Court cases, science books and telly
Have spent most of the day (when not on enquiry desk duty, or looking through old Chemistry books, reading the judgement in the Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District (i.e. the 'can Intelligent Design be taught in schools' case). Very fun reading. As it is the last day before the Christmas closure, I don't feel guilty about doing it either.
As mentioned, I've been looking through some old Chemistry and general science books which were donated to the Library in November. Most are from the 1950s but a couple from the 30s. One in particular, The Science of Life is a complete hoot. I won't be adding any of them to stock (although we do have a few in stock already - comes of being a research library. Anyway to quote from the The Science of Life, authors one H.G. Wells, Julian Huxley and G.P. Wells, popular edition published 1938.
Sunlight as a Tonic
Everybody knows how the mind and body rejoice when the sun breaks for a little while through the mists and clouds after a spell of overcast weather. Muscles become tauter and the step livelier; the mind works more swiftly and sweetly; the digestive secretions seem all too perfect. ... ...
Another aspect of its irritant properties is that ultra-violet light acts as a disinfectant and will kill bacteria, just as in heavy doses it will kill human cells. But this is probably of little importance in the physiology of sun-bathing. Ultra-violet light will only penetrate the skin a short distance - it has been said that the skin of a blister is amply enough to block the rays and so protect its nasty contents from disinfection - and bacteria in the ducts of the sweat glands and in the hair-follicles will also escape. A beam of direct sunlight, however, falling through an open window into a room will disinfect the specks of dust that float across it.
So there you go.
In other news, have watched a couple of good things on telly this week: Downfall, which we'd missed in the cinema and on its first tv screening, and James May's Top Toys on BBC 2 last night. I must admit I was a puddle of nostalgia at the very end: just the sound a model railway set up on the dining room and I'm mush. I now an trying to work out how to get my N-gauge back from dad or, failing that, how to get my hands on his double-O.