Archaeologists have made a discovery in Egypt, which fills in a missing piece of history in the Old Kingdom ancient burial ground of Saqqara.  The newest discovery, found in the sand south of Cairo about two months ago, most likely housed the remains of Queen Shesheshet.  Shesheshet, the mother of King Teti, ruled from 2323 BC to 2291 BC and founded Egypt's Sixth Dynasty -- over 4,000 years ago.

Scientific happenings on this day in history…

But first: today’s quiz.  Not all inventions are cold and scientific… some are more on the “delicious” side of the scale.  And some inventors don’t even have to create a particular invention, yet can still be the reason behind its fame.  Such is the case with the answer to today’s quiz.

John Montagu, born on this day in 1718, was a well-known British politician, inventor, and explorer.  What tasty, well-known invention (which he is the namesake of) -- did he make famous?

On to other historic happenings:


EVENTS

1664

It may begin as a feeling of unease that overtakes you as you cautiously make your way inside a long-abandoned house.  The air is thick; musty and stale.  Yet somehow it is laced with the underlying scent  of a burning fire… even though the cold crumbling fireplace hosted its last fire long ago.
 
As your eyes adjust, you begin to notice the stillness. There is absolutely no noise.  In fact, the silence is so oppressive, it presses in on your eardrums like the weight of an ocean… seeking to snuff out the sound of anything that should trespass upon it.  You get the distinct feeling it would like to quiet even the uneven sound of your shallow breaths… and then move on to silence the thump of your increasingly racing heartbeat.

Making a selection at a sushi bar used to simply be about deciding how adventurous you wanted to be, and making sure to steer clear of the deadly poisonous puffer fish (unless you really trusted your sushi chef).  But now a whole new list of selection criteria has come into play --  based less on which fish is most appetizing, and more on which fish is most sustainable.

As the global demand for air travel increases, so too does the demand to decrease the environmental impact of flight. The answer may lie in the technological advances made by the next generation of short-haul commercial aircraft currently in development by British low-cost airline, EasyJet. The unique design of EasyJet’s “EcoJet” promises a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2015.

The aircraft will incorporate the latest research by airframe and engine manufacturers around the world – all of which can be incorporated into an aircraft that should be in operation by 2015. The projection for the 50% CO2 reduction is based on the findings from the latest research by industry leaders and will come from the engines (25%), the lightweight airframe (15%) and from improvements to air traffic control technology and design (10%).