Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 5 October 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.976
Column: Muse
What toys can tell us
Sometimes all you need to do scientific research is string, sealing wax and a bit of imagination, says Philip Ball.
When Agnes Gardner King went to visit her uncle William one November day in 1887, she found him playing. He was, she wrote, "armed with a vessel of soap and glycerine prepared for blowing soap bubbles, and a tray with a number of mathematical figures made of wire".
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email webadmin@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
There are currently no comments.
