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The Wonder Book of Knowledge

by Henry Chase Hill

330 sections · Download EPUB

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  1. 1Preface
  2. 2Table of Contents
  3. 3The Story of the Submarine
  4. 4The American Types
  5. 5Twentieth Century Submarines
  6. 6Engine Power
  7. 7The Periscope
  8. 8The Voyage of the “Deutschland”
  9. 9Submarine Dredging
  10. 10The Story of the Panama Canal
  11. 11The United States to the Rescue
  12. 12The Canal and the Navy
  13. 13The Great Canal
  14. 14The Hydroelectric Station
  15. 15Gigantic Obstacles
  16. 16Gatun Dam
  17. 17Meeting All Emergencies
  18. 18A Battle Won
  19. 19What Is a Geyser?
  20. 20What Kind of Dogs Are Prairie-Dogs?
  21. 21What Is Spontaneous Combustion?
  22. 22The Story in the Talking Machine
  23. 23What Are Petrified Forests?
  24. 24What Animals Are the Best Architects?
  25. 25The Story of the Motorcycle
  26. 26How Is the Weather Man Able to Predict Tomorrow’s Weather?
  27. 27How Does a Siren Fog Horn Blow?
  28. 28The Story in a Watch
  29. 29How Does a Monorail Gyroscope Railway Operate?
  30. 30Why Are Finger-prints Used for Identification?
  31. 31The Story in a Rifle
  32. 32The Earliest Hunters
  33. 33A Nameless Edison
  34. 34What They Saw
  35. 35The Use of Slings
  36. 36Something Better
  37. 37A Fortunate Accident
  38. 38What Came of It
  39. 39A Great Variety
  40. 40As to Arrows
  41. 41A Shooting Machine
  42. 42What It Was
  43. 43And Now for Chemistry
  44. 44Playing With Fire
  45. 45What Two Monks Discovered
  46. 46The Coming of the Matchlock
  47. 47The Gun of Our Ancestors
  48. 48Caps and Breech-Loaders
  49. 49From Henry VIII to Cartridges
  50. 50A Refusal and What Came of It
  51. 51The Beginning of Precision in Mechanics
  52. 52The First Government Contract
  53. 53Making Barrels
  54. 54Taking Off 2⁄1000 of an Inch
  55. 55The Making of Ammunition Today
  56. 56Handling Deadly Explosives
  57. 57Extreme Precautions
  58. 58How Does an Artesian Well Keep Up Its Supply of Water?
  59. 59Where Do Dates Come From?
  60. 60The Story of Rubber
  61. 61How Was Rubber First Used?
  62. 62What Is a Rubber Camp Like?
  63. 63How Is Rubber Gathered by the Natives?
  64. 64How Is Rubber Smoked?
  65. 65How Was Vulcanizing Discovered?
  66. 66How Did Rubber Growing Spread to Other Places?
  67. 67How Is Rubber Cured on Modern Plantations?
  68. 68How Is Crude Rubber Received Here?
  69. 69How Is Rubber Prepared for Use?
  70. 70How Are Rubber Shoes Made?
  71. 71How Are Automobile Tires Made?
  72. 72How Did the Expression “Before You Can Say Jack Robinson” Originate?
  73. 73What Is an Aerial Railway Like?
  74. 74Why Are They Called “Newspapers”?
  75. 75How Did the Cooking of Food Originate?
  76. 76How Far Away Is the Sky-Line?
  77. 77The Story of Rope
  78. 78Civilized Rope Makers
  79. 79Hand Spinning
  80. 80Machine-made Ropes
  81. 81American Hemp
  82. 82Manila and Sisal Fibers
  83. 83Wire Ropes
  84. 84Pine Tar for Ropes
  85. 85Why Does Rope Cling Together?
  86. 86What Is Rope Used for?
  87. 87How Did the Expression “A-1” Originate?
  88. 88How Has Man Helped Nature Give Us Apples?
  89. 89What Kind of a Crab Climbs Trees?
  90. 90How Are Files Made?
  91. 91The Story of Self-Loading Pistols
  92. 92Machine Guns
  93. 93How Does the Poisonous Tarantula Live?
  94. 94How Do the Indians Live Now?
  95. 95How Does the Beach Get Its Sand?
  96. 96How Did Nodding the Head Up and Down Come to Mean “Yes”?
  97. 97Why Do We Call a Man “A Benedict” When He Marries?
  98. 98The Story in Firecrackers and Sky-Rockets
  99. 99What Makes a Chimney Smoke?
  100. 100What Are Dry Docks Like?
  101. 101Why Does a Lightning Bug Light Her Light?
  102. 102The Story in the Making of a Picture
  103. 103How Deep Is the Deepest Part of the Ocean?
  104. 104Why Do We Say “Get the Sack”?
  105. 105Why Do We Call Them X-Rays?
  106. 106How Did the Term “Yankee” Originate?
  107. 107Why Do We Say “Kick the Bucket”?
  108. 108When Does a Tortoise Move Quickly?
  109. 109The Story in a Newspaper
  110. 110What Do We Mean by the “Flying Dutchman”?
  111. 111Why Does a Duck’s Back Shed Water?
  112. 112Why Doesn’t the Sky Ever Fall Down?
  113. 113How Are Sand-Dunes Formed?
  114. 114What Do We Mean by an “Eclipse”?
  115. 115What Are Dreams?
  116. 116What Makes Our Teeth Chatter?
  117. 117The Story in a Honey-Comb
  118. 118Where Do Figs Come From?
  119. 119What Are “Fighting Fish”?
  120. 120How Is the Exact Color of the Sky Determined?
  121. 121What Is a “Divining Rod”?
  122. 122The Story of Electricity in the Home
  123. 123The Traveler’s Iron
  124. 124Electric Cooking Appliances
  125. 125Divided Into Three Classes
  126. 126Electric Toaster
  127. 127Electric Coffee Percolator
  128. 128Machine Type Percolator
  129. 129Two Distinct Types of Heating Elements
  130. 130Baking and Roasting
  131. 131Why Is There Always a Soft Spot in a Cocoanut Shell?
  132. 132How Does a Gasoline Motor Run an Electric Street Car?
  133. 133How Do “Carrier Pigeons” Carry Messages?
  134. 134What Family Has Over 9,000,000 Members?
  135. 135The Story in the Telephone
  136. 136Essential Factor in American Life
  137. 137America Leads in Telephone Growth
  138. 138American Telephone Practice Superior
  139. 139The First Transcontinental Line
  140. 140Wireless Speech Transmission
  141. 141The Mobilization of Communication
  142. 142Why Do They Call Them “Fiddler-Crabs”?
  143. 143How Far Can a Powerful Searchlight Send Its Rays?
  144. 144What Started the Habit of Touching Glasses Before Drinking?
  145. 145Why Are Windows Broken by Explosions?
  146. 146What Does the Expression “Showing the White Feather” Come From?
  147. 147The Story in Elevators and Escalators
  148. 148The Escalator
  149. 149The Cleat Escalator
  150. 150The Moving Platform
  151. 151What Happens When Animals Hibernate?
  152. 152How Do Peanuts Get in the Ground?
  153. 153How Did Your State Get Its Name?
  154. 154The Story of Coal Mining
  155. 155How Can We Hear Through the Walls of a Room?
  156. 156What Is a Diesel Engine Like?
  157. 157What Does the Sheep-Grower Get for the Wool in a Suit of Clothes?
  158. 158The Story in a Silver Teaspoon
  159. 159The Blank
  160. 160Squeezed — Rolling
  161. 161Clipping — Annealing
  162. 162The Evolution of a Spoon
  163. 163The Evolution of a Knife
  164. 164How Do Chimes Strike the Hour?
  165. 165How Is Electricity Brought Into a House?
  166. 166What Was the Origin of Masonic Signs?
  167. 167What Is a Dictograph?
  168. 168The Story of the Wireless Telegraph
  169. 169What Is Forestry Work?
  170. 170How Did the Fashion of Wearing Cravats Commence?
  171. 171How Does the Gas Meter Measure Your Gas?
  172. 172What Is a Game Preserve?
  173. 173The Story of the Building of a Silo
  174. 174The First Silo
  175. 175What Is Put in the Silo?
  176. 176Elements of Success or Failure
  177. 177The Story of the Advance of Electricity
  178. 178The First Commercial Central Station
  179. 179The Old Pearl Street Plant
  180. 180Edison and the Electric Light
  181. 181In the Trenches
  182. 182Edison as a Central Station Pioneer
  183. 183Early Growth
  184. 184The Waterside Stations
  185. 185Electricity a Living Factor
  186. 186In the Printing Trade
  187. 187Construction
  188. 188Loft Manufacturing
  189. 189Electric Heating
  190. 190Electricity and Safety
  191. 191Electricity in Medicine
  192. 192Electric Vehicles
  193. 193Electricity and the Home
  194. 194Decreased Cost of Electricity
  195. 195How Is Die-Sinking Done?
  196. 196The Story in the Making of a Magazine
  197. 197How Did the Ringing of the Curfew Originate?
  198. 198The Story of America’s First Horseless Carriage
  199. 199The Story in a Sausage
  200. 200Why Do We Call Them “Dog-Days”?
  201. 201How Is a Five Dollar Gold Piece Made?
  202. 202How Does a Bird Fly?
  203. 203The Story of the Big Redwood Trees
  204. 204How Did the Expression “Forlorn Hope” Originate?
  205. 205Why Is “Wall Street” Known Around the World?
  206. 206What Makes a Stick Seem to Bend in Water?
  207. 207What Causes a Lump in a Person’s Throat?
  208. 208How Are We Able to Hear Through Speaking-Tubes?
  209. 209Why Do We Always Shake Hands With Our Right Hand?
  210. 210The Story in a Billiard Table
  211. 211What Is the Hottest Place in the United States?
  212. 212What Are White Blackberries Like?
  213. 213Why Do They Have a Dog-Watch on Shipboard?
  214. 214How Much Gold Has a 14-Carat Ring?
  215. 215What Is an Electro-Magnet?
  216. 216The Story in a Pin
  217. 217Pin Sizes
  218. 218How Are Glaciers Formed?
  219. 219How Large Are Molecules?
  220. 220Pictorial Story of the Fishing Industry
  221. 221What Kind of Steel Knives Do Not Stain nor Rust?
  222. 222Why Is It Necessary to Keep Unusually Quiet When Fishing?
  223. 223What Were the First Apartment Houses in This Country?
  224. 224Why Do We Call 32° Above Zero “Freezing”?
  225. 225How Is Fresco Painting Done?
  226. 226The Story of a Piece of Chewing Gum
  227. 227Where Did the Ferris Wheel Get Its Name?
  228. 228What Is Done to Keep Railroad Rails From Breaking?
  229. 229How Does a “Master Clock” Control Others by Electricity?
  230. 230The Story of the Calculating Machine
  231. 231Who Invented the First Adding Machine?
  232. 232Who Discovered the Slide Rule Principle?
  233. 233The “Difference Engine”
  234. 234Work on Some of the Present-Day Models
  235. 235How Big Is the Largest Adding Machine in the World?
  236. 236How Are Adding Machines Used?
  237. 237Where Does Ermine Come From?
  238. 238What Is the Principle of “Foreign Exchange”?
  239. 239What Do We Mean by “The Old Moon in the New Moon’s Arms”?
  240. 240The Story in a Bowling Alley
  241. 241How Are Artificial Precious Stones Made?
  242. 242What Is a Mexican Bull-Fight Like?
  243. 243What Is the Difference Between “Alternating” and “Direct” Current?
  244. 244What Was the “Court of Love”?
  245. 245The Story of the Addressograph
  246. 246The Birth of Mechanical Addressing
  247. 247Builds First Addressograph
  248. 248The Beginning of a Great Industry
  249. 249Answering Demand for Greater Speed
  250. 250Invents Embossed Metal Address Plate
  251. 251A Card Index That Addresses Itself
  252. 252Electric Motor Increases Speed
  253. 253Attachments Increase Utility of Addressograph
  254. 254Small Users Not Overlooked
  255. 255The Addressograph — Its Place in Business
  256. 256What Is “Dry Farming”?
  257. 257What Is a “Drying Machine” Like?
  258. 258How Does the New York Stock Exchange Operate?
  259. 259How Did the Term “Cowboys” Originate?
  260. 260The Story in a Chemical Fire Extinguisher
  261. 261How Is Gold Leaf Made?
  262. 262What Is the Natural Color of Goldfish?
  263. 263When Was “Liquid Fire” First Used in Warfare?
  264. 264How Did the Greyhound Get His Name?
  265. 265Why Is It Called “Battery Park”?
  266. 266How Do We Know That the Earth Is Round?
  267. 267What Were “Ducking Stools”?
  268. 268The Story in Photo-Engraving
  269. 269Color Engravings
  270. 270Where Are Milk-Pails Filled From Trees?
  271. 271How Did the Wearing of a Crown Originate?
  272. 272Why Do Lobsters Change Colors?
  273. 273How Do Fishes Swim?
  274. 274Where Do Pearls Come From?
  275. 275What Is Cork?
  276. 276The Story in a Giant Cannon
  277. 277Modern Cannon
  278. 278How Cannon Are Now Made
  279. 279Built-Up and Wire-Wound Guns
  280. 280What Is a Deep-Sea Diver’s Dress Like?
  281. 281Why Do We Smile When We Are Pleased?
  282. 282Why Do Some of Us Have Freckles?
  283. 283Pictorial Story of the Steel Industry
  284. 284What Do We Mean by “Deviation of the Compass”?
  285. 285The Story in the Making of a Pair of Shoes
  286. 286Shoemaking by Machine
  287. 287What Is “Standard Gold”?
  288. 288What Are Cyclones?
  289. 289What Metals Can Be Drawn Into Wire Best?
  290. 290How Are Cocoanuts Used to Help Our Warships?
  291. 291How Did the Dollar Sign Originate?
  292. 292Pictorial Story of Fire Apparatus
  293. 293The Story of the Taking of Food From the Air
  294. 294What Is a Drawbridge Like Today?
  295. 295The Story of a Deep Sea Monster
  296. 296What Is an Armored Railway Car Like?
  297. 297What Is an “Electric Eel”?
  298. 298The Story of Salt
  299. 299Why Do We Call It “Denatured Alcohol”?
  300. 300What Is the Difference Between a Cruiser and a Battleship?
  301. 301The Story of the Growth of the Motor Truck
  302. 302What Is a Diving Bell?
  303. 303How Are Harbors Dredged Out?
  304. 304How Is a Razor Blade Made?
  305. 305The Story of the Tunnels Under the Hudson River
  306. 306What Causes Floating Islands?
  307. 307Pictorial Story of the Airship
  308. 308The Story of an Automobile Factory
  309. 309How Do Big Buildings Get Their Granite?
  310. 310Railroad Scenes From Shop and Road
  311. 311The Story of an Up-to-Date Farm
  312. 312The Reaping Hook or Sickle
  313. 313The Cradle
  314. 314Early Attempts to Harvest With Machines
  315. 315The First Successful Reaper
  316. 316Development of the Reaper
  317. 317The Self-Binder
  318. 318The Twine Binder
  319. 319Other Machines Follow
  320. 320What Causes an Echo?
  321. 321The Story of the Motion-Picture Projecting Machine
  322. 322The Story of Leather
  323. 323What Is a “Glass Snake”?
  324. 324The Story in Diamond-Cutting
  325. 325Why Do We Get Hungry?
  326. 326The Story in the Modern Lifting Magnet
  327. 327Why Is the Thistle the Emblem of Scotland?
  328. 328How Are Animals Identified on Cattle Ranges?
  329. 329How Is Glue Made?
  330. 330Why Does a Hot Dish Crack If We Put Ice Cream in It?

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