May 2020, ScientificAmerican.com 7350, 100 & 150 YEARS AGO
INNOVATION AND DISCOVERY AS CHRONICLED IN Scientific AmericAn
Compiled by Daniel C. SchlenoffSCIENTIfIC AmERICAN ONLINE
FIND ORIGINAL ARTICLES AND IMAGES IN
THE Scientific AmericAn ARCHIVES AT
scientificamerican.com/magazine/sathey sell them for grog or tobacco
as soon as they land. If any gentle-
men or lady would like an elephant
for private riding, a tiger as an orna-
ment to the garden, a crocodile or
hippopotamus for the lake, or an os-
trich or emeu for the lawn, the wish
can be gratified by merely address-
ing a letter to the London dealer.’ ”Food Prep at Home
“We publish an engraving of a neat
and ingenious device for removing
the pits from cherries, plums, and
the like, and also the seeds from rai-
sins, cranberries, etc. The improved
form of the machine was patented
by George Geer, of Galesburg, Ill.”physical isolation
and made it im-
perative that the
Island of Manhat-
tan have transpor-
tation links that
will permit a con-
tinual interchange
of vehicular traffic
between the New
Jersey and the
New York side of
the Hudson River.
It should be no
wonder to the
technical world
that Chief Engi-
neer Clifford M.
Holland, and his
associate experts,
should have de-
cided in favor of twin cast-iron
tubes and the adoption of the
shield method of tunneling. This
procedure has heretofore been
followed in the driving of twenty-
two railroad tubes under the Hud-
son and the East Rivers.”
the Holland tunnel opened in 1927.1870
Live Animal Trade
“An English maga-
zine says, ‘the trade in wild beasts
is a system as regular as the trade
in tea, coffee, or cotton. Some crea-
tures, of which parrots are the most
numerous, are brought over by sail-
ors, who intend them, perhaps, as
presents for their sweethearts, but1970
Monkey War
Resumes
“The classic controversy about evo-
lution has resumed once again in
California. The State Board of Edu-
cation inserted into new guide-
lines, which had been prepared by
a committee of science teachers, a
statement that ‘scientific evidence
concerning the origin of life im-
plies at least a dualism or the ne-
cessity to use several theories.’ This
will presumably require that such
competing theories as the story
given in Genesis and Aristotle’s
theory of spontaneous generation
be taught along with Darwinism.
The decision could affect the teach-
ing of biology throughout the
country, since California accounts
for some 10 percent of all textbook
sales and publishers are not likely
to give up the California market or
to publish special versions tailored
to one state’s requirements.”1920
Airborne Horse
“From Santa Bar-
bara, California, comes word that a
horse entered in an exposition held
in that city arrived by airplane from
Los Angeles. The trip was delayed
a day until officers of the Humane
Society were fully convinced that
no cruelty was involved in the trip.”Vehicle Link
“Strikes of one sort or another
have emphasized New York City’sEPIC TALE SThe Evolution and Technology
of How We Eat
The way humans prepare food is intertwined with our evolution and our technology. The first
use of fire to cook food unlocked nutrition not available in raw foods. Our cover from August 1994 (“The Eloquent
Bones of Abu Hureyra”) shows the toll on Neolithic skeletons of the effort spent grinding grains after the rise
of agriculture 12,000 years ago. In the mid-19th century most food (for instance, the cherries shown above)
was generally grown close to home and processed and eaten there. A continual stream of innovations in
transport, refrigeration, shipping, mass processing and agriculture (Mike Bloomberg, please take note) has
brought us our modern system of food, with all its benefits and the complex side effects that bedevil us.M AYSCIENTIFIC AMERICAN,
VOL. XXII, NO. 20 [NEW SERIES]; MAY 14, 1870 (
1 );
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN,VOL. 271, NO. 2; AUGUST 1994 (2 )1970192018701870: A woman at
home uses the latest
labor-saving gizmo
to help pit cherries.1CELEBRATINGYEARSNeolithic bones from a woman who lived in northern Syria 10,000 years ago
bear distinctive marks of the hard labor of grinding grains.2