Excellent addition to your site, Don. More reading for me to do! And I thought I caught up with everything on it a day or two ago...
Good science trick for youngsters as well. My Mother published a few articles and co-wrote a book on this type of stuff: Cartesian divers, mysterious mothballs, etc. Like the straw, stuff with air pressure, plus vinegar and baking soda, etc.
We too had a couple sets of encyclopedias. One was the Funk & Wagnalls, and the other some full color Natural Science set. Plus, all my parents' books from biology and geography, etc. If only I could've gone to my Mom's high school biology classes when I was in elementary school! That's when I was most interested. When I got to high school myself, my Mom convinced me to take it, and I got the WORST teacher imaginable. We did LECTURE four days, and watched Little Rascals movies on Friday. Plus, he was a jerk.
Both my parents were teachers. Reading was essential, and no one had to force me to do it! Those were the days.
Thanks for the memories, too.
Karl