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INNOVATION AND DISCOVERY AS CHRONICLED IN Scientific AmericAn
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scientificamerican.com/magazine/saMARch1972: “Paleo-
lithic portraits
of bears include
the engraved
image of a cave
bear, character-
ized by its
domed fore head.
The 20-inch-
long likeness is
one of the many
Ice Age animal
images at
La Combarelle,
near Les Eyzies
Scientific American, in France.”
Vol. 226, No. 3; March 1972
1972192218721972
Surprise:
Mars Volcano
“Mars continues to surprise the
investigators associated with Mar-
iner 9, which has been in orbit
around the planet since Novem-
ber 13. Perhaps the most spectacu-
lar feature is a volcanic cone at
least 300 miles in diameter at the
base, making it larger than any
comparable feature on the earth.
Close-ups of the sides of the vol-
cano show a lineated texture
almost certainly produced by the
flow of lava. The volcano coincides
with a circular feature identified
on maps since 1879 as Nix Olym-
pica. In pictures returned by Mari-
ner 6 and Mariner 7 it appeared to
be a giant crater about 300 miles
in diameter; now it is seen to be
a cone at least four miles high.”Computer Logic
“In a major effort to build a com-
puter that is easier to work with,
the Fairchild Camera and Instru-
ment Corporation has designed
a new computer system in which
a large fraction of the program-
ming tasks normally assigned to
software are handled by hardware,
that is, by logic incorporated
directly into the computer. Fair-
child calls the new system SYMBOL,
which signifies direct hardware
symbolic addressing. The system
will handle many critical areas
of memory management from
10 to 100 times more efficiently
than it is now handled by software.
The first prototype of the new
Fairchild system, SYMBOL IIR,
is undergoing tests at Iowa
State University.”1922
Human Aura
Is Ultraviolet
“Each person is enveloped by a
haze invisible under ordinary cir-
cumstances. This halo, shown in
old pictures, has for a long time
been manifest to certain ‘clairvoy-
ants’ possessing a specially gifted
sight. The unquestionable evi denceof Walter J. Kilner, electrical expert
of St. Thomas’ Hospital, London,
as given in his book, The Human
Atmosphere, should at once set
aside any belief that this is a
byproduct of occultism or charla-
tanism. Professor Kilner says,
“Although at present it is impossi-
ble to say exactly of what the aura
consists, I feel positive that we
are dealing with an ultra-violet
phenomenon. The physical aura
[also] can be influenced by exter-
nal forces such as electricity and
chemical action.”Holly Tea
“A species of holly, growing riot-
ously over 40,000 square miles in
the South Atlantic and Gulf States,
may in the not remote future be
converted into a beverage in quan-
tity production. George F. Mitchell,
tea specialist of the Bureau of
Chemistry, has correctly appraised
the value of this native plant,
sometimes called cassina, as a
stimulating drink similar to
imported teas and coffees. This
shrubbery has wide appeal for dec-
orative purposes and as Christmas
trees during the festive season.
Samples of the leaves analyzed by
chemists evidenced as high as 1.65
percent of caffeine. Laboratory
experiments and reinforced obser-
vations in the South during thepast summer seem to indicate that
a delicious drink can be produced.
The tea as now being concocted in
the bureau’s laboratory is of two
colors, one being dark and the
other of a greenish hue.”1872
Lead Head
Is Dead
“With but few exceptions, all the
concoctions sold for the purpose
of ‘restoring’ the color of the hair,
or for dyeing the hair, contain the
salts of lead, a deadly poison, highly
injurious to the health when
applied to the scalp or other por-
tions of the body, even in minute
quantities. Professor Charles F.
Chandler of Columbia College has
examined a variety of these prepa-
rations and, in each fluid ounce of
many popular articles, finds lead.”Nature Enchants
“Everything in nature indulges
in amusement of some kind. The
lightnings play, the winds whistle,
the thunders roll, the snow flies,
the rills and cascades sing and
dance, the waves leap, the fields
smile, the vines creep and run, the
buds shoot, and the hills have tops
to play with. But some of them
have their seasons of melancholy.
The tempests moan, the zephyrs
sigh, the brooks murmur, and
the mountains look blue.”