Category Archives: Science

Dancing the Kickapoo

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 201.  Many readers of this blog will have probably heard of the “cake walk”, a dance that was popular during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.  The dance originated on the slave plantations in America and was performed … Continue reading →

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Chocolate Records

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 190.  The early 20th Century was a time of great innovation in technology, but not all good ideas are born equal.  Sometimes just because you can make something, it doesn’t mean you should.  From one of innovation’s blind alleys, … Continue reading →

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The Dog’s Nose

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 118.  I hope everyone in the UK has been enjoying their bank holiday. I expect a lot of people chose to spend some of their time walking a dog, just like Dr. G. J. Romanes in the quote below … Continue reading →

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Troublesome Photography

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 108. During the mid 19th Century there were a wealth of books published on the new and exciting subject of photography, but most are technical, scientific affairs, focussing on the mechanics of the art rather than the …well… art. … Continue reading →

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The Greatest Light Show Ever

Posted on August 18, 2016 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 88.  In the last snippet we looked at an account of the northern lights seen in London in 1739, published in the Royal Society of London Journal, one of the greatest sources of historical information available. Established in 1665 … Continue reading →

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Northern Lights in London

Posted on August 14, 2016 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 87. The Royal Society of London Journal is one of the greatest sources of historical information available. Established in 1665 as the first exclusively scientific journal in the world, it has been in continuous publication ever since. The remit … Continue reading →

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The 185 Year Old Men

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 77.  John Abernethy (1764-1831) was the author of one of the earliest popular books on medical science, published in 1809. It was not long before other authors began to hang on his coat-tails, and in 1830 Common Sense or … Continue reading →

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Houses on the Moon

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 74.  During the first half of the 19th Century, a few noted astronomers made observations of the moon and concluded that it might be inhabited. The most notable of these was Franz von Gruithuisen from Bavaria, who believed he … Continue reading →

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The 18th Century Robot

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Roger Pocock

Snippets 64.  Hungarian inventor Wolfgang von Kempelen exhibited something quite astonished for the first time in 1770: a robotic chess player. “The Turk” was a life-size human head and torso, which sat behind a cabinet to play chess against its … Continue reading →

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The Accordion that Played Itself (Creepy History 4)

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Roger Pocock

Sir William Crookes (1832-1919) was an eminent chemist and physicist who pioneered vacuum tubes, but in the 1860s he turned his attention to the study of mediums.  One of his cases was a man named Daniel Dunglas Home, who supposedly … Continue reading →

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