Sometimes it seems like the internet invented gossip. Of course the word-of-mouth technique is a solid standby, but somehow it’s more satisfying to get the good stuff in print. It’s even more satisfying to know that 19th century scientists — stereotypically the stolid, silent type — were not immune to the impulse to pass along a juicy tidbit. 

Title page from the first edition of Science Gossip

The NYU-Poly Archives holds the complete collection (1865-1901) of Robert Hardwicke’s Science Gossip: An Illustrated Medium of Interchange and Gossip for Students and Lovers of Nature. This periodical primarily focuses on the Natural Sciences: Botany, Zoology, Microscopy, Geology, and Astronomy. The “gossip” consists of scientific essays and illustrations alongside local observations, such as the article “Another Use for Nettles,” in which J.H. from Belfast describes his technique of boiling nettles to break down the formic acid in the plant, rendering it harmless and nutritious feed for pigs.

An example of illustrations that accompanied observational essays in the early issues of Science Gossip

Other observations are less scientific, such as examples of the folk doctrine "like cures like." This idea is still alive in our culture today; just ask your local bartender to tell you about “the hair of the dog that bit you.” In 1865, “like cures like” extended beyond alcohol. The essay in Science Gossip recommends consuming the yellow bark of the berberry tree to cure skin-yellowing jaundice and rubbing a hand with warts on various bumpy surfaces (bacon, the bark of a tree) to transfer the warts from the hand to the strip of bacon or tree bark.

At the end of each issue is a Notes and Queries section, which acts as an open forum for Science Gossip readers. Questions sent by mail are published and most are answered by the editors of Science Gossip. 

Publishing in Science Gossip was a way for scientists to share and promote new ideas. This galvanometer and scale, patented in 1894 by James J. Hicks, improves upon Burstall's invention by including an incandescent lamp powered by batteries.

The unanswered questions are left open for discussion and are sometimes resolved by another reader, whose response is published in the subsequent issue. Not as  fast as email, but still effective!

The year 1894 marks the beginning of The New Series of Science Gossip. Essays are longer and are more likely to be written by trained scientists rather than lay readers. The Notes and Queries section is expanded to include Science Abroad, reporting scientific findings from other European countries, the Americas, and the Caribbean. In sum, Science Gossip becomes less gossip-y, but it spreads farther than ever before, just like all good gossip should.

To see issues of Science Gossip in person, contact the NYU-Poly Archives at archives@library.poly.edu.