Notebook

Humans

From the September 6, 1930, issue

alt=”Click to view larger image”> LIONS IN ALASKA Alaska, with its vast herds of caribou, its foxes and beaver, its mountain sheep and goats, and its great bears, black, brown, grizzly, and white, is one of the world’s game paradises; but 100,000 years ago, long before the slow-witted men who inhabited Europe thought to follow […]

Humans

From the August 30, 1930, issue

alt=”Click to view larger image”> IN COTTON CLOTHING Wolves in the clothing of sheep have been familiar, at least as metaphors, for a couple of millennia. More lately, since we have begun to pay close attention to our trees and shrubs, have we become acquainted with a tiny wolf disguised as a tiny tuft of […]

Archaeology

Blasts from the Past

Dig into the latest archaeological news reports, updated daily, from around the world at Archaeologica. The site also features links to Web pages on a wide range of archaeological topics, including ancient Egypt and North American rock art, and forums for discussing a variety of issues. Go to: http://www.archaeologica.org/

Planetary Science

Planets in Autumn

On Sept. 22, Earth joined two other worlds in the solar system where it is northern autumn. At this NASA Web site, learn more about Earth’s September equinox and ponder the bizarre seasons of other planets. Go to: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast22sep_1.htm?list110076

Humans

Quack Gadgets

Have you ever heard of the Battle Creek vibratory chair, the psychograph, or the violet-ray generator ? The Minneapolis-based Museum of Questionable Medical Devices provides information about these and many other items in its large collection. Includes photos, brief histories, and links to related Web sites. Go to: http://www.mtn.org/quack/devices/devindx.htm

Earth

Past and Future Earth

Curious about what Earth’s continents and oceans might look like 50 million years from now? Geologist Christopher R. Scotese of the University of Texas at Arlington has created a Web site devoted to plate tectonics and Earth’s geography and climate, from the deep past to the distant future. The site features maps of Earth, animations, […]

Math

Dimensions of Math

A colorful, interactive poster serves as a portal to the realm of dimension, with destinations ranging from Flatland to hyperspace. Meet authors Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle in Time), E.A. Abbott (Flatland), and Michio Kaku (Hyperspace). Ponder Penrose tilings, gravitational lenses, and tic-tac-toe on a torus. Play with geometric shapes. This fascinating Web site was originally […]

Humans

From the August 23, 1930, issue

alt=”Click to view larger image”> STRICTLY AMERICAN Indian architects and sculptors of the American tropics in prehistoric times had strikingly original ideas. On the cover you see the entrance to the beautiful Temple of the Warriors at Chichen Itza, in Yucatan. The Toltecs, who conquered the Mayas at Chichen Itza, remained in the city and […]

Humans

From the August 16, 1930, issue

MILLION VOLT GLOBE The shiny metal globe which the front cover pictures was spun on a lathe from two flat sheets of copper one-eighth inch thick. It will be used with another by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company to measure man-made lighting of 2,000,000 volts and greater. When high potentials are measured by sphere […]

Humans

From the August 9, 1930, issue

A FISH WITH HANDS A fish of more than ordinary piscine talent is sometimes found in the drifting masses of gulfweed or Sargassum in the great mid-Atlantic eddy. It is only a little fish, a couple of inches long, but it can use its two pectoral fins for some of the functions of hands. It […]