The Wonder Book of Knowledge / The Marvels of Modern Industry and Invention, the Interesting Stories of Common Things, the Mysterious Processes of Nature Simply Explained
HOW COLOR PRINTING IS DONE
THE MARVELS OF MODERN INDUSTRY AND INVENTION THE INTERESTING STORIES OF COMMON THINGS THE MYSTERIOUS PROCESSES OF NATURE SIMPLY EXPLAINED
COMPILED AND EDITED BY HENRY CHASE HILL WITH THE CO-OPERATION OF EXPERTS REPRESENTING EACH INDUSTRY
Illustrated with 780 Photographs and Drawings
PHILADELPHIA THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY PUBLISHERS
Copyright, 1921 By L. T. MYERS Copyright, 1917-19
This book is presented to those, both young and old, who wish to have a non-technical account of the history, evolution and production of some of the every-day wonders of the modern industrial age; coupled with occasional glimpses of the wonderful object-lessons afforded by nature in her constructive activities in the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms; and simple, understandable answers to the myriad puzzling questions arising daily in the minds of those for whom the fascination of the “Why” and “How” is always engrossing.
Although not intended primarily as a child’s book, the interest-compelling pictures and clear, illuminating answers to the constant avalanche of questions suggested by the growing mind, unite in making far happier children in the home and brighter children at school. Parents and teachers will also recognize the opportunity to watch for subjects by which the child’s interest appears to be more than ordinarily attracted, and, in so doing, will be enabled to guide the newly-formed tendencies into the proper channels. With the greatest thinkers of the age advocating vocational training, and leading educators everywhere pointing out that the foundation of a practical education for life must be laid in the home, thoughtful parents will not overlook the fact that a book which both entertains and instructs is of supreme importance in the equipment of their children.
In the preparation of this book its function has been considered as that of gathering up some of the multitudinous bits of information of interest, both to the inquiring child and the older reader, and putting them in shape to be digested by the ordinary searcher after knowledge. The book is intended, not for a few technical specialists, but for the larger number of men, women and children who are not interested in exhaustive treatises, but who are seeking to gain some fair idea about the numberless every-day subjects that arise in ordinary conversation, or that they meet with in reading and about which they desire some definite and satisfactory information.
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Preface
Table of Contents
Origin of Submarine Navigation.
The American Types.
Twentieth Century Submarines.
Engine Power.
The Periscope.
The Voyage of the “Deutschland.”
Submarine Dredging.
The Story of the Panama Canal
The United States to the Rescue.
The Canal and the Navy.
The Great Canal.
The Hydroelectric Station.
Gigantic Obstacles.
Gatun Dam.
Meeting all Emergencies.
A Battle Won.
What is a Geyser?
What Kind of Dogs are Prairie-Dogs?
What is Spontaneous Combustion?
What are Petrified Forests?
What Animals are the Best Architects?
How is the Weather Man Able to Predict Tomorrow’s Weather?
How does a Siren Fog Horn Blow?
How does a Monorail Gyroscope Railway Operate?
Why are Finger-prints Used for Identification?
How It Began.
The Earliest Hunters.
A Nameless Edison.
What They Saw.
The Use of Slings.
Something Better.
A Fortunate Accident.
What Came of It.
A Great Variety.
As to Arrows.
A Shooting Machine.
What It Was.
And Now for Chemistry.
Playing with Fire.
What Two Monks Discovered.
The Coming of the Matchlock.
The Gun of Our Ancestors.
Caps and Breech-Loaders.
From Henry VIII to Cartridges.
A Refusal and What Came of It.
The Beginning of Precision in Mechanics.
The First Government Contract.
Making Barrels.
The Making of Ammunition Today.
Handling Deadly Explosives.
Extreme Precautions.
How does an Artesian Well Keep Up Its Supply of Water?
Where do Dates Come From?
The Story of Rubber
How was Rubber First Used?
What is a Rubber Camp Like?
How is Rubber Gathered by the Natives?
How is Rubber Smoked?
How was Vulcanizing Discovered?
How did Rubber Growing Spread to Other Places?
How is Rubber Cured on Modern Plantations?
How is Crude Rubber Received Here?
How is Rubber Prepared for Use?
How are Rubber Shoes Made?
How are Automobile Tires Made?
How did the Expression “Before you can say Jack Robinson” Originate?
What is an Aerial Railway Like?
Why are They Called “Newspapers”?
How Did the Cooking of Food Originate?
How Far Away is the Sky-Line?
Civilized Rope Makers.
Hand Spinning.
Machine-made Ropes.
American Hemp.
Manila and Sisal Fibers.
Wire Ropes.
Pine Tar for Ropes.
Why does Rope Cling Together?
What is Rope Used for?
How did the Expression “A-1” Originate?
How has Man Helped Nature Give Us Apples?
What Kind of a Crab Climbs Trees?
How are Files Made?
Colt Pistols.
Machine Guns.
How does the Poisonous Tarantula Live?
How do the Indians Live Now?
How does the Beach Get Its Sand?
How did Nodding the Head Up and Down Come to Mean “Yes”?
Why do We Call a Man “a Benedict” When He Marries?
What Makes a Chimney Smoke?
What are Dry Docks Like?
Why does a Lightning Bug Light Her Light?
How Deep is the Deepest Part of the Ocean?
Why do We Say “Get the Sack”?
Why do We Call Them X-Rays?
How did the Term “Yankee” Originate?
Why do We Say “Kick the Bucket”?
When does a Tortoise Move Quickly?
What do We Mean by the “Flying Dutchman”?
Why does a Duck’s Back Shed Water?
Why doesn’t the Sky ever Fall Down?
How are Sand-Dunes Formed?
What do We Mean by an “Eclipse”?
What are Dreams?
What Makes Our Teeth Chatter?
Where do Figs Come From?
What are “Fighting Fish”?
How is the Exact Color of the Sky Determined?
What is a “Divining Rod”?
The Traveler’s Iron.
Electric Cooking Appliances.
Divided into Three Classes.
Electric Toaster.
Electric Coffee Percolator.
Machine Type Percolator.
Two Distinct Types of Heating Elements.
Baking and Roasting.
Why is there Always a Soft Spot in a Cocoanut Shell?
How does a Gasoline Motor Run an Electric Street Car?
How do “Carrier Pigeons” Carry Messages?
What Family has Over 9,000,000 Members?
Essential Factor in American Life.
America Leads in Telephone Growth.
American Telephone Practice Superior.
The First Transcontinental Line.
Wireless Speech Transmission.
The Mobilization of Communication.
Why do They Call Them “Fiddler-Crabs”?
How Far can a Powerful Searchlight Send Its Rays?
What Started the Habit of Touching Glasses Before Drinking?
Why are Windows Broken by Explosions?
What does the Expression “Showing the White Feather” Come From?
The Escalator.
The Cleat Escalator.
The Moving Platform.
What Happens when Animals Hibernate?
How do Peanuts Get in the Ground?
How did Your State Get Its Name?
The Story of Coal Mining
How can We Hear through the Walls of a Room?
What is a Diesel Engine Like?
What does the Sheep-Grower Get for the Wool in a Suit of Clothes?
The Blank.
Squeezed.
Rolling.
Clipping.
Annealing.
The Evolution of a Spoon.
The Evolution of a Knife.
How do Chimes Strike the Hour?
How is Electricity Brought into a House?
What was the Origin of Masonic Signs?
What is a Dictograph?
The Story of the Wireless Telegraph
What is Forestry Work?
How did the Fashion of Wearing Cravats Commence?
How does the Gas Meter Measure Your Gas?
What is a Game Preserve?
What is a Silo?
The First Silo.
What is Put in the Silo?
Elements of Success or Failure.
The First Commercial Central Station.
The Old Pearl Street Plant.
Edison and the Electric Light.
In the Trenches.
Edison as a Central Station Pioneer.
Early Growth.
The Waterside Stations.
Electricity a Living Factor.
In the Printing Trade.
Construction.
Loft Manufacturing.
Electric Heating.
Electricity and Safety.
Electricity in Medicine.
Electric Vehicles.
Electricity and the Home.
Decreased Cost of Electricity.
How is Die-Sinking Done?
How did the Ringing of the Curfew Originate?
The Story of America’s First Horseless Carriage
Why do We Call them “Dog-Days”?
How is a Five Dollar Gold Piece Made?
How does a Bird Fly?
How did the Expression “Forlorn Hope” Originate?
Why is “Wall Street” Known Around the World?
What Makes a Stick Seem to Bend in Water?
What Causes a Lump in a Person’s Throat?
How are We Able to Hear Through Speaking-Tubes?
Why do We Always Shake Hands with Our Right Hand?
What is the Hottest Place in the United States?
What are White Blackberries Like?
Why do They Have a Dog-Watch on Shipboard?
How Much Gold has a 14-Carat Ring?
What is an Electro-Magnet?
How are Glaciers Formed?
How Large are Molecules?
Pictorial Story Of The Fishing Industry
The Story in a Box of California Oranges
What Kind of Steel Knives do not Stain nor Rust?
Why is it Necessary to Keep Unusually Quiet when Fishing?
What were the First Apartment Houses in this Country?
Why do We Call 32° Above Zero “Freezing”?
How is Fresco Painting Done?
Where did the Ferris Wheel get Its Name?
What is Done to Keep Railroad Rails from Breaking?
How does a “Master Clock” Control Others by Electricity?
The Story of the Calculating Machine
How did Men Learn to Count?
Who Invented the First Adding Machine?
Who Discovered the Slide Rule Principle?
The “Difference Engine.”
Work on Some of the Present-Day Models.
How Big is the Largest Adding Machine in the World?
How are Adding Machines Used?
Where does Ermine Come From?
What is the Principle of “Foreign Exchange”?
What do We Mean by “The Old Moon in the New Moon’s Arms”?
How are Artificial Precious Stones Made?
What is a Mexican Bull-Fight Like?
What is the Difference between “Alternating” and “Direct” Current?
What was the “Court of Love”?
The Birth of Mechanical Addressing.
Builds First Addressograph.
The Beginning of a Great Industry.
Answering Demand for Greater Speed.
Invents Embossed Metal Address Plate.
A Card Index that Addresses Itself.
Electric Motor Increases Speed.
Attachments Increase Utility of Addressograph.
Small Users not Overlooked.
The Addressograph—Its Place in Business.
What is “Dry Farming”?
What is a “Drying Machine” Like?
How does the New York Stock Exchange Operate?
How did the Term “Cowboys” Originate?
How is Gold Leaf Made?
What is the Natural Color of Goldfish?
When was “Liquid Fire” First Used in Warfare?
How did the Greyhound Get His Name?
Why is It Called “Battery Park”?
How do we Know that the Earth is Round?
What were “Ducking Stools”?
Color Engravings.
Where are Milk-Pails Filled from Trees?
How did the Wearing of a Crown Originate?
Why do Lobsters Change Colors?
How do Fishes Swim?
What is Cork?
The Story in a Giant Cannon
Origin of the Cannon.
Modern Cannon.
How Cannon are Now Made.
Built-Up and Wire-Wound Guns.
What is a Deep-Sea Diver’s Dress Like?
Why do We Smile when We are Pleased?
Why do Some of Us have Freckles?
Pictorial Story of the Steel Industry
What do We Mean by “Deviation of the Compass”?
Shoemaking by Machine.
What is “Standard Gold”?
What are Cyclones?
What Metals can be Drawn into Wire Best?
How are Cocoanuts Used to Help Our Warships?
How did the Dollar Sign Originate?
Pictorial Story of Fire Apparatus
What is a Drawbridge Like Today?
What is an Armored Railway Car Like?
What is an “Electric Eel”?
Why do We Call it “Denatured Alcohol”?
What is the Difference Between a Cruiser and a Battleship?
What is a Diving Bell?
How are Harbors Dredged Out?
How is a Razor Blade Made?
What Causes Floating Islands?
Pictorial Story of the Airship
How do Big Buildings Get their Granite?
Railroad Scenes from Shop and Road
The Reaping Hook or Sickle.
The Cradle.
Early Attempts to Harvest with Machines.
The First Successful Reaper.
Development of the Reaper.
The Self-Binder.
The Twine Binder.
Other Machines Follow.
What Causes an Echo?
What is a “Glass Snake”?
Why do We Get Hungry?
Why is the Thistle the Emblem of Scotland?
How are Animals Identified on Cattle Ranges?
How is Glue Made?
Why does a Hot Dish Crack if We Put Ice Cream in It?
Footnotes
Index
Acknowledgment
Transcriber’s Notes
