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  "path": "/26/04/the-sunshine-recorder",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-08T19:02:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://kottke.org",
  "tags": [
    "the video",
    "sunshine recorder",
    "robert stephens",
    "science",
    "video",
    "weather"
  ],
  "textContent": "I went into this video not knowing anything about how a mid-19th century sunshine recorder might work and was genuinely delighted by the reveal. If you’d like to be similarly surprised, stop reading now and just watch the video.\n\n…\n\n…\n\nThe sunshine recorder was invented in 1853 for measuring the duration of bright sunshine over a day. The contraption consists of a solid glass ball that acts as a lens, which focuses the light of the Sun onto a paper recording card, burning marks into it. As the Sun moves across the sky, the focus point moves across the recording card, burning a line into it. If it’s super sunny out, the focused beam burns right through the card. So simple! So clever! And so straightforwardly physical — here’s what a daily sunshine record looks like:\n\n(via robert stephens)\n\n**Tags:** science · video · weather",
  "title": "The Sunshine Recorder",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-08T19:02:00.000Z"
}