Discovering Our World, Part 3

Look what I found today while browsing around in Half Price Books!

If I have anything that approaches the category of "strange fascination", it is my fondness for old school textbooks. There's no rhyme or reason to the ones that I like. I don't like all textbooks; just some. And I never really know which ones I will like until I hold it in my hands and examine it. I like books that have some heft to them, that are printed on heavy, high-quality paper, that have good pictures or drawings (preferably in the art deco style), that are in great condition, and that also have a certain je ne sais quoi quality about them. I lean towards science textbooks, but I also have a few health, math, geography, and history textbooks. I also like them to be from the 1940s or earlier.

This particular book I discovered after wondering around the store for almost an hour and just as I was about to give up and leave empty-handed. What's more, it was a mere three dollars! It weighs a whopping 1.5 pounds but is only 5.5" x 7.5", so it's pretty dense. And, as you can see, it is about 72 years old. I wish I could hold up so good after 72 years!

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It has some pretty spiffy looking pictures in it. Just get a load of this one.


Even in 1939 girls were being encouraged to participate in science. And just dig those crazy threads, man! Just imagine the poor boy that sat behind her in science class. After about 20 minutes, he was probably feeling dizzy and slightly nauseous from motion sickness.

And how about that battery? It looks like a Pringle's can. Imagine if you had to power your iPhone with one of those suckers?

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And here's a disturbing picture.

I think it's some sort of early Mardi Gras celebration. Or perhaps the International Brotherhood (and Sisterhood) of Sanitation Workers #413 are going out on strike. Or perhaps they are angry villagers who could not find pitchforks. Who knows?

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Are are these not the two shiniest piano players you've ever seen? I'm not sure they're not automatons. Don't look directly at his hair or it will blind you. I think they're playing one of the earliest known prototypes of a Moog synthesizer. Could this be an early photo of Rick Wakeman and Wendy Carlos?

Anyway, I love my new book and will be adding it to my collection of old grade-school textbooks.