Will check in later for clues. Off to do errands and buy a gift for tomorrow's wedding shower.

Same here, will check in later for clues. By the way today is actor Norman Lloyd's 100th birthday and the amazing thing is he's still active and looking for his next role.

Annette

Looking for clues. Haven't come up with ideas while cleaning this morning. :(

Cynthia

And good morning to you, Nancy. It's cold and not clear here, and the cold is expected to deepen and stay around for a week or so. Oh well, it is November.

I know something quite important that was discovered in 1895 by a guy named Wilhelm R., but I don't know that it revolutionized the world so it probably isn't what we're looking for.

TM

Ahh, TM - you saw right through me. While you may not think it revolutionized the world, think of all the things we could not do without it!!

Nancy.

???

Cynthia

Ahh. I see. And a clue too!

TM

Cynthia. I thought I was being transparent. Perhaps the waves should wash over me.

Nancy.

Ah ha, I think I caught a clue. Will wait for another to confirm :)

Annette

You may be being transparent, but I am, apparently, completely obtuse. Sigh. Let's see...something see-through...

Cynthia

I wrote a post earlier but it seems to have disappeared. Maybe I previewed and then clicked off.

With 6-8" of snow expected over the next two days I've been racing around the garden cutting back the last of the grasses and perennials. Pulled up the lingering annuals and stored miscellaneous items. Picked up shredded leaves from neighbor and used them to mulch certain plants. Added the heater for the bird bath.

I'm exhausted and ready for a glass of water then a long shower.

Edited to add: after reading everyone's postings and clues I think I was on the wrong path. Perhaps I need to put on glasses to see through all the dark matter between my ears.

This post was edited by mnwsgal on Sat, Nov 8, 14 at 21:00

...and it can be blocked by lead :).

Annette

Lead blocking...my favorite super hero finds lead blocks his as well.

I think we are almost there - Cynthia - do you remember going to get new shoes when you were a kid? They had a neat way to check if your shoes fit you correctly!! Too think of the number of times I did that - lol.

Nancy.

Ooh, ooh, ooh...Superman...lead! I have it! X-rays!

Now, I never experienced that to check how my new shoes fit. Cool. Guess we were not as advanced in southeastern Pennsylvania. Our shoe guy just had us stand up and he pressed the toes of the shoes to decide if they fit.

Great clues now that I figured it out!

Cynthia

Yep, X-rays, discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen.

TM

Agree, Xrays.

No X-Ray machines during my young shoe buying excursions either, though DH said he remembered using them. I remember standing on a metal shoe scale with its moveable front to tell what size shoe one needed. By the time I was a teenager we had self service shoe fitting in a discount store and we would guess our size then try a pair. The press your finger to the toe to see if there was a bit of free space became the standard.

Never had a pair of those X-Ray glasses but saw them advertised in the Superman comics I read.

Sorry I am late back to do the reveal, but you all had the answer!!

German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen is usually credited as the discoverer of X-rays in 1895, because he was the first to systematically study them, though he is not the first to have observed their effects. He is also the one who gave them the name "X-rays" (signifying an unknown quantity though many others referred to these as "Röntgen rays" (and the associated X-ray radiograms as, "Röntgenograms") for several decades after their discovery and even to this day in some languages, including Röntgen's native German. Rontgen's discovery occurred accidentally in his Wurzburg, Germany, lab, where he was testing whether cathode rays could pass through glass when he noticed a glow coming from a nearby chemically coated screen. He dubbed the rays that caused this glow X-rays because of their unknown nature. Rontgen's discovery was labeled a medical miracle and X-rays soon became an important diagnostic tool in medicine, allowing doctors to see inside the human body for the first time without surgery. In 1897, X-rays were first used on a military battlefield, during the Balkan War, to find bullets and broken bones inside patients.
Scientists were quick to realize the benefits of X-rays, but slower to comprehend the harmful effects of radiation. Initially, it was believed X-rays passed through flesh as harmlessly as light. However, within several years, researchers began to report cases of burns and skin damage after exposure to X-rays, and in 1904, Thomas Edison's assistant, Clarence Dally, who had worked extensively with X-rays, died of skin cancer.
The rest, as they say, is history!

So, for everyone:

Thanks for playing. See you all next week. I am still pondering Cynthia's question, while it seems the rest of you have it !!

Nancy.

Thanks for the fun question, Nancy. I needed the clues as had no idea "Röntgen rays" were observed and documented on this day in history.

I can proudly say we Germans are a scientific people.

Good one, Nancy!

Thank you.

TM