Wisconsin 101

Preventing Hearing Loss

In 1953, Wisconsin added occupational hearing loss to the list of claimable conditions under workers compensation. Employers Mutual of Wausau quickly created a program that would make the company an industry leader in hearing loss prevention. Creating a hearing loss prevention program not only…

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May 24, 2018

Science & Technology / Education / Williams Bay / Related Stories / Walworth County / Yerkes Telescope / Nature & Environment / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / Science & Medicine / Region 8 - South East

Astronomy in the 1900s

In the 1800s, astronomers valued telescope magnification to investigate planets and stars. In the 1900s, astronomers started to ask questions about the structure of our galaxy, the Milky Way, which lead to greater emphasis on light-gathering power. By 1951, William Morgan at…

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May 9, 2018

Science & Technology / Williams Bay / Education / Related Stories / Walworth County / Yerkes Telescope / Nature & Environment / 1877-1900 / Science & Medicine / Region 8 - South East

Yerkes Telescope Construction and Use

The construction of the 40-inch refracting telescope at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, was directed by George Hale, an astrophysicist at the University of Chicago, and funded by Charles Yerkes, a Chicago businessman. The telescope is made of 40-inch glass lenses manufactured by…

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May 9, 2018

Grade-school children using a Babcock butter fat testing device, Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, c. 1915. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives.

Agriculture / Science & Technology / Health & Medicine / Dairy Industry / Industry / Dane County / Madison / Education / Related Stories / Curators' Favorites / Manufacturing & Trade / 1877-1900 / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center / Babcock Butterfat Tester

How Does a Babcock Tester Work?

Simplicity, Simplicity, SimplicityIn 1890, few farmers had ever taken a science class, and even if they understood the potential benefit, most lacked the cash to pay an expert for laboratory testing. Babcock’s great accomplishment was to develop a powerful, reliable test that was simple…

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December 1, 2013

The men behind the butterfat test. Left: Portrait of Stephen Moulton Babcock, 1890-1899. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives. Right: Portrait of F.G. Short, 1890-1899. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives.

Agriculture / Industry / Dairy Industry / Health & Medicine / Science & Technology / Education / Dane County / Madison / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / 1877-1900 / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center / Babcock Butterfat Tester

The Men Behind the Butterfat Test

The “Real” InventorAlthough Stephen M. Babcock has been immortalized for his work on the butterfat test that received his name, it was not really his idea. The Babcock test was originally conceived by the forgotten man of the dairy industry, Frederick Garland Short. Short,…

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December 1, 2013