World Book Wednesday

Volume I

Indian, American-  I'm willing to bet this entry no longer exists in any current encyclopedia.

The third paragraph mentions that some Indians refer to themselves as Native Americans.
The fourth paragraph says Indians are also called redmen or redskins.

Iron and Steel- I initially included this entry because I thought this big old gas guzzler would prove how far the car industry has come since the 70s. Then I did some research...

According to the caption, a car contains about 1500 pounds of steel. Today, the average is about 1800.
I'm still trying to figure this out since everything on my Saturn is plastic except the oil dipstick.

Iron Lung- Polio epidemics in the 40s and 50s paralyzed thousands, and the iron lung was the only means of breathing for many patients. Although positive pressure ventilators that allow patients to move about freely have been in use since the 1950s, there are still a few dozen iron lungs in use in the US today.

Isotope- "Isotopes are atoms of the same element that differ in atomic weight, or mass." I understand that because I majored in chemistry. But just because you understand the theory behind a concept doesn't mean you can apply the knowledge to everyday life. For instance, I have no clue what this illustration is showing:

Apparently there is a device that utilizes isotopes that when pointed at a shirtless man's head will diagnose something, and when pointed at a guinea pig does research. Very close examination shows that whatever the device is reading, the naked man and the guinea pig register at opposite ends of the scale.

The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book-Childcraft International, 1979. Includes all photos and quotations.