Really useful; the origins of everyday things. (Science).LEVY, Joel. Really useful; the origins of everyday things. Firefly firefly or lightning bug, small, luminescent, carnivorous beetle of the family Lampyridae. Fireflies are well represented in temperate regions, although the majority of species are tropical and subtropical. Books. 240p. illus. bibliog. index. c2002. 1-55297-622-X. $24.95. SA Sliced bread Sliced bread usually refers to a loaf of bread which has been pre-sliced and packaged for convenience. History Otto Frederick Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa invented the first loaf-at-a-time bread-slicing machine. , Post-It Notes Post´-it note n. 1. A small sheet of paper having the back part partly covered with a non-permanent gum which allows the note to be attached temporarily to another object, and easily removed without leaving any trace of glue on the object to , matches, buttons, cameras, key rings, raincoats, Swiss army knives, light bulbs, toilet paper. ... This merry encyclopedia tells the stories of the things we'd really miss: who invented them, how they work, how they've changed. Joel Levy invites us to see our homes and public places as museums full of exhibits that are in constant use. On his tour of these everyday museums, he shows us how many things we are apt to regard as quite modern, like condoms, batteries, vending machines vending machine, coin-operated, automatic device for selling goods. Many vending machines are capable of making change, and some of the more sophisticated ones accept paper money or credit cards. (yes, batteries, yes, vending machines!), have their origins quite far back in human history. Even e-commerce, the most recent invention on the tour, goes back a little earlier than I would have supposed. Levy is a British journalist with a breezy style and a knack for clear explanations. (The book's UK origins reveal themselves in the entries on the teabag and the electric teakettle.) His choices, illustrated with witty color photographs and beautifully designed, invite readers to look at the things around them with a fresh eye. I would highly recommend Really Useful to students and teachers except that, when you want to check the facts, learn more, or just find a tantalizing tan·ta·lize tr.v. tan·ta·lized, tan·ta·liz·ing, tan·ta·liz·es To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. bit of information again, the book becomes really useless. "Further reading" is limited to five books and nine Web sites. I spotted one typo--William Caxton's book "catalogues" was first issued in 1479, not 1749. And the absence of Caxton, Napster, Universal Product Code, James Dewar, China (to mention just a few proper nouns in the text I tried to look up) from the index is scandalous MATTER, SCANDALOUS, equity pleading. A false and malicious statement of facts, not relevant to the cause. But nothing which is positively relevant, however harsh or gross the charge may be, can be considered scandalous. 4 Bouv. Inst. n. 4163. 2. . Karen Reeds, Princeton Research Forum, Princeton, NJ |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion