Thomas would never amount to anything and was uneducable. That was the conclusion of his teachers, and increasingly, it was the opinion of his parents. The young man, despite being born to […]
What Good Can Possibly Come From an Uneducable Boy?
The Not-So-Funny Tale of the Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic
If everyone is laughing, that’s usually a sign that things are going well. Not so in the case of a peculiar and unexplained phenomenon that hit Eastern Africa in the 1960s. Plenty […]
How to Combine Fecal Examinations, Parasites, and Dinner
If you happen to acquire a time machine, there are many past events you may wish to experience. Odds are that one of those will not be the dinner lecture sponsored by […]
A Schoolboy Crush, a Teacher’s Kiss, and a Quest for Greatness
They certainly weren’t the first boys in history to develop a crush on their teacher. Who could blame them for their innocent preoccupation over Miss Brown? Matilda “Tillie” Brown was young, pretty, […]
Big Bird Narrowly Avoided Dying in Space
For over 50 years, Sesame Street’s Big Bird has been one of the most iconic and beloved children’s characters. The 8-foot 2-inch (249 cm) bright yellow bird has been teaching children how […]
How Many Licks Does it Take To Get to the Tootsie Roll Center of a Tootsie Pop?
In 1970, the world was asked the question, “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?” The question was posed in an animated […]
Improve Your Memory With These Helpful Mnemonics
Who hasn’t wished to have a better memory? Whether you struggle with recalling the names of people whom you just met, have difficulty with how many “c”s and “m”s to include in […]
Sir Nevill Mott: The Absent-Minded Nobel Laureate
Sir Nevill Francis Mott (1905-1996) won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1977. He was a professor at the University of Manchester, Cambridge, and the University of Bristol. His students remember him […]
Why Does Sesame Street’s Count Like to Count?
Children have been learning how to count with the help of Sesame Street’s Count von Count for nearly fifty years. The purple-skinned vampire is well named, since he derives much more pleasure […]
Getting Fried by Hugo N. Frye
The Hugo N. Frye Sesquicentennial Committee of Cornell University planned an event to honor New York’s often-overlooked political activist and founder of the New York Republican Party. The event was scheduled for […]
Herbert Hoover’s Expectations
“My country owes me nothing. It gave me, as it gives every boy and girl, a chance. It gave me schooling, independence of action, opportunity for service and honor.”
— Herbert Hoover
Sharpen Up Your Knowledge of the Pencil
As summer ends and students return to school, it is appropriate to take a moment and reflect on one of the things that is as indispensable to studies as notebooks and backpacks: […]
The Loneliness of Originality
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) is one of the most-widely quotes Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. His concise and pithy judicial opinions reflect his sharp and creative […]
The Confidence of Never Meeting Your Intellectual Equal
One of the hallmarks of Abraham Lincoln’s personality was his humility. He frequently used self-deprecating humor to defuse difficult situations.
Meet the Cat Who Co-Authored a Scientific Paper
F.D.C. Willard was 7 years old when he became a published researcher. As you might expect with someone so gifted at such a young age, there were some difficulties in coping with […]
