"Science" from a vintage children's encyclopedia

By bioephemera on January 19, 2011.

i-717b19aa32a5a4c6e211ec63aeb19aac-Library - 4031.jpg

I found this children's encyclopedia in a pile of books on the curb a few weeks ago. Some of its depictions of science are charming; some are odd, and all are really, really dated. More snapshots below the fold. . .

i-b5e10f3abdb90d71d839e7ffc55055cb-Library - 4032.jpg

i-b26b12f0cb3cc6b7f09784602261d8a3-Library - 4030.jpg

i-fc8b735e6a6c73219e5c949997de5fa9-Library - 4033.jpg

i-31874b294fbc4f31d9384d52a8e0ffc9-Library - 4036.jpg

i-274703a2a02dc5608bafd0765bf3679f-Library - 4034.jpg

i-267afc7a895e8492488ff6656f2ad5d0-Library - 4037.jpg

More like this

Advertisment

Donate

ScienceBlogs is where scientists communicate directly with the public. We are part of Science 2.0, a science education nonprofit operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Please make a tax-deductible donation if you value independent science communication, collaboration, participation, and open access.

You can also shop using Amazon Smile and though you pay nothing more we get a tiny something.

Science 2.0

Science Codex

More by this author

Goodbye to Scienceblogs

September 15, 2011

A few weeks ago, I was notified that if I wished to continue blogging at Scienceblogs/National Geographic, I'd have to agree to new terms. After considering these terms, as well as the decision to ban pseudonymous blogging, I don't feel that the new management and I are on the same page. I have…

SpaceChem!

September 14, 2011

A few months ago I got an email from Zachtronics, creators of the Codex of Alchemical Engineering, about the new indie game called SpaceChem. It was billed as "an obscenely addictive, design-based puzzle game about building machines and fighting monsters in the name of science." What's not to love…

Mechanical butterfly, circa 1911

September 14, 2011

Check out this great slideshow of fascinating advertising novelties from 1911, over at Scientific American.

Pseudonymity: Five Reasons the New Scienceblogs/NG Policy is Misguided

September 14, 2011

Recently, Scienceblogs/National Geographic decided it would no longer host pseudonymous science bloggers. As a result, many of my former colleagues have left. I think this decision was wrong. Read on for my reasons. One: simple fairness. Several well-established pseudonymous bloggers had been…

Seeing the invisible? There's an app for that

September 8, 2011

This video from Xperia Studio very effectively conveys how data visualization can both leverage and challenge our conceptions of "reality." The night sky we've seen since childhood, like everything else we see, is just a tiny slice of the spectrum - only what we can perceive with our limited…

"Science" from a vintage children's encyclopedia

More like this

Goodbye to Scienceblogs

SpaceChem!

Mechanical butterfly, circa 1911

Pseudonymity: Five Reasons the New Scienceblogs/NG Policy is Misguided

Seeing the invisible? There's an app for that

Palpable History: Dictator's Voice, Dictator's Words

Psychedelic Weddell Seals

Messier Monday: The 'Little Sister' Cluster, M46