Template:Did you know nominations/Bell Homestead National Historic Site

The following discussion is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Allen3 ^talk 16:55, 22 August 2013 (UTC)

Bell Homestead National Historic Site[edit]

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... that after coming to Canada "to die", Alexander Graham Bell recovered his health at his father's house, the Bell Homestead (carriage house pictured) and went on to invent the telephone there and become an honorary Mohawk chief?

5x expanded by Harryzilber (talk). Self nominated at 03:41, 9 August 2013 (UTC).

The nomination seems to be listed under the incorrect date (i'm not 100% sure how to resolve this). On 4 August (date it is listed under) the article had not been 5x expanded, though on 9 August (date of DYK nomination) it had been expanded well in excess of 5x. Another major concern is the length and subject matter of the hook. It's too long and is primarily about A. G. Bell. The subject of the article is the Bell Homestead National Historic Site so shouldn't the hook be something 'hooky' about that, rather than anything else?! Sionk (talk) 21:21, 19 August 2013 (UTC)

I would suggest keeping it simple. How about something like the following? Prioryman (talk) 22:50, 19 August 2013 (UTC)

ALT1: ... that in July 1874, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone at his father's home, the Bell Homestead? (carriage house pictured)

Hi Sionk and Prioryman, thank you for your comments. First, regarding the date of nomination: it was listed on the August 4th section following the nomination procedure I found at How to post a new nomination, Section III, which says: "The date to post your nomination under is the date when the article was created or the expansion of the article began, not necessarily today's date." As I began expanding the article on August 4th I placed my nomination in that section. Have I misinterpreted the wording of Section III? Regarding the hook, I am hoping to pique the readers' curiosity on how precarious both life and technology can be. If A.G. Bell had died from tuberculosis as he nearly did (the disease that several believed he had, which also killed both his brothers), the history of telecommunications, not just the telephone, may have been radically altered. Only ~~two years~~ four years after receiving his telephone patent Bell also invented the photophone, which became the precursor to the fiber-optic telecommunications that today carries the vast majority of the world's landline telephone traffic. If the hook size permits it, might I suggest a slight revision to ALT1, that totals about 140 digits:

ALT2: "... that after nearly dying, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in July 1874 at his father's home, the Bell Homestead? (carriage house pictured)".

The part of Bell becoming a Mohawk chief, while true, did not actually occur at the Homestead, but in the neigbouring First Nations reserve, so that portion can be set aside. Best: HarryZilber (talk) 04:40, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

My bad, you're absolutely right and I'm wrong - the expansion began on 4 August and that is the correct date to list it. As for the hook, ALT 1 looks much better and punchier, while not trying to say too much about Bell (like ALT 2). Good to go, I think! Sionk (talk) 16:51, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

My reading of the article indicates that the carriage house shown in the picture is where he did most or all of the work on the invention. If that's accurate, it would be great if the hook could say so. For example:

ALT3: ... ~~that in July 1874, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in the carriage house (pictured) of his father's home, the Bell Homestead?~~ --Orlady (talk) 17:25, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

The article says the telephone was invented in the living room of the main house, though early experiments were carried out in the carriage house. In that case, I'm not so sure the picture here is relevant to the DYK. Sionk (talk) 21:23, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

A.G. Bell began experiments with electrical sound reproduction in the carriage house; his experimental work later shifted to the workroom behind the greenhouse conservatory on the side of the house, although I have no timing for that (I have not yet obtained a copy of My Dear Aleck: Selected Letters of the Bell Family.... which may have more information on that timeline). The conceptual realization of the telephone's operating principles came within the house during conversations with his father. So you have three locations involved and it would be inaccurate to say that Bell "invented the telephone in the carriage house". My preference remains with Alt2, as Bell was apparently gravely ill from tuberculosis when he arrived at the Homestead and generalizes the location as "the Bell Homestead". (Tuberculosis was, and I believe still remains the world's most lethal disease, killing the greatest numbers of people annually –info passed on to me by a TB genetic researcher who I casually helped with lab work one day at a university. Bell's brothers and his brother's young son all died from it, and Melville himself recovered from it by sojourning in Newfoundland in his young adulthood).

The carriage house photo struck me as being more representative of Bell's spirit of invention. He later started his Volta Bureau for scientific research in the carriage house of his father's home in Washington, D.C. In the context of this D.Y.K., either the carriage house or the farmhouse photos are appropriate, imho. Best: HarryZilber (talk) 12:21, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

I struck through my suggestion. Go with ALT2. --Orlady (talk) 13:51, 21 August 2013 (UTC)