Engines of Our Ingenuity 1115: Books of the Century

Episode: 2851 The Lake Breeze Fan: Unplanned Obsolescence.  Today, invention and obsolescence.

Episode: 1132 In which balloons deliver the mail during the Siege of Paris.  Today, the very first airmail service is used to break a siege.

Episode: 1131 John Hunter: idiosyncratic medical pioneer.  Today, the history of medicine provides a strange hero.

Episode: 1129 In which Alphonse Penaud invents the model airplane.  Today, a very young man teaches us to fly, after all.

Episode: 1128 Of whales and elephants: a remarkable convergence of attributes.  Today, we find that whales and elephants have more in common than just size.

Episode: 1926 Rhetoric: An ancient idea in serious need of rehabilitation.  Today, guest scientist Andrew Boyd persuades us.

Episode: 2654 Recumbent bicycles and the One Hour record.  Today, variations on a bicycle.

Episode: 3295 The Age of Non-Carbon Species; The Age of Artificial Intelligence.  Today, the age of silicon-based species.

Episode: 1127  Why Germany didn't make an atomic bomb during WW-II?  Today, we ask about Germany and the atom bomb in WW-II.

Episode: 1126 An academic hoax: When we let our words get too complicated.  Today, a disturbing parable about clarity and falsehood.