“It is so refreshing these war-threatened days to find a scientist and an engineer using their great gifts to help humanity rather than to devise means to destroy life and property.” -Letter from Dr. C.J. McSweeny to Sir William Bragg, 27 June 1938. The S.O.S. call rang through the BBC airwaves the evening… Continue Reading
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An 1922 advertisement in The Illustrated London News caught my eye: Look at the flapper! Is she being coy? Ignoring the gentleman who’s obviously flirting with her? Or is she deaf to his fancy words? This was the first half of an advert for the “Acoustion,” which claimed it could restore hearing in deaf individuals… Continue Reading
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“How many centuries did the Islamic Golden Age last?” a student asked me, thrusting his worksheet in front of me, anxious for me to answer his question. “6, 8, 9, or 10?” “Uh…9? No. . Wait…” I answered, flustered because I can’t calculate in my head—I knew it lasted from the 8th to 13th centuries,… Continue Reading
From the Hands of Quacks 