This Month in the Archives

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We’re celebrating Scientific American’s 175th anniversary this month (happy birthday to us!). Any anniversary, though, is as much about the time it is celebrated as it is about the event it commemorates, so we’ll have a look at past anniversaries and see what we find. In a forward-looking vein, one of the most promising technologies humanity is working on is artificial intelligence—as long as the nagging “What if?” questions remain the subject of sci-fi films. Finally, even if “too much salt” is a common refrain today, our bodies need the stuff, and people have been trying to get a hold of it for a long, long time. And for our 175th anniversary year, more gems from Scientific American’s history can be found at Artifacts from the Archive.

I hope you enjoy the journey! Dan Schlenoff, Editor of “50, 100 & 150 Years Ago”

Happy Birthday Scientific American

A look back from 1896 at an early “model room” for the patent agency of the Scientific American

July 1896: The increasingly well-appointed offices and buildings showed the magazine and its patent business were prospering. June 1915: Scientific American at 70: from the steam engine to the “aeroplane,” the magazine and its patent office was an integral part of scientific and technical progress. December 1945: A century after its founding, the magazine was struggling, having devolved into looking like a series of industrial press releases.

Artificial Intelligence An image from 1883 shows how a “chess-playing automaton” worked in the days before Deep Blue: a limber young person hidden inside the device. February 1883: “Automaton chess player” in Bordeaux won games and amazed people, but such devices were powered by a person concealed inside the mechanism. August 1960: The term “artificial intelligence” is introduced to readers, noting the gulf that separates how machines “think” from how living organisms do. September 2018: An article written by someone who apparently never saw The Terminator hopefully suggests “AI will serve our species, not control it.”   Access 175 Years of Scientific Knowledge Salt, the Industry 1916: Drilling for rock salt in China using traditional muscle-powered techniques. December 1877: In Michigan—and other areas far from the ocean—rock salt is mined with machines and water. November 1916: Drilling for rock salt in what was then called Tzuliutsing in China. The industry was well-developed around deposits of salt and natural gas. July 1963: From ancient mines to modern salt pans, the surprising influence of salt on civilization. Current Issue: September 2020 Check out the latest issue of Scientific American For more highlights from the archives, you can read September's 50, 100 & 150 Years Ago column.   Questions?   Comments? Download the Scientific American App To view this email as a web page, go here. You received this email because you opted-in to receive email from Scientific American. To ensure delivery please add news@email.scientificamerican.com to your address book. Unsubscribe    Email Preferences    Privacy Policy    Contact Us