10 YEARS AGO — 2001
Go-anywhere rescue hovercraft: A new six-seater hovercraft rescue vehicle goes places traditional lifeboats can’t reach. The 25-ft Griffon 450TD, from U. K. developer Griffon Hovercraft, hits speeds to 30 knots and uses 3 gallons of fuel/hr. The hovercraft gives rescue operations more flexibility because it operates over deep and shallow water, land, mud, sand, ice, weeds, debris, swamps, and rocks and rapids. Most lifeboats, in contrast, must stay close to shore.
30 YEARS AGO — 1981
Chrysler to resurrect the convertible: Planned for production in 1982, a convertible from Chrysler Corp. will be a derivative of all-new front-wheel-drive compacts to be introduced this year. The company last offered a convertible 10 years ago. The trend to air conditioning and high-quality sound systems reduced the convertible’s popularity, but researchers say there is still an interest in convertibles and T-bar, sun, and moon roofs. Chrysler will be the first U. S. manufacturer in the convertible market in five years.
50 YEARS AGO — 1961
A square fluorescent lamp, introduced by General Electric Co., is 115/8 in. on a side and 1½ in. deep. Its waffle-pattern face plate diffuses light from a 5-ft-long arc. Two types emit light in equal amounts from front and back or mostly from the front, by means of a reflective coating on the back. The lamps are rated at 50 and 80 W.
