IMPRESSIONISM, SACRÉ BLEU AND CADMIUM-SULFIDE YELLOW
THIS IS triply a celebration of an era, a book review and a scientific tidbit. The era is the Belle Epoque, 1871 to the outbreak of World War I, when … Continue reading
ENGINEERING THE SEAHORSE
THERE’S A joke about God’s engineering background: He’s an Electrical Engineer because of the brain’s neurological wonders, a Mechanical Engineer because of the skeleton’s elegant efficiency, a Chem Eng because … Continue reading
EDSON GALLAUDET’S GLORIOUS FLYING MACHINES
THE NAME Edson Fesseden Gallaudet may not come to mind with the likes of the Wright Brothers or Glenn Curtiss, but it deserves a lot more than a footnote. His … Continue reading
BENZ MOTORWAGEN ADVENTURES
KARL BENZ built perhaps 25 automobiles between the granting of his 1886 patent and 1893, and Patent-Motorwagen No. 3 had a particularly adventurous life: In 1888, Karl’s wife Bertha and … Continue reading
THE SCHÉHÉRAZADE OF DIAGHILEV (AND BAKST)
“IMPRESARIO” CONJURES up the image of a larger-than-life individual, not just an artistic director of something or other, but one whose influence extends considerably further. Serge Diaghilev, founder of the … Continue reading
ENGLISH AS LINGUA FRANCA?
HAS ENGLISH become the world’s lingua franca? I offer two examples of this—and dispel one folk legend. A nuanced example involves computer science. A recent one definitively pertains to a … Continue reading
NIKUMARORO PERSON? KENNEWICK MAN?
WITHOUT SCIENCE, the weekly magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, I wouldn’t know the latest in the search for Amelia Earhart. Nor would I know who … Continue reading
NON-DEPRESSING TALES OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
ADVERSITY BREEDS its own humor, and the Great Depression is a perfect example of this. I’ve been enjoying The WPA Guide to America, whence came a lot of delightful tales. … Continue reading
OIL CRISES I HAVE KNOWN—AND LIVED THROUGH
FOR MORE than two years, we’ve had declining gasoline prices nationwide. (Congress: Investigate this skullduggery!) However, now it seems to be over in California. Not shortages, mind; just increases in price. … Continue reading
THE BOOKSHELVES AT 221B
THE SITTING room at 221b Baker Street, London, contained bookshelves, of course. But what were the books that Sherlock Holmes and his chronicler Dr. John H. Watson had on these … Continue reading
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