Notebook

Humans

From the August 2, 1930, issue

SHOOTING STARS, THE STORY-TELLERS OF THE UNIVERSE Of fortunate rarity are celestial visitors like the huge meteoric mass that dug the famous Meteor Crater in Arizona about 2,000 years ago. This scar on the face of the earth near Winslow, Ariz., is four-fifths of a mile across and 450 feet deep. It is shown on […]

Humans

From the July 26, 1930, issue

DID THE MOUNDBUILDERS COME FROM MEXICO? Were the Indians who built the mysterious mounds of the great interior valley of our country kinsmen to the Mayas of Yucatan and the other highly cultured peoples of the Mexican plateau? Are the decidedly Maya- and Aztec-like sculptures taken from mounds in the Southeast really witnesses to an […]

Paleontology

Pretty Pollen

The pinup of the pollen grain of the month is just one of several intriguing features at this University of Arizona Web site devoted to palynology–the study of the microscopic, decay-resistant remains of plants and animals. The site provides definitions, illustrations, a brief history, a section for kids, and examples of applications in archaeology, paleoecology, […]

Earth

Earth Views

The “Global View of the Earth” Web site offers lesson plans and other material for middle school teachers interested in classroom use of images taken by NASA’s Landsat-7 satellite. Students learn about the spacecraft and try to identify “mystery” images–full-color, visible-light images of objects such as airports and bridges, as seen from Landsat more than […]

Tech

Chip Collection

The Smithsonian’s “Chip Collection” Web site offers all sorts of nuggets of information for those interested in the history of integrated circuits. Developed and frequently updated by Nance L. Briscoe of the National Museum of American History, the site features more than 2,000 images, a “chip talk” glossary, examples of chip graffiti, information on patents, […]

Humans

Medieval Medicine

For a glimpse of medicine in medieval times, check out the National Library of Medicine’s illustrated catalog of Islamic medical manuscripts. Visitors to the Web site can also get a brief introduction to the history of Islamic medicine and its role in European history, find biographies of important Islamic physicians, surgeons, and scholars, and browse […]

Anthropology

Hand and Brain

Get a handle on primate handedness research and its bearing on brain function at a Web site run by anthropologist M.K. Holder. Participate in ongoing research and listen to various primates sound off, from a screaming chimpanzee to a belching mountain gorilla. Go to: http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/index.html

Humans

From the March 11, 1933, issue

GREAT LION OF LA BREA Bigger by a fourth than the proudest lion that walks the veldt today were the tallest of the great lions of California a hundred thousand years ago. Rivaled in size only by the short-faced bears whose bones have been found with theirs in the La Brea tar-pits, they could confidently […]

Earth

Autosub Under Ice

Follow the Southampton (UK) Oceanography Centre’s “Autosub Under Ice” expedition to Antarctica’s Pine Island Bay. The centre’s Web site features daily news reports, images, and interviews with expedition members aboard the unmanned sub’s parent ship. The expedition runs until April 2. Go to: http://www.soc.soton.ac.uk/SOES/MSC/OC/CEO/aui/live.html

Humans

From the March 4, 1933, issue

FISH OF DIFFERENT “FEATHER” OFTEN FLOCK TOGETHER Game herds of the African veldt have long been a marvel to travelers because of the extraordinary variety of animals seen together: zebras, gnus, antelope of many species, even elephants and ostriches, mingling in a wonderful patchwork quilt of moving life. Only lions and other predators are outsiders […]

Humans

From the July 19, 1930, issue

TWISTER POSES Perhaps the finest photograph ever taken of a tornado–certainly at any rate a most unusual one–was obtained by Ira B. Blackstock, a Western railroad executive, at Hardtner, Kansas, on Sunday, June 2, 1929, at about 4:30 p.m. Mr. Blackstock let the windy monster approach as closely as he dared, standing with one foot […]

Physics

A Curie-ous Tale

Marie Curie discovered two elements and won two Nobel Prizes for her pioneering studies on radioactivity. A new online exhibit at the American Institute of Physics’ history site depicts how she displayed her ardor and brilliance in many other facets of life as well, such as organizing and equipping a radiological medicine unit for French […]