50 Years Ago

In 1920 a German, Freiherr von Pohl, propounded the theory that certain rays emanate from the Earth which are injurious to the health of man... He followed this with the publication of a book... in which the use of the divining rod is recommended for detecting the presence of such rays. Credence was given to his theory by an astonishing number of people, particularly in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands... Spread of the belief, however, gave scope for the activities of large numbers of diviners, professional and otherwise. They appeared mostly to act in good faith, although one feels that the lady who claimed for her divining rod the ability not only to detect the presence of Earth rays, but also to extract them from the ground and deposit them in a ditch or rubbish heap...was making rather a good thing out of her neighbours' troubles... In the Netherlands, agriculture was at first unaffected by von Pohl's theory, until about ten years ago intensive propaganda on the part of the diviners proclaimed the efficiency of the protective boxes for controlling animal and plant disease. The propaganda was so successful... that uneasiness was felt in scientific circles.

From Nature 27 April 1957.

100 Years Ago

In addition to the usual record of measurements taken during the year 1906 at Epsom College, the report of the college Natural History Society for last year gives the average height, weight, and chest girth of all boys who have been measured in the ten years 1897–1906... On the whole, the average Epsom College boy would appear to be rather superior in physique than inferior to the average public-school boy. One marked exception is evident in the curves for the ages 17 yr. 10 mo. to 18 yr. 4 mo., though... the number of observations on which the curves are based is, for these months, much smaller than the rest.

From Nature 25 April 1907.