World science is dominated today by a small number of languages, including Japanese, German and French, but it is English which is probably the most popular global language of science. This is not just because of the importance of English- speaking countries such as the… Read More »The Birth of Scientific English
John McCrone reviews recent research on humour The joke comes over the headphones: ‘Which side of a dog has the most hair? The left.’ No, not funny. Try again. Which side of a dog has the most hair? The outside.’ Hah! The punchline is silly… Read More »What’s so funny?
In 1907, Leo Hendrick Baekeland, a Belgian scientist working in New York, discovered and patented a revolutionary new synthetic material. His invention, which he named ‘Bakelite’, was of enormous technological importance, and effectively launched the modern plastics industry. The term ‘plastic’ comes from the Greek… Read More »BAKELITE – The birth of modem plastics
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