Where do rainbows come from, Daddy? What about flying cars—and LSD? In the beginning, there was always the toddler’s query, which led to the schoolchild’s raised hand and, still later, the engineer’s back-of-the envelope sketch of a new invention. Everything started somewhere—and someone had to ask. Think of what you are about to read as a collection of queries rooted in childlike curiosity about the world around us and the still larger universe that stretches beyond. After exploring the big questions in the articles that precede this section—the origins of the universe and the beginnings of life itself—we now turn to everything else. The origins of external ears, Scotch tape, the ethereal evolution of love and even artificial hearts are revealed in the pages that follow. Of course, many of you were wondering what came before the big bang. But others ponder an even more urgent question. Read on, and you may find out who or what prevailed in the contest between the chicken and the ovum. —The Editors
Topics available in the premium version of this article:
Rainbows The simple magic of their shape and colors still puzzles Flying Car A long-standing dream Love Large brains may have led to the evolution of amour Digital Audio Player Mobile music rocked the record industry Asteroids The small fry of the solar system have troubled pasts Batteries Their inventor may not have known how they actually work External Ears They guide sound to the sensitive middle ear Insurance Its probability-based view of misfortunes helped to shape the scientific outlook Scotch Tape Most new inventions quickly fall into oblivion; some stick Antibiotics These wonder-drug molecules might have evolvedto help bacteria speak with their neighbors, not kill them Artificial Heart Did the wrong man get credit for the world’s first permanent pump? Coriolis Effect The earth’s spin influences hurricanes but not toilets Ball Bearings Cheap steel was key to allowing the routine design of parts that rolled against one another Teeth They long predate the smile Egg The answer to the age-old riddle is biologically obvious Cancer When a cell’s controls break down, chaos is unleashed The Stirrup Invention of the stirrup may rival that of the longbow and gunpowder LSD An inquisitive Swiss chemist sent himself on the first acid trip Cooking Preparing foods with fire may have made us humans what we are Clocks Their origin is one of the deepest questions in modern physics Legs, Feet and Toes The essential parts for walking on land evolved in water Paper Money A substitute for coins turned into a passport for globalization The Vibrator One of the first electrical appliances made its way into the home as a purported medical device Buckyballs and Nanotubes A once overlooked form of carbon may represent the future of technology Economic Thinking Even apparently irrational human choices can make sense in terms of our inner logic Carbon Synonymous with life, it was born in the heart of stars The Placenta An eggshell membrane evolved into the organ that lets fetuses grow in the womb
Graphical Perspective “Realistic” imagery depends on relatively recent cultural assumptions and technical skills The Paper Clip Despite its shortcomings, the iconic design will likely stick around Anthrax Solving the riddle of its lethal contagion modernized the understanding of disease Intermittent Windshield Wipers A now routine automotive feature pitted an individual inventor against the entire industry The Eye What was half an eye good for? Quite a lot, actually Diamond Its hardness is natural; its value is not The Pill Infertility treatments led to reproductive liberation The Mechanincal Loom Programmable textile machinery provided inspirationfor the player piano and the early computer Mad Cow Disease Cannibalism takes its revenge on modern farms Photosynthesis The reaction that makes the world green is just one of many variants The Blueprint A failure for photography, it was long irreplaceable for duplicating house plans Feathers Barbs became plumes long before birds took wing—in fact, long before birds Bone Structure, strength and storage in one package AIDS and HIV Religious Thought Belief in the supernatural may have emerged from the most basic components of human cognition Recorded Music The first recordings remained silent for 150 years The Color Blue The natural pigment was once a “precious” color Facial Expressions Our unique expressiveness may have a three-million-year-old pedigree Gamma Rays To create one typically means you have to destroy something, be it a single particle or an entire star Light It emerged not with a quick flip of the switch but with a slow breaking of the dawn Chocolate Mixing the bitter treat with milk was the popular breakthrough Internal-Combustion Engine Still powering the world’s vehicle fleet 130 years on Cupcakes The yummy baked good is one of America’s first and finest contributions to world cuisine Appendix Not needed, but not useless The Web The global information resource spun out of research into fundamental physics Tectonic Plates The long, strange trip of continental drift
Note: This article was originally printed with the title, “Origins.”
What about flying cars—and LSD?
In the beginning, there was always the toddler’s query, which led to the schoolchild’s raised hand and, still later, the engineer’s back-of-the envelope sketch of a new invention.
Everything started somewhere—and someone had to ask. Think of what you are about to read as a collection of queries rooted in childlike curiosity about the world around us and the still larger universe that stretches beyond.
After exploring the big questions in the articles that precede this section—the origins of the universe and the beginnings of life itself—we now turn to everything else. The origins of external ears, Scotch tape, the ethereal evolution of love and even artificial hearts are revealed in the pages that follow.
Of course, many of you were wondering what came before the big bang. But others ponder an even more urgent question. Read on, and you may find out who or what prevailed in the contest between the chicken and the ovum. —The Editors
Note: This article was originally printed with the title, “Origins.”
Topics available in the premium version of this article:
Rainbows The simple magic of their shape and colors still puzzles
Flying Car A long-standing dream
Love Large brains may have led to the evolution of amour
Digital Audio Player Mobile music rocked the record industry
Asteroids The small fry of the solar system have troubled pasts
Batteries Their inventor may not have known how they actually work
External Ears They guide sound to the sensitive middle ear
Insurance Its probability-based view of misfortunes helped to shape the scientific outlook
Scotch Tape Most new inventions quickly fall into oblivion; some stick
Antibiotics These wonder-drug molecules might have evolvedto help bacteria speak with their neighbors, not kill them
Artificial Heart Did the wrong man get credit for the world’s first permanent pump?
Coriolis Effect The earth’s spin influences hurricanes but not toilets
Ball Bearings Cheap steel was key to allowing the routine design of parts that rolled against one another
Teeth They long predate the smile
Egg The answer to the age-old riddle is biologically obvious
Cancer When a cell’s controls break down, chaos is unleashed
The Stirrup Invention of the stirrup may rival that of the longbow and gunpowder
LSD An inquisitive Swiss chemist sent himself on the first acid trip
Cooking Preparing foods with fire may have made us humans what we are
Clocks Their origin is one of the deepest questions in modern physics
Legs, Feet and Toes The essential parts for walking on land evolved in water
Paper Money A substitute for coins turned into a passport for globalization
The Vibrator One of the first electrical appliances made its way into the home as a purported medical device
Buckyballs and Nanotubes A once overlooked form of carbon may represent the future of technology
Economic Thinking Even apparently irrational human choices can make sense in terms of our inner logic
Carbon Synonymous with life, it was born in the heart of stars
The Placenta An eggshell membrane evolved into the organ that lets fetuses grow in the womb
Graphical Perspective “Realistic” imagery depends on relatively recent cultural assumptions and technical skills
The Paper Clip Despite its shortcomings, the iconic design will likely stick around
Anthrax Solving the riddle of its lethal contagion modernized the understanding of disease
Intermittent Windshield Wipers A now routine automotive feature pitted an individual inventor against the entire industry
The Eye What was half an eye good for? Quite a lot, actually
Diamond Its hardness is natural; its value is not
The Pill Infertility treatments led to reproductive liberation
The Mechanincal Loom Programmable textile machinery provided inspirationfor the player piano and the early computer
Mad Cow Disease Cannibalism takes its revenge on modern farms
Photosynthesis The reaction that makes the world green is just one of many variants
The Blueprint A failure for photography, it was long irreplaceable for duplicating house plans
Feathers Barbs became plumes long before birds took wing—in fact, long before birds
Bone Structure, strength and storage in one package
AIDS and HIV
Religious Thought Belief in the supernatural may have emerged from the most basic components of human cognition
Recorded Music The first recordings remained silent for 150 years
The Color Blue The natural pigment was once a “precious” color
Facial Expressions Our unique expressiveness may have a three-million-year-old pedigree
Gamma Rays To create one typically means you have to destroy something, be it a single particle or an entire star
Light It emerged not with a quick flip of the switch but with a slow breaking of the dawn
Chocolate Mixing the bitter treat with milk was the popular breakthrough
Internal-Combustion Engine Still powering the world’s vehicle fleet 130 years on
Cupcakes The yummy baked good is one of America’s first and finest contributions to world cuisine
Appendix Not needed, but not useless
The Web The global information resource spun out of research into fundamental physics
Tectonic Plates The long, strange trip of continental drift
