Some interesting discoveries that happened this month

November 1 may be remembered for a remarkable and horrifying human achievement: For, in 1952, the U.S. detonated the first hydrogen bomb. They also set off the first underground atom bomb test on November 29, 1951. Alfred Nobel patented Dynamite on November 25, in 1867. Later, of course, he decided to institute the world's largest prize for the cause of peace.

On November 2, 2000, the first residents of the International Space Station entered. November 3 is also associated with a Space first: Laika, a Siberian husky, became the first living creature, when she was launched into orbit in 1957. Many years later, on November 13, 1971, Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit a planet other than our earth: Mars.

The construction of the Kariba High Dam across the Zambesi River began on November 6, 1956. This dam altered the pulsing (seasonal flooding cycles) caused by the river, with many associated adverse effects on the ecology and estuary downstream. The Suez Canal was opened in Egypt on November 17, 1896.

Wilhelm Roentgen discovered X-rays on November 8, in 1895. Gottlieb Daimler unveiled the first motorcycle on November 10, 1885. Patents awarded include the electrical hearing aid (patented by Miller Reese on November 15, 1901), and the first zoom lens (patented by F. G. Back, on November 23, 1948). France witnessed the first balloon flight, which took place in Paris, on November 21, 1783. The world's first tidal power station also opened in this country, on November 26, 1966. The world's first videotape broadcast was aired on November 30, in 1956.