When the 3rd revised edition of Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary appeared back in 1961 we saw in the new words a mirror of ourselves. Breezeway. Split-level. Fringe benefit. Airlift. Beatnik. Zen. Den mother. No-show. Astronaut.
Articles with 1989
The Oxford English Dictionary • Photo by Dan (CC BY 2.0)
Artist's reconstruction of a pterosaur • Matt Van Rooijen (CC BY 2.5)
Cuddly pterodactyls
The June [1989] issue of National Geographic arrived with a stunning, fold-out poster of dinosaurs.
Photo by Ganapathy Kumar on Unsplash
It’s moon-walking season
At 1:58 this morning the moon was full. Last night and again tonight it will rise in the east at sunset, huge, golden, glorious.
C. Raymo Sr.'s slide rule • Photo by Tom Raymo
Reasonable guesses
Problem: A person wishes to build a square house with an area of 500 square feet. What should be the length of the side of the house?
Photo by Kyle Gregory Devaras on Unsplash
Black velvet skies
Every astronomer and backyard stargazer who has ever looked into the night has made one of the most important observations in the history of astronomy. The night sky is dark! Stars shine in a black sky.
Photo by Elevate on Unsplash
Cinderellas of science
There is more at stake in the cold fusion story than the discovery of a cheap, safe source of unlimited energy. There is also a chance for chemists to have their day in the sun at the physicists’ expense.
Artist's impression of asteroid • NASA/JPL-Caltech (Public Domain)
Too close for comfort
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Little Prince lived on a world so small he could watch a dozen sunsets in a single evening just by moving his chair westward around the circumference of his tiny planet. His planet had a few weeds and three volcanoes, two active, one extinct; the Little Prince kept the active volcanoes unviolent by periodic cleaning with a Q‑tip sort of swab.
Archaeologist using ground penetrating radar • NPS Photo/L. Chisholm
Picks to computers
If there was an award for the handsomest scientific periodical, it would surely go to the American Journal of Archaeology (AJA), a big, thick, white-covered quarterly, printed on glossy paper and full of crisp photographs and drawings. The century-old journal has a fusty dignity, like the venerable artifacts it describes.
Eastern Bluebird • Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren (CC BY 2.0)
Bluebirds back home
If you are looking for the bluebird of happiness, it helps to have neighbors with meadows, hedgerows, fruit trees, organic gardens, and nesting boxes designed especially for bluebirds.
Annie Jump Cannon at her desk • Smithsonian Institution Archives (Public Domain)
Tale of two women
In 1934, the noted astronomer Annie Jump Cannon returned to her alma mater, Wellesley College, to speak to her 50th class reunion.