If you’re feeling a little stressed lately, you are surely not alone—and we all know that stress can have a negative impact on your health. Keeping self-care in mind, this week we’re featuring stories with a health theme, from corn flakes creator John Harvey Kellogg’s “health reform institute” in Battle Creek, Michigan, to yeast cakes, a diet fad that was all the rage in the early 20th century. And if you need some inspiration for your healthy New Year’s resolutions, read about Harvey Washington Wiley, an early pure food crusader.
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The Science History Institute is proud to announce that it is the co-recipient of a New Directions for Digital Scholarship in Cultural Institutions grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the United Kingdom’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). James R. Voelkel, curator of rare books and manuscripts in the Institute’s Othmer Library of Chemical History, will serve as a co-director of the research project titled “Digital Approaches to the Capture and Analysis of Watermarks Using the Manuscripts of Isaac Newton as a Test Case.” The newly created award is shared with Indiana University’s Chymistry of Isaac Newton project and the Huntington Library in the US, and Cambridge University and the National Archives in the UK.
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Commonwealth of Massachusetts Metropolitan Water District/Wachusett, Sudbury and Cochituate Watersheds from The Science of Common Things; A Textbook of General Science, 1922. 📷 Science History Institute
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Thursday, January 21, 2021
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. EST
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The first virtual JPS talk of the new year features Jesse Smith, research curator at the Science History Institute, and Jahnavi Phalkey, founding director of India’s Science Gallery Bengaluru, who will share their experiences interpreting water for public audiences. This event is coproduced by the American Chemical Society as part of its ACS Webinars series.
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If you made a New Year’s resolution to focus on your health in 2021, we invite you to explore our digital collections for inspiration. Some of the unique materials found in the health and medicine category include books, manuals, medications, documents, photographs, and medical instrumentation.
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A physical-fitness class at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, ca. 1890s. 📷 University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library
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John Harvey Kellogg’s Battle Creek Sanitarium was at the intersection of new ideas of religion, health, and nutrition.
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Have you ever wondered how chicken nuggets are made?
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Health fads come and health fads go, though few were as downright odd as the 1920s’ and 1930s’ craze for yeast cakes.
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Harvey Washington Wiley, ca. 1890s. 📷 FDA History Office, Rockville, Maryland
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An unceasing advocate of national pure food and drug legislation, doctor, chemist, and educator Harvey Washington Wiley (1844–1930) dedicated his life to protecting public health. He recognized the need for strict standards in product labeling and fought for the passage of the landmark Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906. Wiley was the first commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and later became director of the Good Housekeeping Bureau of Foods, Sanitation, and Health.
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Now more than ever it’s important to tell the stories of science. Help us continue this work by supporting the Science History Institute.
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