Conelrad is a site devoted to all aspects of atomic culture in the United States, presented in an informative and visual stimulating fashion. Founded in April 1999 by two Cold War veterans, Ken Sitz and Bill Geerhart, the site is a vast clearinghouse of articles, interviews, book reviews, and visual and audio documents related to the post-WWII atomic culture that flourished for close to two...

Some of the most famous engineering projects are the focus of this series of four programs from PBS. The first looks at the flood prevention systems implemented for the Mississippi River and the Hoover Dam used to harness water resources from the Colorado River in the early 1900s. The development of the US national electric system is discussed in the second. The last two consider the bridges of...

IBM is one of the most recognizable names in the computer industry, with a history that spans over a century. The IBM Archives is an online repository of information that tells the story of how the company began and how it has evolved. Possibly the best way to learn about IBM's roots is to browse the archive's main exhibit, which takes the user on a year-by-year tour of inventions and major...

What's next for the Internet? It's difficult to predict the future of this transformative technology, but the good folks at Elon University's School of Communications have a few thoughtful ideas on the subject. The mission of the project is "to explore and provide insights into emerging network innovations, global development, dynamics, diffusion and governance." The site includes sections like...

The National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program is dedicated to advancing awareness of the role of maritime affairs in the history of the United States. The Maritime Heritage Program Web site provides detailed information about their substantial preservation programs, including indices of historic ships (searchable by state), lighthouses, and life-saving stations within the United States and...

Celebrated in American film, song, and popular legend, the San Francisco cable car gets its full due on this well honed site devoted to the history and operation of this cherished form of transportation. Beginning with a virtual tour of the Cable Car Museum, the site contains a full roster of current San Francisco cable cars and a detailed explanation of how a cable car works. Probably the...

Located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Steamtown National Historic Site celebrates the history of steam locomotives and their role in shaping America's development in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A visit to the National Historic Site allows visitors to the "Feel the heat from the firebox." Visitors to the website will have a slightly different experience, but it remains a great way to learn...

The history of technology, particularly of communicative technologies such as the radio, is often overlooked by scholars. With this in mind, Thomas H. White has developed this fine site containing "articles and extracts about early radio and related technologies, concentrating on the United States in the period from 1897 to 1927." The site itself is divided into four large sections, ordered by...

Maintained by Michael Colitz, a registered patent attorney, the Wacky Patent of the Month is an amusing Web site "devoted to recognizing selected inventors and their remarkable and unconventional patented inventions." The complete original patent document is given with each item covered on the site. The highlighted patent of December 2002 is the scarecrow; however, as can be seen from the...