Editorial Policy

This policy explains the standards every entry in the Olsie Discovery Archive is held to.

Sourcing

Entries are compiled from institutional and academic sources — museums, universities, national archives, government science and patent agencies, and established reference works — rather than from a single text or site. We do not copy text from any source; every entry is written specifically for this archive.

Attribution standards

We avoid crediting a single person for a complex technology that resulted from collective or competing contributions. Where more than one person or institution made a substantive contribution to a discovery or invention — or where historical credit is genuinely contested — the entry says so explicitly, rather than flattening the story into a single "inventor."

Distinguishing stages of development

We treat discovery, invention, prototype, patent, public demonstration, and public adoption as distinct events, often separated by months, years, or decades, and we date each stage separately where the historical record supports it, rather than presenting one "invention date" for a process that was actually gradual.

Medical and scientific content

Entries that touch on medicine, health, or the human body are written as history and science education only. They do not contain diagnostic, treatment, or health-management guidance, and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. See our disclaimer.

Imagery

Every diagram in the archive is an original editorial illustration produced for this project rather than a reproduction of a copyrighted photograph. See image credits for details.

Review

Each entry displays the date it was last reviewed. We revise entries when a factual error is identified or when the underlying historical scholarship changes — see our corrections policy.