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Before there was a Breathalyzer, there was a Drunkometer.

The Drunkometer was invented by Dr. Rolla N. Harger, an Indiana University biochemist, in 1931 and was patented in 1936.

The Drunkometer was the first tool to successfully measure alcohol levels using breath analysis. The subject being tested blew into a balloon. The captured air was then mixed with a chemical solution, which changed color if alcohol was present. The darker the solution became, the more alcohol was present in the breath.

In 1938 Dr. Harger was one of five members on a subcommittee of the National Safety Council that drafted a model act to legalize the use of evidence from chemical tests for intoxication and to set limits of body alcohol concentration for motorists. The act was incorporated into drunken driving laws nationwide.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

Here is a photograph of the Minneapolis Police Department Dive Team from the 1970s. Can you help us to put names to the faces?

We are trying to identify the players in this photograph of the 1973 Minneapolis Police Softball Team. Can you help us?

Officers of the Minneapolis Police Department march down Nicollet Avenue during the Memorial Day Parade of 1898.

Photograph courtesy of the Hennepin County Library

Minneapolis Police Officer Jim Flood escorts children safely across Nicollet Avenue on their way to Emerson School in this photograph from 1917.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

Police Operator George Elliott stands by the panel in the police telephone switchboard room which will indicate a red light in the location where a burglar alarm is set off in any Minneapolis bank.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

Uniforms and squad cars have certainly changed since this photograph of Officer Fred Ahr was taken in 1933. Does anyone know the purpose of the switches behind the steering wheel?

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

Here is a photograph taken of Block E in 1970. Do you recognize anyone in the photograph or do you have any stories to share about the businesses on Block E?

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

Here is a photograph of the 1888 Minneapolis Police Baseball Club from the Collection of the Hennepin County Library.

L to R, standing are: Fred Coffin, Thomas Garvin, John Gory, James Doyle, Paul Musso; L to R, seated are: William Hoban, Frank Hall, Albert “Doc” Ames, George Blake, Henry Getschell.