MAY 1958
SELF— “Most of us live behind a wall or smoke-screen which in some degree hides our true thoughts, feelings, beliefs, desires, likes and dislikes. But the question of self-disclosure goes deeper than mere willingness or reluctance. People often cannot disclose themselves, even if they would, because they do not know their real selves—what they really want, feel or believe. Karen Horney has called this phenomenon of being a stranger to oneself ‘self-alienation,’ and she finds it characteristic of neurotics. It may be significant of modern society that so many people have taken to the psychoanalyst’s couch to try to know themselves.”

DYNAMO EARTH— “The greatest difficulty in all attempts to explain the earth’s magnetic field has been the problem of introducing the driving force that produces the general symmetry of the over-all field. We have to assume that the field is generated by circular electric currents closed upon themselves. In such a setup there is no apparent place where we can insert a driving force—either a battery or any other. But the dynamo theory allows the earth’s rotation to act as a driving force. The rotation causes the closed currents of the eddies to flow in the same direction.
 —Walter M. Elsasser”

MAY 1908
MAGAZINE FOR THE BLIND— “Undoubtedly the whitest printing plant in the world is that in which the Ziegler Magazine for the Blind is published. The reason is obvious. No type is used, and no ink of any description is to be found except, of course, in the editorial room. The monthly magazine is circulated without charge to any person in the United States or Canada who can read the point alphabet. In the composing room of the plant there are two machines, one of which makes the plates for the New York point edition, while the other serves for the American Braille edition. Very unfortunately, both of these point alphabets are in general use in the country.”

 “CATERPILLAR” TRACTOR— “For some months past the British military authorities have been experimenting with a new type of tractor for the haulage of heavy vehicles over rough and unstable ground. Briefly, its object is to crawl over the ground, there being a series of feet disposed along the periphery of two heavy side chains passing over fore and aft wheels. Because of its peculiar movement, the soldiers at the Aldershot military center, where it is in operation, promptly christened it the ‘caterpillar.’ The engine is the invention of Mr. David Roberts.”

[NOTE: Patents for this invention were later sold to Benjamin Holt, co-founder of Caterpillar Tractor Co.]

FURTIVE FLIGHT— “Soon after the first reports were received regarding the flights being made by the Wright brothers in testing their aeroplane, a considerable number of newspaper correspondents visited the scene of the trials among the high and pointed sand dunes of the North Carolina coast south of Norfolk, Virginia. The brothers refused to make any flights, however, when the reporters were near at hand, and so the gentlemen of the press were obliged to keep in hiding nearly a mile away from the scene of operations, and to merely watch the machine from afar through spyglasses when it was flying.”

Supplement: Illustration prepared from descriptions of the first flight.

MAY 1858
COTTON IS KING— “Just previous to the late monetary panic, cotton had attained to such a high price that British manufacturers of coarse goods found themselves compelled to curtail their operations, and as a consequence, they were greatly incited to devise some other means for securing a large supply at lower prices. Being dependent on the United States for four-fifths of that which they use, they felt that American cotton was their king, hence they looked to other regions for relief. The late expedition, fitted out with the famous Dr. Livingstone as its chief, has for one of its main objects the encouragement of cotton cultivation in Africa.”

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