50 Years ago

Puzzle-Math. By Dr. George Gamow and Dr. Marvin Stern — Books of the 'mathematics for fun' type are often neither very mathematical nor very funny, but those who know some of Dr. Gamow's earlier writings will expect this volume, in spite of its catchpenny title, to combine amusement with instruction, and they will not be disappointed. The thirty-three problems are entertainingly set out, and solved by honest mathematical processes, involving little or no manipulative technique. There are some 'chestnuts'... but many of the problems are new or not widely known ... A bright student might easily be led to a better appreciation of the fundamental logic of mathematics by reading this cheerful little book.

From Nature 25 July 1959.

100 Years ago

In the July number of the Reliquary, Mr. E. H. Goddard continues the useful series of articles dealing with local collections of antiquities, his subject being Roman objects discovered in Wiltshire. Though the county possesses no Roman sites ranking in interest and importance with those of Dorchester, Silchester, Bath, or even Lydney or Woodchester, it contains Cunetio near Marlborough, villas at Box, Colerne, and Wraxall, and, in particular, Old Sarum.

...

On October 21, 1638, the Devil visited Widdecombe Church ... in Dartmoor, a full account of which remarkable event is recorded on a tablet in curious versification, the work of the village schoolmaster, which is preserved in the church. As a matter of fact, the place was the scene of a terrible thunderstorm, which caused the loss of several lives, damaged the tower, and caused such consternation that it was attributed to demoniacal agency. The original tablet, a curious instance of the popular beliefs current at the time, is reproduced by Mr. Le Blanc Smith in the July number of the Reliquary.

From Nature 22 July 1909.