Technology.
	The Wright Brothers began testing gliders in 1900. On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they became the first men to successfully pilot a powered flying machine. The Sesquicentennial International Exposition, also known as the Philadelphia World's Fair, was held from May 31 to November 30, 1926, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition, which had also been hosted by Philadelphia. The Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, bypass rapids on the St. Marys River, which connects Lake Superior to the rest of the Great Lakes, that drop about 21 feet. The locks handle an average of about 10,000 vessels a year, making them the busiest in the world. The Eads Bridge, at St. Louis, Missouri, was the first major bridge over the Mississippi River, the first rail bridge over the Mississippi, and the world's first steel-truss bridge. Completed in 1874, it still carries light rail, automobile and pedestrian traffic today. The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was held in San Francisco, California, from February 20 to December 4, 1915 to commemorate the opening of the Panama Canal and the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the Pacific Ocean by Vasco Balboa The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, also known as the Seattle World's Fair, was held June 1 - October 16, 1909 to publicize development of the Pacific Northwest and the importance of Seattle in Oriental trade. The Jamestown Exposition as held at Norfolk, Virginia, April 26 to December 1, 1907, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America. The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, was held to celebrate the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase. It ran from April 30 to December 1, 1904 (it opened a year late due to delays in construction), and was at the time the largest World's Fair ever held. Pan-American Exposition Held in Buffalo, New York, May 5 - November 2, 1901, the Pan-American Exposition was billed as a celebration of "commercial well being and good understanding among the American Republics." Trans-Mississippi Exposition Held in Omaha, Nebraska, June 1-November 1, 1898, the Trans-Mississippi Exposition was held to showcase the development of the West from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast. It was held concurrently with the Indian Congress, the largest Native American gathering of its kind. The Concorde was the first, and to date only, supersonic passenger jet. It was developed by French and British companies, and was in service from 1976 to 2003. In addition to being supersonic, the Concorde is also the only passenger jet to date to have a "titlting nose," which was lowered during take-offs and landings so the flight crew could see the runway. Almon Strowger was an undertaker who had become frustrated over human telephone operators misdirecting calls from his customers. Determined to get rid of the need for human operators, he invented the automatic telephone exchange in 1891, and the dial telephone in 1896. The Conestoga Wagon was named for the region in which it was developed and used, the Conestoga River Valley of Pennsylvania. The most distinctive part of the Conestoga's design was its belly, which sloped up at each end to prevent cargo from shifting while the wagon was negotiating a steep incline or decline. Albin Kasper Longren built an airplane from scratch, with no blueprints, instruction manual, or even a picture to go by. On September 1, 1911, his Topeka I became the first Kansas-made plane to successfully take to the air.