This Month in the Archives

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After such a bruising election process, it’s good to know that November also has a “World Kindness Day,” observed in a smattering of countries (apparently, we’re having trouble “just getting along” with one another). Kindness, and its cousins sympathy and empathy, continue to be studied by psychologists for the insight they provide into how the brains of humans (and other species) work. Also, agriculture: in 1850 fully 64 percent of the labor force worked in agriculture; by 1967 only 5 percent did. Mechanization enabled this dramatic shift. And finally, Marie Curie’s birthday is celebrated on November 7. It’s also a good time to ponder the course of the comparatively new field of studies in radioactivity (a term she coined) and atomic physics. 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”

Kindness

A hospital for children in Leipzig, Germany, is a good example of formalized kindness, from 1885.

July 1848: Some good homespun Yankee wisdom: “A trifling kindness drives despair away, and makes the path of life cheerful and pleasant." September 1885: In the 19th century, formalized kindness as “charity" or “benevolence” was beneficial to those at the bottom rungs of society. September 2015: There is evidence that animals feel empathy; I wonder if they also share our social and emotional capacity for kindness.

Mechanization of Agriculture 1864: A machine designed to extract energy from a horse. How efficient it was we don’t know but the horse certainly doesn’t look happy. September 1864: We think of engines in terms of “horse-power” but here’s one device built to be horse-powered. May 1909: In agribusiness today, computer savvy is useful; a century ago the handy farmer was also a good blacksmith. August 1967: Specialized machines to harvest specific crops have a long history of development. Wheat was easier; cotton and tree fruits were much harder.   Access 175 Years of Scientific Knowledge Radioactivity Pierre Curie visits William Ramsay in his lab, 1904. January 1904: William Ramsay based some of his research on Marie and Pierre Curie’s 1898 discovery, radium. November 1911: "Marie Sklodowska Curie: The Greatest Woman Scientist, Twice Recipient of the Nobel Prize.” August 1949: The regular radioactive decay of atoms became a useful clock to find the age of Egyptian tombs, Pleistocene sediments and even the earth. Current Issue: November 2020 Check out the latest issue of Scientific American For more highlights from the archives, you can read November'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