I used to read the encyclopedia. Fortunately, my parents had the desire and ability to get one for the house.

I can’t say that I remember them reading to me, but they always supported reading, and my seeking answers to my own inquiries.

When i was in jr hi. we ate lunch in a classroom. There were bookshelves in back with encyclopedias. I would read them while I ate lunch. Loved it.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I bet that's it, the book was written by a woman....

Anyone who thinks I'm going to bring a thing that talks and spies on me into my home is insane .

I have a small LED bed side clock that shows the time on the ceiling, I like it because I can look up when lying down and not need my glasses to tell it's only two hours since I last looked at it..... .

It was cheap too, about $25 @ Bed Bath & Beyond IIRC .

Wen new it alternately flashed the time and temperature, now it doesn't ~ no big deal as I know if I'm hot or cold .

The face of it shows the phase of the moon and what day / date it is, I usually keep that shut off as it's too bright .

I think most (all ?) kids need to learn the basic things we older folks know, the more you know, the more choices you have in life...

Children are our future, I try to remember that as I'm yelling "YOU DAMN KIDS ! GET OFFA MY LAWN !!!" .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

When I was a kid, the supermarkets would sell you one volume of an encyclopedia for a dollar or two with a certain amount of grocery purchases. We had two of these sets, which my mother brought home one book at a time. Every week, we'd all sit around reading the latest volume. You may remember the expression "look that up in your Funk & Wagnall's", well, that's who published those books.

My parents bought us the World Book, along with the yearly supplements. When I found the coverage of an item to not be deep enough, I walked over to the library and looked it up in the Britannica.

I credit Jiminy Cricket with my consistent ability to spell ‘encyclopedia’.

We didn't have them at home. We had the bible....and nothing else that I remember. I began reading readers digest when i was in the third grade. Also read Huckelberry finn about the same age when I was home with the flu. One of my older sisters had it for class.

Dad also took Mechanics Illustrated and I read that. My clearest memory from that was seeing the Lotus 6 tested. Dad dreamed of building one of those. But with eight kids he needed a station wagon for traveling.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Periodicals like popular mechanics popular science and similar. Had some influence on my early and perhaps later life. Even using the dictionary seems to have fallen from common practice.

I was able to squeeze in a read of the Russia air force from the historical start to the end of the second world war. During the last week. Some substantial differences from the common mythology. Or western propaganda.

That does not give credit for what they achieved in the later stages of that war with their air power. It had a horrible effect on the German air force and ground forces that was probably not thought possible.

Plus they had women fighting in combat.

The Yak 3 and the La-7 were fine airplanes.


What book were you reading.

I’ll tell you a secret about dictionaries. It’s incredibly difficult to assemble a collection of words, pronunciations, and definitions. And they don’t make many lexicographers these days, and few if those are paid to do the work. So even first class efforts like OED depend on a handful of volunteers, who only have time to brush up a few definitions before each edition is published. The overwhelming majority of dictionary content is plagiarized word for word from ancient dictionaries that have passed into public domain.

This can cause unexpected misunderstandings. For example, I think there was a discussion here to the effect that a government subsidy could only be a cash payment, not a tax deduction. This based on the dictionary definition of “subsidy”. As it turns out, the definition you find in almost every English language dictionary is lifted verbatim from the original 19th century Webster’s, written long before there ever was an income tax.

I didn't even try to spell it, I cheated, copied and pasted that word .

We had a full set in the 1950's I don't recall with one but pops made it not fun to read after he caught me reading it once .

All manner of interesting things in there .

Popular Science, remember 'Gus Wilson's Model garage' ? . it hooked me as a young child, I already knew I would be a Mechanic .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

https://youtu.be/cy2jWJtO3lE

By Jiminy!