – Paul Valéry, author and poet1965 – Batukeshwar Dutt, activist1972 – Geeta Dutt, singer and actress1980 – Maria Martinez, San Ildefonso Pueblo potter2013 – Helen Thomas, journalist and author2015 – Wayne Carson, singer, songwriter, and producer2015 – Dieter Moebius, keyboard player and producer2017 – Chester Bennington, singer2024 – Jerry Miller, songwriter, guitarist, and vocalistNap DayMoon DayNational Fortune Cookie Day (in bed)International Chess DayNational Lollipop DayGlobal Hug Your Kids Day

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/7/20/800040400/community/07-20-open-thread-the-pyreolophore/

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