Learned This Week - 27 June 2009
Our weekly compilation of interesting new tools, resources and stories for genealogists:
Great Tool to Help You Manage Your Online Life - Many genealogists use multiple online services such as Facebook, Flickr, etc.. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to use the same name for all your websites? A new free service called Name Check will check over 75 popular sites for any name your specify. It will tell you which sites have the name available and which sites already have the name in use by someone else. And best of all, it checks all the site in real time on your behalf. This is an excellent efficiency tool for any genealogist looking to clean up their online presence. Even if you do not have an online presence on Facebook or other networking sites, it is worth checking out this site just to see it in action. Really neat! [Link]
Google City Tours - Google has launched a new tool called City Tours. Give the application a city name and Google will suggest sites to see. It will even map out an itinerary for you or you can create your own. Very useful for anyone wanting to travel to multiple sites in one city. [Link]
World Digital Library - The World Digital Library is a neat site for genealogists. Go to the homepage and move the slider on the bottom of the page to the time period that you are interested in and the digital library will show you everything in its collection that is from the specified period. Lots of useful stuff on this site for genealogists. [Link] For example, check out Albert Einstein's application for US citizenship. [Link]
Plane Graveyard - Ever wondered what a plane graveyard looks like from the air? Check out this image. [Link]
35,000 Year-old Flute - Scientists have discovered a 35,000 year-old flute in the Ach Valley of southern Germany according to a study published this week in the journal Nature. The five-hole flute was meticulously carved from the hollow wing-bone of a giant vulture. It is the oldest known musical instrument. [Link]
Facedown Burials a Sign of Disrespect - National Geographic has an interesting news story about how people buried facedown (i.e. not looking up at the sky) was used to show disrespect and to humiliate the deceased. Apparently, this tradition spans many cultures and many different time periods. [Link]
