Book Club: More STEM Summer Reads

The next book I read was A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. I would dare say that this has been my favorite read of the summer (thus far, of course).

The title is very appropriate as the scope of this novel is quite large.  Bryson tells the history of our planet from the Big Bang to now by going through every discipline of science, including everything from astronomy to zoology.  While there is a lot of information, the author's humor made this an incredibly entertaining read.

One of my favorite passages tells the story of Thomas Midgley, Jr.  The Ohio inventor was an engineer by training, and as Bryson says, "the world would have been a safer place if he had stayed so" (page 149).  Instead in 1921 he began to work for General Motors Research Corporation working on the industrial applications of chemistry, specifically tetraethyl lead.  The compound reduced engine knock (when it shakes and vibrates), but released lead, a neurotoxin into the air... YET it still reduced engine knock so a few large corporations invested together to create Ethyl Gasoline Corporation to mass produce it.  Soon the production workers were suffering severely from the effects of lead, but the media was told they were simply working too hard.  After a number of deaths, Midgley went in front of journalists and poured tetraethyl lead all over his hands and held a full beaker under his nose for a minute, saying he would be fine if he did that every day.  When really, he had suffered from overexposure a few months before and never went near the stuff unless he needed to reassure journalists!  It wasn't until 1986 that actions were successful at ending the compound's production, and almost immediately "lead levels in the blood of Americans fell by 80%.  But because lead is forever, those of us alive today have 625 times more lead in our blood than people did a century ago" (page 158).  If that wasn't bad enough, in the 1920's he also invented chloroflurocarbons (CFCs) which began for refrigerators but ended up being used in thousands of products from air conditioners to deodorant sprays.  CFCs stick around forever and devour the ozone in the stratosphere.  Bryson sums their effects as, "in short, chloroflurocarbons may ultimately prove to be just about the worst invention of the twentieth century" (page 152).  Thomas Midgley, Jr.'s final invention was a device to automatically raise or turn him in bed after he became crippled with polio.  In 1944, Midgley was entangled in the cords when the device went into action and strangled him.

This one is a little darker than most, but I found Midgley's end somewhat fitting!  That is one of the countless snippets of our history.  The breadth of Bryson's findings provide plenty of stories for those of all interests, go find your favorite!  

__________

Earlier in the summer, I read The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by  Denise Kiernan after a recommendation from a classmate.

The novel follows several women  in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, who were brought in secret to work on the Manhattan Project.  For many of the young women, it was their first job, a means to provide for their family, or an opportunity to make a life.  Many met their husbands and started families in their years working on the project.  The whole time they were kept in the dark to what they were actually creating, most not learning until a radio broadcast after the atomic bombs had been dropped and Oak Ridge erupted into cries of victory.  This descriptive telling of life in Oak Ridge best paints the whole picture, each young women having a different role in the war effort, living situation, background prior to the war, and life after her years there.  This was a historical novel, much like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks that tells the human side of scientific discoveries and events.

__________

It you have any younger siblings, nieces/nephews, cousins, or children you babysit, SWE recently posted on Facebook this list of great STEM books for kids!  Check those out and help inspire some young minds!