FRIDAY FUN FACTS: LIGHTHOUSES!
The Pharos of Alexandria, known as the Lighthouse of Alexandria, is believed to have been the world’s first lighthouse, built sometime in the 3rd Century BC. The “Tower of Hercules”, at the opening of the La Coruña harbor in Spain is one of the oldest still standing, built in the late 1st Century AD. After the fall of Rome, most lighthouses fell into disuse. Trans-Atlantic traffic in the mid 18th century saw a rebirth of lighthouses. Initially, solid fuels like wood or coal, or liquid ones like whale oil were used as the light source until the invention of the revolutionary Argand Oil Lamp in the 1870s. Advances in lens technology made lighthouses even brighter. The Statue of Liberty in New York City is considered a lighthouse and in 1886 was the first one in the US to use electricity. Lighthouses are famous for their “lighthouse keepers”, but today there is only one lighthouse left in the US that has one. The Boston Lighthouse, America’s oldest, still has a lighthouse keeper by a declaration of Congress. Our lighthouse watercolor here was painted by Atomic’s Grandfather! It’s the Tibbets Point Lighthouse, marking the meeting of Lake Ontario and The St. Lawrence River in New York. May light shine on your Friday mes amis! XOX