Anecdotes from the Archive: A ride fit for a shah
In a December 8, 1900, article about a new steam automobile, the "Serpollet Carriage," we learn that the inventor, M. Serpollet, had the honor of cruising around with some royalty...
Anecdotes from the Archive
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Anecdotes from the Archive: Relief for writers
As anyone who has written by hand over the course of a lengthy sitting knows, comfort can quickly become an issue. The October 22, 1853 issue of Scientific American featured an invention recently patented by Joseph G...
Anecdotes from the Archive: When zookeepers looked like doormen
The January 7th, 1911 issue featured a spread about the New York Zoological Society, better known now as The Bronx Zoo. At that time, this zoo was the largest and "most impressive" of its kind in the world, boasting approximately 5,539 species...
Anecdotes from the Archive: Bad news for sneak thieves, porch climbers and window workers
Today’s anecdote is an advertisement from the December 14th, 1901 issue for the Automatic Alarm Company of Chicago, Illinois. For only $1.00, buyers would supposedly be able to protect themselves and their valuables from masked burglars like the one pictured above...
Anecdotes from the Archive: Diesel milk
In October 1924 the City of Chicago Health Department sought to promote the dietary value of milk and increase its consumption by using it to fuel the locomotive of a passenger train.
Anecdotes from the Archive: Taking On the Monocle Problem
Eyewear has always carried both positive and negative consequences for those who wear it either out of necessity or fashion. This article from March 11, 1911 gives a bit of background on one of the more prevalent eyewear options of the time, the monocle: "The ridicule which was cast upon the wearers of spectacles and eyeglasses, before the utility and need of those aids to sight became generally recognized, seems now to be concentrated upon the monocle, and not without reason...
Anecdotes from the Archive: Bed bugs are vintage, and vintage is in
According to the June 1924 issue, bed bugs weren’t always considered to be a pest worthy of professional extermination. It wasn’t until scientists warned the bugs were “dangerous” for having the potential to spread diseases such as typhoid fever and influenza that the little guys were able to produce feelings of fear and despair in city-dwellers...
Anecdotes from the Archive: From the basement to the blog
Interesting finds from Scientific American ’s Archive In 1845, Scientific American magazine made its debut on newsstands and has continued to be published ever since...
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