Anecdotes from the Archive

STAFFNovember 11, 2018 — Dan Schlenoff

Armistice Day: November 11, 1918, to November 11, 2018

“The war to end all wars” that had to be renamed “The First World War” ended 100 years ago

Care of the Severely Wounded, 1915

Editor’s note (4/2/2017): This week marks the 100-year anniversary of the U.S. entry into the First World War. Scientific American, founded in 1845, spent the war years covering the monumental innovations that changed the course of history, from the first tanks and aerial combat to the first widespread attacks with chemical weapons...

Deception and Camouflage, 1915

Reported in Scientific American, this Week in World War I: February 6, 1915 Subtlety and illusion have always played a part in warfare

Letters from the Firing Line, 1914

Reported in Scientific American, this Week in World War I: October 24, 1914

Heavy Guns Blast Trenches, 1915

Reported in Scientific American, This Week in World War I: April 17, 1915. High technology blasted a way through fortified lines in the First World War.

Engineering

Camaraderie of Mud: Trench Warfare in 1916

Reported in Scientific American, this Week in World War I: June 17, 1916

Women and the War, 1915

Reported in Scientific American, This Week in World War I: July 3, 1915

Facing Poison Gas, 1915

Following the introduction of large-scale gas attacks, one idea to repel gas was to use fans to blow the gas away—a terrible idea, but until the invention of gas masks there was little else that worked anyway...

Sinking the Lusitania, Part 2: Death and Blame, May 7, 1915

Reports and opinions in Scientific American on a key tragedy in World War I

Sinking the Lusitania, Part 1: Civilians Die in "Wicked" Atrocity, May 7, 1915

Reports and opinions in Scientific American on a key tragedy in World War I that had lasting repercussions