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Re: Spinthariscope (fwd)



On Fri, 13 Mar 1998, Leigh Palmer wrote:

Have been looking for a source for a spinthariscope, but in vain.

Try General Mills. Back when I was a kid I got one (complete
with source) in a box of cereal.

But that's not why I wrote. I think the correct spelling is
"sphinthariscope", though I get no hits from Alta Vista under
that name either.

Leigh


Leigh, this brings back memories. I had one of those, in the shape of a
little atomic bomb about 3/4 inch long mounted on a finger ring. The body
of the "bomb was aluminum, and had the source inside. The bomb's "fin"
section was red, and could be pulled off to expose the tiny lens through
which you looked to see the flashes (in a darkened room). Clever design.

You younger folks didn't get nearly as much educational value from your
breakfast cereals as we old-timers did. Nearly every cereal in the 40s had
something interesting in or on the package such as puzzles, plastic models
of airplanes or dinosaurs, 3d pictures (red/green), or something you could
send for for 50 cents or so. (I recall you had to send for the
spinthariscope.) Some packages had cut-out and assemble railroads,
frontier towns, etc., and some packages were printed with such on the
outside *and inside* so after you cut everything out there was very little
of the box left as waste. Trouble was, we'd cut up the boxes before
consuming the cereal, much to the annoyance of mothers.

And you were wondering why kids today are less capable in problem-solving,
geometric imagery, and interest in science. It's all the fault of the
cereal companies!

-- Donald

......................................................................
Dr. Donald E. Simanek Office: 717-893-2079
Professor of Physics FAX: 717-893-2048
Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA. 17745
dsimanek@eagle.lhup.edu http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek
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