Originally, magic meant the use of mystic words or charms and the claiming of supernatural powers to do things which ordinarily could not be done. It was used by priests and medicine men of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome to convince the people that they had powe...

Superstition has existed from the beginning of civilization right down to this day. All over the world, millions of people still have faith in supersti­tions and refuse to give them up. It is almost impossible to explain just how superstitions begin. There may be...

ARTICLEA mummy, as you know, is a dead body that has been preserved. The word "mummy" comes from the Arabic and means "a body preserved by wax or tar." Now, why should the Egyptians want to preserve the body of the dead?

The reason is...

There is a story about an explorer who found himself in one of the most remote regions of the world. When he met the natives, he expected to see no sign of civilization at all. Yet to his great surprise, he saw in the but of the native chief a sewing machin...

Typewriters are a very modem development and are still being con­stantly improved. But did you know that a patent for a typewriter was given to an Englishman called Henry Mill as long ago as 1714?

This typewriter, however, was never manufactured...

The story of the invention of the telephone is a very dramatic one. (No wonder they were able to make a movie about it!) But first let's make sure we understand the principle of how a telephone works.

When you speak, the air makes your vocal cords vi...

Man's desire to be able to travel underwater goes back a long, long time. But the first craft actually designed to travel in this way of which we have a record goes back to 1578.

A British mathematician called "William Boume published a book in that year i...

Imagine stepping off into space three miles in the air and then landing on the ground with no more shock than if you had jumped down from a 3 -metre fence. You could do it-with a parachute! A parachute is simply a big umbrella that creates air resistance. With a p...

Sometimes an invention starts with having the "idea." A man has the idea that people might want a certain kind of machine or product, and then he proceeds to "invent" it.

But when it comes to the airplane, the "idea" has been one of man's oldest d...

Unlike so many other great developments, no one man can claim credit for inventing the automobile. It has reached its present state of perfection as the result of a great many ideas contributed through the years.

For all practical purposes, the ...