On supporting science journalism
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AUGUST 1957
ROAD DATA— “Automobile accidents in the U.S. are now the subject of a large-scale investigation as if they were an epidemic—as they are. The Department of the Army, the American Medical Association and other major groups are studying many phases of the matter, from the design of tollbooths to the personality of truck drivers. Among other significant findings are that sedatives and tranquilizing drugs dull a driver’s skill, and that the dangerous effects of an evening of drinking may last as long as 18 hours, regardless of coffee therapy.”
AUGUST 1907
RMS LUSITANIA— “On a preliminary speed trial for the new turbine liner ‘Lusitania’ of the Cunard Line, the great ship easily reached a speed of 25 knots, and this in spite of the fact that her bottom was ‘heavily coated with the chemically-saturated mud of the River Clyde.’ The constructive features of the ship are novel, and because of her mammoth proportions are of unusual interest. The double bottom, covering the whole of the ship’s length, is 5 feet in depth. There are nine decks in all, and the hull is divided into 175 separate water-tight compartments, which, surely, establishes the claim that she is unsinkable by any ordinary disaster.”