Popular Science , which started as a text-only newsletter in 1872, has made its entire 137-year archive available for free browsing . It’s an invaluable resource, especially for those of us interested in retrofuturism (depictions of the future produced in the past). From the 1920 to the 1970s, Popular Science was at the forefront of futurism, with depictions of ray-guns, robots, rocket-ships, and other future tech depicted in almost every issue.
Naturally, the types of popular science the magazine focused on tended to be those of applied science and technology. And while no topic that entails application in human lives is completely free of ethical and political concerns, some subjects proved to be—at least in retrospect—more controversial than others.
For example, while browsing the archives I stumbled across an article from 1910 innocently titled “Heredity.” The content, however, reveals a future that was narrowly avoided .
Fortunately, we are more enlightened than Harvard professors were a hundred years ago. A century later we have totally repudiated the idea of eugenics, haven’t we ?
(Via: i09 )
While I have you, can I ask you something? I’ll be quick.
Twenty-five thousand people subscribe to First Things. Why can’t that be fifty thousand? Three million people read First Things online like you are right now. Why can’t that be four million?
Let’s stop saying “can’t.” Because it can. And your year-end gift of just $50, $100, or even $250 or more will make it possible.
How much would you give to introduce just one new person to First Things? What about ten people, or even a hundred? That’s the power of your charitable support.
Make your year-end gift now using this secure link or the button below.
