January 21, 2025
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February 2025: History of science 50, 100 and 150 years ago
Ant speech; Martian vegetation
1975, Micromigration of the Day: “Diatoms Hantzschia virgata lives approximately one millimeter below the surface of the beach sand (left). During daytime low tides the organism pushes its wall to the surface by means of mucus forced through the pores at the end of the long, glassy cell wall (the right). The diatoms remain in the sunlight, to carry out photosynthesis, a few moments before the return tide floods the sand.’
American scientific Volume 232, Number 2, February 1975
1975
A radical revision of continents and poles
“Of the different hypotheses that preceded the modern theory of plate tectonics, Alfred Wegener in the 20th century. A version proposed at the beginning of the century stands out. Wegener had access to only a fraction of the information available today, but his theory predicted many things that are now fundamental, including the movement of the continents and the drift of the poles. When his approach replaced the older model (in the 1960s), the change represented a radical revision of a well-established doctrine. Meanwhile, Wegener’s theory was neglected at best, and often disparaged. At the nadir proponents of continental drift were scornfully dismissed as cranks.”
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1925
Spring vegetation on Mars
“A series of Martian photographs taken by Slipher at the Lowell Observatory show very beautifully and convincingly how the dark regions grow deeper and deeper in color as the polar caps recede and the Martian spring progresses. The dark markings of the opposite hemisphere fading from autumn to winter slipher argues that seasonal marks follow the law of change we should expect from vegetation not harder to determine. If Martian vegetation is similar to terrestrial plants, it should reflect deep red light, and the dark markings should appear bright when photographed. But the test is inconclusive they don’t show that uniqueness.”
1875
A fine harvest of Hudson River ice
“The 1875 Hudson River ice crop has been collected and is one of the largest and best ever collected. The blocks average 14 inches in thickness, and the guaranteed quantity is about two million tons. This enormous supply will be consumed primarily in New York City. It is brought down the Hudson River from large icehouses, located on the water’s edge, in large barges steamed directly to the icecarts, which are then transported to private homes. A quarter to half a tun per month is a typical supply for a small family. The price ranges from $15 to $30 per tun.”
Nevada streets paved with gold
“The residents of Virginia City, Nev., boast that the very mud in their streets is rich in silver and gold. In the early days, the main streets were macadamized with refuse from the mines. Since then they have been constantly sprinkled with rich ore sifted from the passing wagons, a surface so precious that an ounce or two of mud was proved, to the tun: silver, $7.54; gold, $2.32; a total of $9.86. “Then,” he rejoices Company of that richly paved city, “we can breathe, even if our streets are muddy from time to time, because the mud on our feet contains silver and gold”.
Virginia City was a thriving mining town in the mid-1870s, with a population of about 25,000. In 2020, it had a population of 787, according to the US census.
Do ants talk?
“Ants have an impressive ability to communicate. Information of common danger spreads rapidly through colonies numbering in the thousands, news brought by a spy or two. Their mode of communication has been a mystery, the most plausible hypothesis is that it was through some kind of barrier with antennas. But according to a report by Professor Landois to the Rhineland Natural History Society in Prussia, ants are equipped with a sound apparatus similar to that of the sand wasp. Although its pitch is generally inaudible to human ears, its pitch range can be wide for a fully developed language. The next is the apparatus for making inaudible sounds audible; then some enterprising student will give us a comparative grammar of formic languages.’
Scientists have long shown that ants communicate through chemicals called pheromones, which, among other benefits, help them walk in single lines in long lines. However, in recent decades it has been discovered that some species of ants make noise, and that some ant pupae can also communicate using sound.
