Erich Weidenhammer
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eweidenh.bsky.social
Erich Weidenhammer
@eweidenh.bsky.social
2K followers 1.7K following 93 posts
Scientific Instruments at the University of Toronto
Material culture & SciTech heritage
Sundry 3D printing and design
He/Him
Posts Replies Media Videos
eweidenh.bsky.social
I'd love to know the story behind the deep scorch marks on this handcart from the old geophysics program.
#HistSci #artifact
An very old, very worn handcart marked "GEOPHYSICS". The bed is formed by wooden planks. It has a sturdy metal handle. There are several deep scorch marks in the upper half of the wooden deck.
October 6, 2025 at 2:50 PM
eweidenh.bsky.social
I've been making various artifact mounts for a forthcoming science exhibit. These are basic 3d-printed fixtures, often mounted on lengths of MDF baseboard and reinforced internally with dowels. Thought I'd share some tips and solicit suggestions.
#histsci #histtech #3dprinting
A series of white-painted artifact mounts of various sizes and shapes arrayed on an extremely red table.
October 1, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
willsmith.fun
The first full episode of Dual Boot Diaries is up now. We talk about how our installs went, dip a bit into dual booting, and share our first thoughts about our new OSes of choice:
Episode 1: Linux Installation & First Reactions
Podcast Episode · Dual Boot Diaries · 08/29/2025 · 1h 7m
podcasts.apple.com
August 29, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
ronsexsmith.bsky.social
In honour of Mark Knopfler's birthday
Ron sings "Sultans Of Swing" RS
youtu.be/MnLxtG39fNM?...
RON SINGS "SULTANS OF SWING" WRITTEN BY MARK KNOPFLER
YouTube video by Rawnboy
youtu.be
August 12, 2025 at 1:53 PM
eweidenh.bsky.social
Back in 2017, we collected this early '80s portable hearing aid analyzer from the old Queen Elizabeth Hospital/ Toronto Rehab. This was, apparently, the first of its kind—built into a suitcase with an integrated testing chamber.

utsic.utoronto.ca/wpm_instrume...

#DisHist #histmed #sts #UTartifact
A photograph of an FP20 Portable Hearing Aid Analyzer, a microcomputer-controlled instrument introduced in 1982. The unit is housed in a standard black Samsonite briefcase. This is open in this photo revealing the white-coloured console of the unit and the testing chamber. The lid of the testing chamber is closed.
June 24, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social
Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on.

slate.com/technology/2...
Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning
Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.
slate.com
June 19, 2025 at 4:22 PM
eweidenh.bsky.social
I was grateful to meet with Dr. Robert Galway (beard), a retired Toronto orthopedic surgeon. We examined some curious prototypes of an artificial partial knee developed at Toronto General and the U of T. It was never produced. Only a few people alive know anything about it.
#Histmed #OrthoSky
A photograph of Dr. Peter Kopplin (left) and Dr. Robert Galway (right). They are standing in front of a table that holds an array of artificial knees and related items. These are arranged in chronological order. Dr. Galway was on staff at Toronto general when some of this development took place. Although he wasn't directly involved, he knows several people on the orthopedic community who may have some information.
June 10, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
eweidenh.bsky.social
Here's an acrylic prosthesis collected by Toronto surgeon Robert W. Jackson. The Judet hip was first implanted by the French brothers Robert & Jean Judet in 1946. Their Parisian clinic became a popular stop for surgeons learning the technique.
utsic.utoronto.ca/wpm_instrume...

#Histmed #OrthoSky
A side view of a clear plastic hip implant with a vaguely mushroom-like form consisting of a partially hemispherical head (taking the form of the head of the femur) and a narrow stem, which is implanted into the neck of the femur. Visible within the clear stem is a metal rod that provides reinforcement and x-ray visibility. Visible within the head are metal x-ray markers for locating the prosthetic in an x-ray image. Portions of the interior of the head are cloudy, possibly due to deterioration with time. There is a chip in the lower edge of the head. A front view of the Judet hip prosthesis giving a clearer view of the x-ray markers embedded in the acrylic head.
May 21, 2025 at 10:42 AM
eweidenh.bsky.social
Here's an acrylic prosthesis collected by Toronto surgeon Robert W. Jackson. The Judet hip was first implanted by the French brothers Robert & Jean Judet in 1946. Their Parisian clinic became a popular stop for surgeons learning the technique.
utsic.utoronto.ca/wpm_instrume...

#Histmed #OrthoSky
A side view of a clear plastic hip implant with a vaguely mushroom-like form consisting of a partially hemispherical head (taking the form of the head of the femur) and a narrow stem, which is implanted into the neck of the femur. Visible within the clear stem is a metal rod that provides reinforcement and x-ray visibility. Visible within the head are metal x-ray markers for locating the prosthetic in an x-ray image. Portions of the interior of the head are cloudy, possibly due to deterioration with time. There is a chip in the lower edge of the head. A front view of the Judet hip prosthesis giving a clearer view of the x-ray markers embedded in the acrylic head.
May 21, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
ihpst-uoft.bsky.social
. #ICYMI Meet Kira Lussier, Program Manager for AI Safety at CIFAR and IHPST alum. She’s leading discussions on AI ethics, misinformation, and safety. Her work is crucial in ensuring the responsible development of AI in Canada ihpst.utoronto.ca/news/shaping...
May 20, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
eweidenh.bsky.social
Tangentially related: The other day, Kristen den Hartog gave a wonderful presentation about her new book "The Roosting Box", a history of the Christie Street Military Hospital. It was established as the Toronto Military Orthopaedic Hospital in 1919 to treat disabled soldiers of the First World War.
This image shows a projected slide from den Hartog's presetation that depicts a black and white photo showing craftspeople (two women and a man) seated in a workshop creating facial prosthetics for disfigured veterans. The photo is credited to the U of T archives. To the right of the projector screen den Hartog at a lecturn in front of a microphone.
May 17, 2025 at 9:48 AM
eweidenh.bsky.social
I've been working on a #histmed project, focused on prosthetic artifacts, that's generously sponsored by @amshealthcare.bsky.social.
Now that I've made some headway, I'll start posting about some of the artifacts that I'm cataloguing, and various questions that I'm trying to answer.
May 15, 2025 at 10:17 AM
eweidenh.bsky.social
I made these little shadow boxes to display printouts of a scanned plaster gargoyle from my in-laws' house in SW France. They're for my brothers-in-law as mementos of the house they grew up in. I've spent a fair amount of time there with my family over the years.
Two identical shadow boxes, panted brown and black, each contain a white 3d-print of stylized knight gargoyle. These was made from a scan of an original plaster detail that's on a doorway in my in-law's house. A close up of one of the shadow boxes to better show the print.
January 15, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
isaaccallan.bsky.social
NEW: The government closed the Ontario Science Centre with only hours of warning, citing safety concerns in June.

But behind the scenes, a news release had been in the works for more than 10 days, raising questions about the rushed timing. #OnPoli

globalnews.ca/news/1087827...
Ford government spent more than a week planning ‘end-of-day’ science centre closure | Globalnews.ca
The science centre was closed just hours after an announcement on Friday, June 21. The rush, the government, was due to the urgent safety issues plaguing the building.
globalnews.ca
November 20, 2024 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
nicktsergas.ca
These are lists of curated active accounts: journalists, scientists, neat people, and of course, Canadians.

If you want to make quick work of plugging into what is honestly the best social network I've ever seen, hit 'follow all' on a couple of these and scan the rest to pick out your faves.
November 12, 2024 at 4:41 AM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
hpspodcast.bsky.social
It's here! In this episode we talk with the amazing Simon Schaffer about the classic HPS Book 'Leviathan and the Air-Pump'

The interview was so good, we have had to break it into 2 parts. Part one out today, part two next week
Listen to a master communicator at work.

#hps #histsci #philsci #sts 🧪
S4 Ep 2 - Simon Schaffer on 'Leviathan and the Air-Pump: 40 years later' (Part 1) - The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science
This episode is the first of two in which the celebrated Professor of History of Science, Simon Schaffer, discusses the famous HPS publication, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle and the Experi...
thehpspodcast.buzzsprout.com
September 25, 2024 at 10:49 PM
eweidenh.bsky.social
We had a lovely visit last week from a group heading to the Scientific Instrument Commission conference in Ottawa. We took them around and showed them some stuff.
#HistSci #HistSTM
September 21, 2024 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
eikeheine.bsky.social
I am organizing this workshop together with the fabulous @sarahmpicks.bsky.social. Here's our CfP. Please consider sending us an abstract! expeditions.hypotheses.org/494
CfP: Beyond instruments and specimens
Exploring new perspectives on the material culture of expeditionary science Deadline: July 15, 2024 Workshop Oct 18-19, 2024 at the TU Braunschweig, Germany Organized by Eike-Christian Heine and Sarah...
expeditions.hypotheses.org
June 24, 2024 at 2:41 PM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
gregoryrupik.bsky.social
Teaching introductory history and/or philosophy of science and looking for free, accessible resources? I co-authored an #openaccess textbook! Check it out, use it, and share it!
#hps

ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/introhps/
Introduction to History and Philosophy of Science – Simple Book PublishingShare on Twitter
ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub
June 6, 2024 at 11:34 AM
eweidenh.bsky.social
An interesting artifact from the history of geophysics: an undersea surveying instrument from the 1980s developed to study the the seafloor using the magnetometric resistivity (MMR) method. Richly catalogued!
utsic.utoronto.ca/wpm_instrume...

#museums #histsci #histSTM #earthsciences
The MOSES receiver in its shipping case. The case is about (64cm x 57cm x 57cm) when closed. The main central plate of the instrument nearly reaches the inner edge of the enclosure. It's pretty big. Two fluxgate magnetometer sensors adapted from Scintrex MFM-3 magnetometers are mounted orthogonally above a central aluminum plate. A large computer mainboard was probably mounted on the plate. This, unfortunately, was removed at some point. A black and white photo showing the MOSES receiver mounted in a spherical enclosure that is attached to a large tapering concrete anchor. This will carry the assembly to the seafloor. Various radio transponders are attached to the enclosure to permit the recording of its location relative to the research vessel and to facilitate its recovery once freed from the anchor. This assembly is seen suspended above the ocean surface prior to release from the Canadian survey ship Vector.
May 30, 2024 at 12:42 PM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
matildecarrera.bsky.social
So happy to see the field growing and drawing philosophical interest! This would not have been possible without the pioneering work of @alisabokulich.bsky.social!
May 20, 2024 at 3:18 PM
eweidenh.bsky.social
FYI for medical collection/ museum folks: The Museum of Health Care in Kingston, ON made a useful video series called "Collections Care for Historical Pharmaceutical Collections."
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
#museumtech #musetech #museums #histSTM
Collections Care for Historical Pharmaceutical Collections Resource Package
Share your videos with friends, family, and the world
www.youtube.com
April 28, 2024 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
rhiggitt.bsky.social
John Moyle wrote a PhD thesis at Leeds (2015) on telegraph maintenance 1850-1914, showing cables were unreliable and how companies worked to make the system appear reliable by both organising and concealing repair #histSTM #maintainers
vanjackson.bsky.social Van Jackson @vanjackson.bsky.social · Apr 17
Undersea cable breaks “happen every other day, about 200 times a year. The reason websites continue to load...is because of the thousand or so people living aboard 20-some ships stationed around the world, who race to fix each cable as soon as it breaks.” www.theverge.com/c/24070570/i...
The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat
How one crew risked radiation, storms, and currents to save Japan from digital isolation.
www.theverge.com
April 17, 2024 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by Erich Weidenhammer
paulseesequasis.bsky.social
Fairly rare photograph for the period: A normal street scene in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Indigenous children disembarking from a Red River cart. Photographed around 1900.

Photo: Mabel Dumais | maa Museum. University of Cambridge.
February 7, 2024 at 8:28 PM