On this day in 1914, the world’s first traffic signal was installed in Cleveland Ohio. This neat article from Artsy takes a look into the history of traffic lights.
It was thanks to a generous gift from millionaire physician and New York commissioner of traffic, Dr. John A. Harriss, that the city’s traffic problem finally got a reprieve. His 1920 design for a simple, two-light signal, which consisted of a wooden shed housing light bulbs and supported by a steel base frame, was nothing to look at, but it quickly helped to solve the problem of endless gridlock. By 1922, an elegant neoclassical bronze tower design by Joseph H. Freedlander was unveiled, further cementing the importance of signaling systems in the life of the thriving metropolis. Notably, both of these early systems used green for “Stop” and white or clear for “Go.”
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
