Halkett boat refers to two types of lightweight inflatable boat
designed by Lt Peter Halkett during the 1840s. Halkett had long been
interested in the difficulties of travelling in the Canadian Arctic,
and the problems involved in designing boats light enough to be carried
over arduous terrain, but robust enough to be used in extreme weather
conditions. Halkett's first design was a collapsible and inflatable
boat made of rubber-impregnated cloth. When deflated, the hull of the
boat could be worn as a cloak, the oar used as a walking stick, and the
sail as an umbrella. This was followed by a two-man craft that was
small enough to fit into a knapsack, and when deflated served as a
waterproof blanket. Although widely praised by Canadian explorers, the
market for Halkett's designs was limited, and he was unable to persuade
the Royal Navy that they would serve any useful purpose in general
naval service. Efforts to market them as platforms for fishing and duck
shooting failed, and they were commercially unsuccessful. Only a single
Halkett boat, that of Orcadian explorer John Rae, is known to survive
today.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halkett_boat>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
68:
Roman Emperor Nero committed suicide after he was deposed by the
Senate.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero>
1815:
The Congress of Vienna ended, redrawing the political map of Europe
after the defeat of Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Vienna>
1856:
Mormon pioneers began leaving Iowa City, Iowa, and headed west for Salt
Lake City, Utah, carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled
handcarts.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_handcart_pioneers>
1885:
A peace treaty was signed to end the Sino-French War, with China
eventually giving up Tonkin and Annam, most of present-day Vietnam, to
France.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-French_War>
1928:
Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew landed their
Southern Cross aircraft in Brisbane, completing the first ever
trans-Pacific flight from the United States mainland to Australia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kingsford_Smith>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
nostrum (n):
A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to
have any desirable medical effects
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nostrum>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
In olden days a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking
But now, Heaven knows,
Anything goes.
--Cole Porter
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cole_Porter>