50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: Experimental Violence, "Father of Aviation" and The New Iron Age

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NOVEMBER 1956
RESEARCHING "THE GAME"--"Our working hypothesis was that when two groups have conflicting aims--i.e., when one can achieve its ends only at the expense of the other--their members will become hostile to each other even though the groups are composed of normal well-adjusted individuals. To produce friction between the groups of boys we arranged a tournament of games: baseball, touch football, a tug-of-war, a treasure hunt and so on. The tournament started in a spirit of good sportsmanship. But as it progressed good feeling soon evaporated. The members of each group began to call their rivals 'stinkers,' 'sneaks' and 'cheaters.' The rival groups made threatening posters, planned raids, and collected secret hoards of green apples for ammunition.--Muzafer Sherif"

NOVEMBER 1906
SANTOS-DUMONT FLIES--"On Oc-tober 23 Alberto Santos Dumont, in the afternoon, drove his aeroplane through the air a distance of 150 feet at an elevation of about 20 feet from the ground. The experiment took place near Paris, and was witnessed by a crowd of people, including representatives of the Aero Club of France. According to the cabled account, the stability of the machine appeared to be good. At any rate, this is the first flight of a motor-driven, man-carrying aeroplane that has been witnessed by a considerable number of people. In comparing these results with those which the Wright brothers claim to have attained, there is one striking fact, viz., the young Brazilian found that a 50-horse-power motor was necessary to drive his flier up into the air; while the Wrights, with a machine of twice the weight and half the power, claim to have made nearly double the speed."

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