Stories by Dan Schlenoff

50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: April 2021

Modern glass arrives; a canine workforce

50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: March 2021

Lethal gas fights crime, 1921; baby energy powers cleaning, 1871

50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: February 2021

New computer architecture in 1971; multistage rocket theory in 1921

50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: January 2021

Huxley’s eloquence in 1871 and antievolution in 1971

50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: December 2020

A Post Office patent in 1870 and in vitro progress in 1970

50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: November 2020

Nuclear future, data on hurricanes, and machines replace muscle on the farm

September 2020: The Art and Science of Efficient Manufacturing

A look at the epitome of production, control of malaria and more proof for plate tectonics

Reckoning with Our Mistakes

Some of the cringiest articles in Scientific American’s history reveal bigger questions about scientific authority

Armistice Day: November 11, 1918, to November 11, 2018

“The war to end all wars” that had to be renamed “The First World War” ended 100 years ago

The Movies, 1917 [Slide Show]

Care of the Severely Wounded, 1915

Editor’s note (4/2/2017): This week marks the 100-year anniversary of the U.S. entry into the First World War. Scientific American, founded in 1845, spent the war years covering the monumental innovations that changed the course of history, from the first tanks and aerial combat to the first widespread attacks with chemical weapons...

Deception and Camouflage, 1915

Reported in Scientific American, this Week in World War I: February 6, 1915 Subtlety and illusion have always played a part in warfare  

World War I: The War at Sea, 1915

Letters from the Firing Line, 1914

Reported in Scientific American, this Week in World War I: October 24, 1914

Heavy Guns Blast Trenches, 1915

Reported in Scientific American, This Week in World War I: April 17, 1915. High technology blasted a way through fortified lines in the First World War.

Camaraderie of Mud: Trench Warfare in 1916

Reported in Scientific American, this Week in World War I: June 17, 1916

Women and the War, 1915

Reported in Scientific American, This Week in World War I: July 3, 1915

Aviation in 1915: A Weapon of War

Facing Poison Gas, 1915

Following the introduction of large-scale gas attacks, one idea to repel gas was to use fans to blow the gas away—a terrible idea, but until the invention of gas masks there was little else that worked anyway...

Sinking the Lusitania, Part 2: Death and Blame, May 7, 1915

Reports and opinions in Scientific American on a key tragedy in World War I