A REAL Computer Adventure!

 

J Presper Eckert in front of UNIVAC

One wonderfully, special part of my writing career has been the awesome people it has let me meet. I will never forget Bell Labs flying me to Pennsylvania to have lunch with J. Presper Eckert, one of the early computer inventors. He was key in working on UNIVAC. 

That was a dinosaur of a computer. It took up a large room which had to be kept cool so UNIVAC didn't overheat. Plus, the computer needed a big team of workers to tend its many parts and keep it operating. 

One of the stories J. Presper Eckert shared with me was being in charge of UNIVAC predicting the outcome of the 1952 Presidential Election. That was the election that pitted General Dwight D. Eisenhower against Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson. The press and polls all favored Stevenson. UNIVAC would be shown on CBS during the lengthy reporting of incoming state results. It was hoped, though seriously doubted, that the computer could predict the election outcome ahead of the West Coast polls closing.

There was a lot of pressure to have UNIVAC accomplish this never-bef0re-tried task. It was viewed as possibly turning the public's view to believing computers could be worth companies and government agencies investing in them. Remember, back in 1952 no one had an iPad, a laptop, or even a cell phone. 

In fact, I have to admit that when I interviewed J. Presper Eckert I was just beginning to work on a home computer, which took up half my desk and required me to use special codes to make it indent and capitalize. Text was green and I couldn't imagine color or pictures being on my screen. This was even before I wrote my first book about computers and kids creating their own computer programs.

Back to my story..... 

The next part never seems to be reported in historical accounts. But it's key. Eckert explained that for UNIVAC to be able to make a prediction for the Presidential Election it needed data for comparison. So Eckert had his team collect what he called "Bellwether" data on past results from across the US. Something is called Bellwether if it shows what tends to lead a trend.  In other words, UNIVAC was given a LOT of past election results it would then be able to compare against incoming data on Election Night. It's goal--LOOK FOR A TREND.

Eckert standing next to Cronkite looking at computer results which were, at the time, only viewed as printouts.

OK, the big night came. The famous news reporter Walter Cronkite was there. So was J. Presper Eckert. The data on polls reporting votes from each state came in and was entered into UNIVAC.  The computer churned away--actually it was a matter of LOTS of parts called transistors switching on and off. Then the moment came. 

IMAGINE A DRUM ROLL!!!

Before the polls were even closed on the West Coast, UNIVAC reported Eisenhower would have 483 electoral votes and Stevenson only 93.

Someone from the CBS news team took Eckert aside and said basically, "NO WAY! Impossible. Try again."

Eckert told me he was really sweating and nervous. He didn't want to let his company down by having UNIVAC fail and show computers really couldn't be counted on. He had his team try again. AND this time the results were....THE SAME!  But CBS would not report UNIVAC's results and predict an Eisenhower win.

However, when the night was over and all the results from across the US were in--all the votes were counted--the results proved UNIVAC was right. Well, overall. The actual final number of electoral college votes was Eisenhower 442 and Stevenson 89.  

Dwight Eisenhower was President.

Because of UNIVAC's success, computers became trusted data processors worldwide. Computers have, in fact, been counted on to predict the outcome of every presidential race since. 

NOW, when you're watching reports of this year's computer prediction of the Presidential Election results, pause for just a moment.  Remember UNIVAC, the computer that did it first, and wasn't trusted to be right.

FUN TO THE CORE!

There are thousands of kinds of apples. However, only the most popular are grown and harvested. Here are the top ten.

Pink Lady 

Honeycrisp

Fuji

Golden Delicious

McIntosh

Cox's Orange Pippin

Red Delicious

Gala

Jonasgold

Cortland

Collect any three and compare. Do the apples look different? 

Check color. 
Shape. 
Size.

Now wash and slice. Then taste one sample. Rate it from 1 to 4 on crispness with 1 being the softest and 4 being the crispest.
Also rate it on sweetness with 1 being the least sweet and 4 being the sweetest.

Have a swig of water. Next, repeat these two tests with the second apple. Then with the third. 

Now create an advertisement for your favorite kind of apple. Tell why that's the best kind to buy, eat, and enjoy. Share something that will make people who've never tasted that kind of apple really want to try it.

If you can, share your findings on sweet taste with at least five friends and build a bar graph to compare the kinds of apples. 

It's estimated that each person in the United States eats about 50 apples a year. So while your investigating, you'll be on your way to eating your fair share of this year's crop.

Your tongue is what let you taste the apples you tested. Don't miss finding out about some super cool animal tongues.

SHRINK A HEAD

In pioneering times, apples were carved and allowed to shrink and dry to make heads for dolls. You can make an apple head doll too. Just follow the easy steps.

1.  First, peel the apple. Leave some peel on top for "hair". 

2.  Plan what you want the face to look like.

3.  Pour 4 cups of water into a bowl and stir in a teaspoon of salt.  Place the carved apple in this for about two hours.
That soften's the apple's flesh. 

4.  Next, use an unsharpened pencil or a popsicle stick to push in eye sockets. Also carve the shape for a nose and mouth.

5.  Push raisins into the eye sockets for eyes. You may also want to poke unpopped popcorn kernels into the mouth for teeth.

6.  Set your complete apple head on a plate. Check daily to see how the face changes as the apple dries.

The dried apple head usually won't mold. That's why people used to preserve food, like apples, for winter by drying it.  The lower water content helps prevent bacteria and mold growth.

Now, create a doll body for your apple head. It could be made out of poster board. It could be made out of paint stirring stick and have cloth clothes. Or something else. Whatever you make, make a list of the steps to follow. That way, others can make an apple head doll just the way you did.

MORE FUN!

Cut and Stamp

Apples make great print blocks. Cut a nice firm apple in half. Use a sturdy plastic knife or popsicle stick to cut away parts of flesh. Pour tempera or finger paint on a sturdy paper plate. Touch the cut apple to this to coat. Then press firmly on paper. Repeat to "stamp" your design all over the paper. If you want more than one color, wash off the apple and pat dry with a paper towel. Then keep on stamping with a new color of paint.

Johnny Did It

Look up Johnny Appleseed on-line. Then make up a short play about his real life (at least what people think may be real). Or let children work together to make up a short play about something that Johnny Appleseed could have done--maybe even in your home town. Then invite visitors to see them act out this play.

NATIONAL WILDLIFE DAY!

It's National Wildlife Day--perfect day to share my newest book THE GREAT BEAR RESCUE! (Lerner Publishing).

Did you know there is a bear that lives entirely in a desert?

Did you know there is a bear whose population is fewer than 40 total--and only 8 of those are females?

I absolutely guarantee you will fall in love with Gobi bears. I did! Plus this is the story of the awesome effort scientists are making to learn about Gobi bears to try and help them survive. 

So, please join me in thinking of this as NATIONAL WILDLIFE/ SAVE THE GOBI BEARS DAY!