Project Gutenberg 2025-04-24 Public domain in the USA. 2202 Bodmer, Rudolph J. (Rudolph John) 1872 1952 Bodmer, Rudolph John The book of wonders : $b gives plain and simple answers to the thousands of everyday questions that are asked and which all should be able to, but cannot answer... $aNew York :$bPresbrey Syndicate, Inc., $c1914, pubdate 1915. Also published as: First book of wonders. Charlene Taylor, Harry Lamé and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) "The Book of Wonders: Gives Plain and Simple Answers to the Thousands of..." edited by Rudolph J. Bodmer is an illustrated educational compendium written in the early 20th century. This work serves as a wide-ranging reference, offering clear, concise explanations for a vast array of "everyday questions" about science, technology, language, and human inventions. Its evident aim is to stimulate curiosity and provide practical knowledge on how both nature and human ingenuity have shaped the modern world. The book's accessible style and abundance of illustrations make it suitable for curious readers of all ages, especially children and young adults eager to understand the wonders that surround them. The opening of "The Book of Wonders" begins by detailing the book's origins—rooted in a father's efforts to answer his son's questions—and frames the work as a response to the innate curiosity found in children. The first section delves into foundational topics such as the history of writing instruments (from the stylus to the steel pen), how writing and speech developed, and the evolution of language and personal names. Subsequent segments explain practical inquiries like why a pencil writes, how a camera captures images, what causes stars to twinkle, and the origins of tools and weapons. Early chapters also offer engaging narratives about technological progress, from primitive stone-throwing to modern firearms, and provide clear scientific explanations for everyday phenomena—ensuring readers are both informed and inspired to wonder about the world. (This is an automatically generated summary.) https://archive.org/details/bookofwondersgiv00bodmiala/page/n07/mode/2up 20210920221126bodmer 1914 US Reading ease score: 66.9 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Encyclopedias and dictionaries Science -- Miscellanea Curiosities and wonders Questions and answers Technology -- Miscellanea AG Text Category: Children & Young Adult Reading Category: Science - Physics Category: Science - Chemistry/Biochemistry Category: Science - Biology Category: Engineering & Technology Category: Language & Communication Category: Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference 1882653 2025-07-30T06:00:04.052089 text/html 1811439 2025-04-24T11:06:34 text/html 114795549 2025-07-30T06:01:07.986195 application/epub+zip 114781908 2025-07-30T06:00:25.566984 application/epub+zip 786999 2025-07-30T06:00:10.415954 application/epub+zip 115362622 2025-07-30T06:01:31.797116 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 115185506 2025-07-30T06:00:51.769811 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1472767 2025-07-30T05:59:54.806074 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 1452711 2025-04-24T11:06:34 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18718 2025-07-30T06:01:32.101054 application/rdf+xml 21918 2025-07-30T06:00:11.002959 image/jpeg 3756 2025-07-30T06:00:10.704965 image/jpeg 110292381 2025-07-30T06:00:06.771043 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog