THE past, it is said, is another country. Look back at the first issues of The New Scientist and this sentiment is wholly believable. They certainly did things differently in 1956: oral contraceptives did not exist, electronic gadgets were packed with valves, not transistors, nobody was sure if genes would be found in DNA and cavity-wall insulation had yet to be invented.
You will find a virtual tour of this and other countries in this special supplement, with the 1950s beginning on “Influenza wave from the east”, 1960s on “Gagarin goes into orbit”, 1970s on “Is Pluto no bigger than the moon?”…
