50 Years Ago

Hypnotic Susceptibility. By Ernest R. Hilgard — A large number of studies designed to investigate various hypnotic phenomena have been carried out by Ernest Hilgard and his co-workers on a considerable number of college students during the past eight years. Individual differences in 'hypnotizability' have been a major area of interest and in the course of their investigations several scales were developed for the quantitative assessment of hypnotic susceptibility ... There are three general purpose scales and a scale for yielding profiles of hypnotic ability. Convincing statistical evidence is given concerning their validity and reliability ... The latter part of the book is concerned with the relation of hypnotic susceptibility to a number of personality variables ... Although some significant correlations do emerge, they are insufficient to characterize the hypnotizable person clearly.

From Nature 30 April 1966

100 Years Ago

The large meteors which passed over Northern America on February 9, 1913, presented some unique features. The length of their observed flight was about 2600 miles, and they must have been moving in paths concentric, or nearly concentric, with the earth's surface, so that they temporarily formed new terrestrial satellites ... The meteors were last seen from the Bermuda Islands ... I have since made efforts to obtain further observations from seafaring men through the medium of the Nautical Magazine, and have succeeded in procuring data which prove that the meteors were observed during a course of 5500 miles from about lat. 51° N., long. 107° W., to lat. 5½° S., long. 32½° W.

From Nature 27 April 1916 Footnote 1