Latest news with #SmithsonianNationalMuseumofAmericanHistory
Newsweek
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Seatbelts Get a Digital-Age, Connected-Technology Safety Makeover
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Volvo pioneered the modern seatbelt in 1959, debuting the three-point harness that had a single strap running from shoulder to hip and across the lap of a driver. Technology has improved the design over the last three-quarters of a century, but concept remains the much the same. That invention is a pillar of the company's safety focus. Volvo Cars has repeatedly underscored its commitment to reducing fatalities and serious injuries in motor vehicle accidents throughout the years, whether by introducing new high-tech solutions or improving vehicle body structure. "At Volvo Cars, safety isn't a wish. We actually bring that bold ambition into action, and we reach there by relentless and rigorous testing in this crash lab," Åsa Haglund, head of the Safety Center at Volvo Cars, told Newsweek ahead of the first public three-car sequenced crash test in Torslanda, Sweden. "Safety isn't magic. It is a matter of dedication, insight and engineering accidents, and that has led us to a long list of safety innovations," Haglund pointed out. Volvo pioneered many components that are standard in cars from manufacturers across the globe today: inflatable airbag curtains (1998), blind spot monitoring technology (2003), rearward-facing child safety seats (1972) and more. The actual three point safety belt and seat from a Volvo PV 544 model year 1961 that was donated to Smithsonian National Museum of American History on July 14, 2010. The actual three point safety belt and seat from a Volvo PV 544 model year 1961 that was donated to Smithsonian National Museum of American History on July 14, 2010. Volvo Cars "As technology evolves, of course, so do we... Building on our knowledge from real world traffic and driven by our ambition to make cars safer for everyone, we set our own safety standard," Haglund said. The Volvo Safety Standard is "far more stringent than any requirement or rating regulation to achieve five stars," she explained, saying that it is more than a set of safety test cases, rather a mindset that determines how Volvo engineers its products. It is with that mindset that the company has updated the three-point harness, giving it a digital-age makeover that brings sensing and connected technology to the safety device. The multi-adaptive safety belt will first come to market in the forthcoming Volvo EX60 battery-electric SUV, which will debut and go on sale soon. The new safety belt uses computing technology to pair its digital footprint with sensors inside the vehicle that meshes real-time data with information from the outside and inside of the vehicle to better protect Volvo vehicle occupants. The belt adapts its safety settings, such as tension amount, depending on the height, weight, body shape and seating position of the seat occupant. An occupant wearing the Volvo Cars multi-adaptive safety belt in a crash simulation. An occupant wearing the Volvo Cars multi-adaptive safety belt in a crash simulation. Volvo Cars This differentiation is made because bodies do not respond identically in collisions. A taller occupant is at a higher risk of head injury in a serious collision. With the new safety belt, they will receive a higher load setting to help reduce their risk of head injury. A petite person in a less severe crash would receive a lower belt load setting to limit the risk of rib fractures, the company said. "No one is the same. Everyone is different. Everyone has different shapes, different size and different protective needs. And then you add to that, that you can crash in so many different ways, and anything can really happen in the field, you realize that protective safety systems inside the car, they need to be able to adapt to a lot of different situations. They need to adapt a lot to different people," Dr. Lotta Jakobsson, Volvo's senior technical specialist for injury prevention, told Newsweek. Today's seatbelts are generally a one-size-fits-all approach, though their sophistication varies by automaker and vehicle. The innovative, new Volvo belts are the product of five decades of safety research that has been conducted across 80,000 occupants of real-life car accidents. The company intends to make use of the connected vehicle architecture of the EX60 to update the safety belt's profiles over time, improving the effectiveness, via the car's over-the-air software update capability.
The Independent
11-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Mandelson can be ‘champion' for NI in US, Little-Pengelly says
The appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK Ambassador to the US is a 'huge opportunity for Northern Ireland', the deputy First Minister has said. DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly met Lord Mandelson at the British Embassy in Washington, DC on Tuesday. Speaking after the meeting, Ms Little-Pengelly said his previous work as Northern Ireland Secretary provided a chance for the ambassador to be a 'real champion' for the region. She said: 'We had a detailed and productive meeting on a wide range of issues today. This includes on ongoing international issues, the engagements in the White House coming up this week and on how better we can work together to promote Northern Ireland as part of the Embassy work in the USA. 'Lord Mandelson served as our Secretary of State and has a detailed knowledge and understanding of Northern Ireland. This provides a huge opportunity to have a real champion in Washington who will promote Northern Ireland as the UK Ambassador. 'This is particularly the case as we head towards the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 'Many from what is now Northern Ireland were the founding fathers of the United States. The potential to use our shared heritage and history as a way of promoting Northern Ireland is significant.' Ms Little-Pengelly said she and Communities Minister Gordon Lyons will be 'seeking to harness' those opportunities during their engagements in the US. Meanwhile, the Ulster American Folk Park in Co Tyrone is to receive a £750,000 funding boost as part of a drive to increase cultural and heritage links with the US. The announcement was made by Mr Lyons during a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. The museum tells the story of the emigration of people from Ulster to North America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Mr Lyons said: 'It is fitting that I announce this investment in the Ulster American Folk Park The Journey Ahead project at the iconic Smithsonian in Washington. 'The museum chronicles the history of emigration from Ulster to the United States and its profound impact on the formation of modern America. 'This announcement is the first step in unlocking over £20 million through the Mid South West Growth Deal, an investment which will transform what the museum can offer, enhancing the visitor experience and driving tourism to the wider area.' He added: 'Our story and the heritage we share with the US is a history worth telling. 'Our connections make Northern Ireland a deeply resonant tourist destination for many Americans wishing to learn more about their Ulster Scots roots. 'I want to ensure we can attract these visitors and share the story of their ancestors' journey from our local shores, providing visitors with new ways to engage with this captivating narrative.' The funding will modernise the museum's welcome centre with updated interpretation and exhibitions. It will also enhance the immersive storytelling experience across the open-air museum. Mr Lyons was joined by Kathryn Thompson, chief executive of National Museums NI and Professor Margaret Topping, pro-vice-chancellor for global engagement at Queen's University Belfast.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mandelson can be ‘champion' for NI in US, Little-Pengelly says
The appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK Ambassador to the US is a 'huge opportunity for Northern Ireland', the deputy First Minister has said. DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly met Lord Mandelson at the British Embassy in Washington, DC on Tuesday. Speaking after the meeting, Ms Little-Pengelly said his previous work as Northern Ireland Secretary provided a chance for the ambassador to be a 'real champion' for the region. She said: 'We had a detailed and productive meeting on a wide range of issues today. This includes on ongoing international issues, the engagements in the White House coming up this week and on how better we can work together to promote Northern Ireland as part of the Embassy work in the USA. 'Lord Mandelson served as our Secretary of State and has a detailed knowledge and understanding of Northern Ireland. This provides a huge opportunity to have a real champion in Washington who will promote Northern Ireland as the UK Ambassador. 'This is particularly the case as we head towards the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 'Many from what is now Northern Ireland were the founding fathers of the United States. The potential to use our shared heritage and history as a way of promoting Northern Ireland is significant.' Ms Little-Pengelly said she and Communities Minister Gordon Lyons will be 'seeking to harness' those opportunities during their engagements in the US. Meanwhile, the Ulster American Folk Park in Co Tyrone is to receive a £750,000 funding boost as part of a drive to increase cultural and heritage links with the US. The announcement was made by Mr Lyons during a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. The museum tells the story of the emigration of people from Ulster to North America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Mr Lyons said: 'It is fitting that I announce this investment in the Ulster American Folk Park The Journey Ahead project at the iconic Smithsonian in Washington. 'The museum chronicles the history of emigration from Ulster to the United States and its profound impact on the formation of modern America. 'This announcement is the first step in unlocking over £20 million through the Mid South West Growth Deal, an investment which will transform what the museum can offer, enhancing the visitor experience and driving tourism to the wider area.' He added: 'Our story and the heritage we share with the US is a history worth telling. 'Our connections make Northern Ireland a deeply resonant tourist destination for many Americans wishing to learn more about their Ulster Scots roots. 'I want to ensure we can attract these visitors and share the story of their ancestors' journey from our local shores, providing visitors with new ways to engage with this captivating narrative.' The funding will modernise the museum's welcome centre with updated interpretation and exhibitions. It will also enhance the immersive storytelling experience across the open-air museum. Mr Lyons was joined by Kathryn Thompson, chief executive of National Museums NI and Professor Margaret Topping, pro-vice-chancellor for global engagement at Queen's University Belfast.
New York Times
14-02-2025
- General
- New York Times
Overlooked No More: Lena Richard, Who Brought Creole Cooking to the Masses
This article is part of Overlooked, a series of obituaries about remarkable people whose deaths, beginning in 1851, went unreported in The Times. In 1949, as the chef Lena Richard stirred steaming pots of okra gumbo and shrimp bisque on live TV in New Orleans, viewers across the city — mostly white housewives and the few Black women who could afford a television set — scribbled down ingredients and instructions, eager to bring her Creole flavors into their own homes. After the studio lights cooled on the set of her show, 'Lena Richard's New Orleans Cook Book,' on WDSU-TV, cameramen pushed past one another for leftovers. Viewers moved from couch to kitchen, measuring, chopping, boiling and frying, adding a little pinch of this, substituting a little dash of that. During the Jim Crow era, when domestic work was the primary form of employment for Black women, Richard found a measure of fame as a champion of Southern cuisine, and in particular Creole cooking — a fusion of primarily French, Spanish, West African and Native American ingredients and techniques that originated in New Orleans and often includes a roux (a mixture of flour and fat used as a thickening agent) and a 'holy trinity' of onions, bell peppers and celery. Not only was Richard the first Black person to host a television cooking show and to write a Creole cookbook, but she also owned three popular restaurants, established a line of frozen foods, and founded a catering company and cooking school, according to the historian Ashley Rose Young. 'She was an entrepreneur who built a business despite structural barriers in place,' Young, who once worked for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's Food History Project, said in an interview. 'How did she secure loans? How did she secure the lease for her restaurant business? We don't know.' Young has been searching for clues to Richard's life — photographs, correspondence, business agreements, diaries — which have been lost to moves, mishaps and misunderstandings. (No recordings are known to exist of her 30-minute cooking show, which was seen twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, in 1949 and 1950.) And she has been partnering with Paula Rhodes, Richard's granddaughter, to compile a biography. Rhodes, a human rights lawyer who was 1 year old when Richard died, said she was impressed by her grandmother's ability to carve out a career. 'She was a dark-skinned Black woman,' she said in an interview. 'Colorism was front and center in New Orleans, not only from the white community but within the Black community. If you were lighter than a brown grocery store bag, you could have certain privileges. She didn't meet those standards.' Lena Richard, who was baptized Marie Aurina Paul, was born on Sept. 11, 1892, in New Roads, La., about 100 miles northwest of New Orleans. Census records show that she was one of 10 children of Jean-Pierre Paul, a farmer, and Françoise Laurent, who cooked for the New Orleans garter manufacturer Nugent Vairin and his wife, Alice, and their five children. The Vairins hired Lena to cook for them when she was a teenager, and she prepared lunch before graduating to more complex dinners and events. Lena's employer, recognizing her early culinary talent, 'told me that I could go to the store and pick out any kind of cooking utensils that I wanted,' Richard said in a statement found in the archives of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 'and that she was going to give me cooking lessons and send me to cooking schools and every demonstration. If no other colored woman could get places, I certainly could.' 'She was very fortunate that she was championed by the white person for whom she cooked,' Jessica B. Harris, a historian and the author of 'High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey From Africa to America' (2011), said in an interview, adding, 'Had that not taken place, her talent may never have had a chance to be developed.' In 1918, Richard was sent to Fannie Farmer's School of Cookery in Boston. 'When I got up there, I found out in a hurry they can't teach me much more than I know,' she told The New York Herald Tribune in 1939. 'I learned things about new desserts and salads, but when it comes to cooking meats, stews, soups and sauces, we Southern cooks have Northern cooks beat by a mile.' When she returned to Louisiana, Richard began working for herself, catering parties, weddings and debutante balls. Her husband, Percival Richard, whom she had married in 1914, managed maintenance duties for her. In 1937 she established a cooking school, where she tested her recipes and provided Black students with the skills to open their own businesses. Among her specialties were crawfish bisque, turtle soup, potato pancakes, stewed eggs and oysters, a 16-pound fruitcake, and lamb chops with pineapple. She began receiving so many requests for her recipes that she published 'Lena Richard's Cook Book' in 1939. (It was later republished as 'New Orleans Cook Book.) The book — dedicated to Alice Vairin, who had died in 1931 — included traditional recipes from other Black cooks who influenced Creole cuisine. Richard dictated more than 300 recipes, menus and culinary tips to her daughter, Marie, who wrote them down and then passed them on to a typist. To pay the printer, Richard held cooking demonstrations. She toured the country to promote her cookbook, selling 700 copies priced at $2 each in one month. The book went beyond Southern cuisine to include recipes for chocolate waffles, asparagus sandwiches and tea dainties. 'Her recipes are not only Creole but for tea parties and other events,' the chef and TV personality Carla Hall said in an interview, adding, 'If she wanted to hit a really wide market with her cookbook, she'd have to include ingredients that people were familiar with.' Richard quickly catapulted to fame in the culinary world. She was hired as the head chef at the Bird and Bottle Inn in Garrison, N.Y., and at Travis House in Colonial Williamsburg, Va. In 1945, she set up her frozen food business, shipping stews, okra gumbo and other dishes from New Orleans to New York, California and Panama. 'Black middle class always meant you were one paycheck away from poverty,' Rhodes said, but Richard 'was a good businesswoman. She was always looking for ways to make money.' In 1949 Richard opened Lena Richard's Gumbo House across the street from a white neighborhood. Known as Mama Lena to her customers, she served 54 gallons of gumbo a week on 12 tables covered with white tablecloths and, defying segregation laws, served Black and white patrons, including the white priest and parishioners from the nearby Holy Ghost Catholic Church. On Sunday, Nov. 26, 1950, Richard attended mass, then went to her restaurant to meet a devotee who had flown in from Los Angeles and ordered every item on the menu. After a long day, Richard complained of feeling unwell and returned to her home in New Orleans. She died there of a heart attack early the next morning. She was 58. Richard's legacy was bequeathed to Dee Lavigne in 2022, when Lavigne became the second Black woman in New Orleans to open a cooking school. Richard's legacy lives on: In 1940, Houghton Mifflin republished her cookbook as 'New Orleans Cook Book,' and the chef Terri Coleman has been cooking her way through it on YouTube and TikTok. 'She seemed like a woman that just kept going,' Coleman said in a Zoom interview. 'She didn't take no for an answer, and she did what she wanted to do. Lena Richard is very much alive with us because we are using her recipes.'
USA Today
10-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
A penny for their thoughts: Americans say ‘time to move on' from the coin
A penny for their thoughts: Americans say 'time to move on' from the coin Show Caption Hide Caption President Trump pauses penny production The penny may soon be obsolete because President Trump told the treasury department to stop making them. Fox - 5 NY WASHINGTON, D.C. – Americans have a message for the penny: Good riddance. Around the country, people of all ages are expressing giddiness, relief ‒ as well as a bit of wistfulness ‒ over President Donald Trump's plan to direct the Treasury Department to stop minting 1-cent coins. 'It's probably the only good idea I've heard in the last two weeks,' said Walt Rok, who was visiting the Smithsonian National Museum of American History with his wife, Pat, from their home in Rhode Island on Monday. Despite childhood nostalgia associated with the coin, Rok, 70, said he agreed with Trump's assessment that the penny simply costs too much. Many others agreed with him. USA TODAY spoke with more than a dozen people on Monday, most of whom suggested the 233-year-old coin is a relic of the past better remembered in places like the Smithsonian, than at the bottom of their junk drawers and purses. A penny-presser machine near the museum gift shop that spits out elongated copper-colored souvenirs no longer allows patrons to use their own pennies. Once requiring people to plop in four quarters and a penny, the machine now asks that they pay with dollar bills, a credit card, or their Apple digital wallet. Chris Jacobsen, 59, who was visiting from Michigan, saw the change as a sign of the times. 'I think it should just be shelved, honored for what it was,' Jacobsen said of the penny. 'Time to move on.' A pretty penny's nostalgia For many, pennies stand as an enduring reminder of youth – a time when one cent was enough to buy a piece of candy, each new year marked a fresh chance to add a new Lincoln-faced coin to their collection book and finding a penny on the street meant a year of good luck. When David Hartgrove was growing up in Miami in the 1950s, he would pile the coins atop the counter at his neighborhood sundries store to load up on penny candy. Hartgrove said he had fond memories of walking to school back then, picking up bottles alongside the busy 4-lane highway. One glass bottle could be turned in for three pennies. 'When you're 8-years-old, you don't have a lot of money-making capabilities,' Hartgrove remembered. 'Going out and finding Coke bottles, Nehi bottles and Pepsi bottles on the side of the road and taking them to the store allowed you to buy enough candy to live like a king for a half-hour.' As a young boy in the logging town of Aberdeen, Washington, Caleb Backholm, now 50, never walked past a penny without picking it up. In grade-school, Backholm and a group of his friends would take any pennies they had found throughout the day and hastily slip them into a gumball machine near their bus stop. More: How much do pennies cost to make? Here's what to know as Trump calls for pause on production 'When you got a piece of gum that was a good day,' Backholm , 50, said. But today, like many, he can't remember the last time he used a penny to buy something. The father of three said his children – all between 18 and 23 years old – did not have the same relationship with the coin that he had as a child. 'When I was [growing up,] if you saw a penny on the ground, you stopped and you got it, and it meant something,' he said. 'That era is gone. I wish it wasn't the case but it is.' Others, like Marilyn Mason, see the death of the penny as 'history in the making' that could bode well for coin collectors, including her son. The 88-year-old associates the copper coin with her childhood penny loafers and the summer afternoons when she and her friends would place them on a railroad track and wait for a train to smash them down. To this day, Mason, a retired accountant, checks the date on most pennies she comes across, looking to see whether it corresponds with an important moment or occasion in her life, such as her mother's birth year. 'There may be a time people will look back and say, 'Remember when they had pennies?'' A penny saved Not everyone is excited about the history-making potential and decluttering that could arise from the loss of the penny. Otha Anders, 82, has been collecting pennies for more than five decades. He vowed when he started to never spend one unless he absolutely had to and at one point amassed more than $5,130 worth of pennies, which he stored in 15 five-gallon plastic water jugs around his Ruston, Louisiana home. But he was forced to cash them in a decade ago to pay a large dental bill. When asked if he'd be sad to see the Treasury Department stop minting the coins, Anders was emphatic: 'Yes, I would. Yes, yes, yes, yes, because they mean just that much to me.' Anders said he started saving pennies in 1970 because whenever he spotted one on the street or got one back as change, he saw it as a reminder to thank God. 'I'd give you a dollar before I would give you a penny,' Anders said.
