Saturday, April 25

Really Old Pulse Monitor

1881 direct sphymograph
Apparently invented by E.J.Marey

sphymograph

No, I’m not running with that on my arm!
In fact this weekend – I will be running my race [Eugene Half-marathon] sans the Garmin. But I will be wearing a watch!

Advantages
Disadvantages
  • Have no idea how fast I'm starting. (Must start slow…)
  • Have no idea how far I’ve gone – if I miss a mile marker.
  • Won’t be able to map my memorable run in Google Earth.
  • No handy compass. Never know - might get lost along the way.
  • No one will ask me, “Just how fast are we going?”
Trivia
  • We owe the second hand on watches to physician Sir John Floyer (1649-1734), who used it to time his patients' pulse.

Above image - Wellcome Images - 2000 Years of Human Culture
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