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Featured Friday Finds stories

Friday Find: Listen to these tornado safety announcements from the 1960s

May 3, 2024

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extreme weather

Photos of the front of the Owlie Skywarn card, showing Owlie the owl with his wings around three children with the words, "SKYWARN Tips for TORNADO SAFETY."

Friday Find: Owlie Skywarn cards

April 12, 2024

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Photos of the front of the Owlie Skywarn card, showing Owlie the owl with his wings around three children with the words, "SKYWARN Tips for TORNADO SAFETY."

1936 black and white photo of a 22 inch diameter grouping of ice crystals on the ground.

Friday Find: Supersized ice crystals

February 9, 2024

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1936 black and white photo of a 22 inch diameter grouping of ice crystals on the ground.

Black and white photo of a woman in a miniskirt and winter coat walking through the snow and holding her hat on her head.

Friday Find: Snowy photos of blizzards from years past

January 12, 2024

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Black and white photo of a woman in a miniskirt and winter coat walking through the snow and holding her hat on her head.

Friday Find: USC&GS rating badge

December 15, 2023

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Marine & Aviation

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Friday Find: USC&GS cooks & stewards pin

December 1, 2023

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Marine & Aviation

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A photo of the bell from the USC&GS Ship Hydrographer. The bell hangs from a cherrywood pyramid-shaped frame.

Friday Find: The Hydrographer’s bell

October 20, 2023

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Marine & Aviation

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A photo of the bell from the USC&GS Ship Hydrographer. The bell hangs from a cherrywood pyramid-shaped frame.

Friday Find: Captain Heck's naval ceremonial sword

October 6, 2023

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Marine & Aviation

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George Washington Carver’s completed Voluntary Cooperative Meteorological Record from December 1899. There are columns for temperature, precipitation, prevailing wind direction, and character of day, as well as a section for overall notes for the month.

Friday Find: The weather logs of George Washington Carver

September 22, 2023

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George Washington Carver’s completed Voluntary Cooperative Meteorological Record from December 1899. There are columns for temperature, precipitation, prevailing wind direction, and character of day, as well as a section for overall notes for the month.

Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz signing surrender document on board the USS MISSOURI (BB-63), at left are Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Adm. William F. Halsey, and R. Adm. Forrest P. Sherman, Deputy Chief of Staff for Adm. Nimitz.

Friday Find: Famous photo honors science contributions to WWII efforts

August 25, 2023

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Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz signing surrender document on board the USS MISSOURI (BB-63), at left are Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Adm. William F. Halsey, and R. Adm. Forrest P. Sherman, Deputy Chief of Staff for Adm. Nimitz.

Photo of the u-tube tsunameter used on USC&GS Ship Pathfinder until 1970 to warn of impending tsunamis.

Friday Find: Mystery tide and tsunami detector

August 11, 2023

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extreme weather

Photo of the u-tube tsunameter used on USC&GS Ship Pathfinder until 1970 to warn of impending tsunamis.

This is a clear bottle with a US Coast and Geodetic Survey flag. There is a pink drift card inside.

Friday Find: Adrift for the sake of science

July 28, 2023

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tides and currents

This is a clear bottle with a US Coast and Geodetic Survey flag. There is a pink drift card inside.

A painting of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey ship Pathfinder on the water.

Friday Find: Antonio Jacobsen’s Pathfinder painting

June 23, 2023

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Marine & Aviation

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A painting of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey ship Pathfinder on the water.

The flag of U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Director Rear Admiral Lee Otis Colbert. It is a blue field with a large white equilateral triangle in the center and two smaller stars on either side. The hoist has two brass grommets and is marked “DIRECTOR.FLAG. NO 2.”

Friday Find: a WWII-era director’s flag

June 9, 2023

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NOAA Administrator

NOAA leadership

The flag of U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Director Rear Admiral Lee Otis Colbert. It is a blue field with a large white equilateral triangle in the center and two smaller stars on either side. The hoist has two brass grommets and is marked “DIRECTOR.FLAG. NO 2.”

A Purple Heart medal lies on a black background. The medal features George Washington's head and Washington, DC's coat of arms and hangs from a purple ribbon with white borders.

Friday Find: Purple Heart honoring weather observers lost at sea in 1942

May 26, 2023

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A Purple Heart medal lies on a black background. The medal features George Washington's head and Washington, DC's coat of arms and hangs from a purple ribbon with white borders.

An early 20th century barocyclonometer. The dark wooden case is closed and bears a sticker with "cyclonometer" written on it.

Friday Find: The barocyclonometer, a hurricane detection relic from an age of unrest and exploration

May 12, 2023

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An early 20th century barocyclonometer. The dark wooden case is closed and bears a sticker with "cyclonometer" written on it.

An etched copper plate used for printing maps and charts in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This one is of Anacapa Island and was etched by American artist James McNeill Whistler. It features an overhead view of the island, as well a a side view of the coast, to which he added several birds flying overhead. The image on the plate is depicted backwards for use with a printing press. The artists had to use a mirror to etch the map from a reference sketch.

Friday Find: Doodles from famous artist's time at NOAA's Coast Survey

April 14, 2023

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nautical charts and maps

An etched copper plate used for printing maps and charts in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This one is of Anacapa Island and was etched by American artist James McNeill Whistler. It features an overhead view of the island, as well a a side view of the coast, to which he added several birds flying overhead. The image on the plate is depicted backwards for use with a printing press. The artists had to use a mirror to etch the map from a reference sketch.

A graphic with a blue backgrounds and black and white photos of six women who worked in NOAA’s Coast and Geodetic Survey, Geodesy Division in 1967. The headline reads, "The Women of NOAA's Geodesy Division, 1967". Their names are in script above or below each photo. Pictured are: Jeanne L. Hess, Catherine C. Mortenson, Jean S. Campbell, Roma W. Miller, Helen Stettner, and Maralyn Louise Vorhauer.

Friday Find: Geodesy, definitely a place for women

March 31, 2023

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A graphic with a blue backgrounds and black and white photos of six women who worked in NOAA’s Coast and Geodetic Survey, Geodesy Division in 1967. The headline reads, "The Women of NOAA's Geodesy Division, 1967". Their names are in script above or below each photo. Pictured are: Jeanne L. Hess, Catherine C. Mortenson, Jean S. Campbell, Roma W. Miller, Helen Stettner, and Maralyn Louise Vorhauer.

Photo of a small box labeled, “BALLOON TYPE ML-131-A”, COLOR: PURE GUM, QUANTITY: ONE, CONTRACT No.: W-33-042-SC-254, WEIGHT: 350 GRAM, ORDER No.: 289-DAY-44, DATE MADE: JUN 23 1944 (stamped on), Molded Latex Products, Inc., PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY"

Friday Find: What’s in the box? Answered!

March 17, 2023

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Photo of a small box labeled, “BALLOON TYPE ML-131-A”, COLOR: PURE GUM, QUANTITY: ONE, CONTRACT No.: W-33-042-SC-254, WEIGHT: 350 GRAM, ORDER No.: 289-DAY-44, DATE MADE: JUN 23 1944 (stamped on), Molded Latex Products, Inc., PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY"