Category Archives: Scientific

Lost or Stolen Darwin Notebooks

Such an odd story… they announced last week that two of Darwin’s notebooks must have been stolen, after being missing for 20 years. Imagine a library so big that it takes them 20 years to decide for sure if something is just misplaced or definitely not there at all! Twenty years ago, two historic notebooks … Continue reading Lost or Stolen Darwin Notebooks

Missouri Geological Survey Notebooks

I came across what looks like a very interesting collection of notebooks: Much like the celebrated journals from Lewis and Clark’s Expedition in early 19th century America, geologists with the Department of Natural Resources’ Missouri Geological Survey have been keeping journals since the mid-1800s. Thanks to a cooperative effort with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Geological … Continue reading Missouri Geological Survey Notebooks

Jo Brown’s Nature Journals

These are some pretty amazing nature journals! The site where I first saw Jo Brown’s images described them as being in a “Moleskine” but that page layout doesn’t look like any Moleskine brand notebook I’ve ever seen. Does anyone recognize it? Many artists find inspiration in the diverse beauty of the environment. UK-based illustrator Jo Brown documents the … Continue reading Jo Brown’s Nature Journals

Keeping Two Journals

I enjoyed this article from Nature by microbiology PhD student Adeline Williams. As a scientist, she keeps lab notebooks in both digital and paper form, and she also keeps a personal journal. She has some great observations about these different forms of journaling and their benefits. Since my school days, long before I started working … Continue reading Keeping Two Journals

Penguin Sex Diaries!

Extraordinary notebooks from the Terra Nova Antarctic expedition of 1911 are available for study and research for the first time. They are an important record of the natural history of Antarctica, an area now facing grave threats. However, they are best known for their infamous passages describing the penguin sexual behaviours. The Natural History Museum … Continue reading Penguin Sex Diaries!

Isaac Newton’s Pocket Memorandum Book

A reader named Nicholas passed along a great tip about a notebook from the collection of the Morgan Library: “Thought of Notebook Stories while reading this article on Isaac Newton’s teenage pocket notebook. Video at the top of the page has some amazing images of his notebook.” The Morgan’s earliest acquisition related to the history … Continue reading Isaac Newton’s Pocket Memorandum Book

The Murder Hornet Notebook

I’m sure everyone’s seen the rather disturbing news about the arrival in the US of the “Murder Hornet.” These scary bugs, more formally known as the Asian Giant Hornet, have a nasty sting and a habit of decapitating bees. And they’re huge! How huge are they? Up to two inches long, as shown in the … Continue reading The Murder Hornet Notebook

Glue Notebooks Together… Without Glue?

Another one to file under “stupid notebook tricks.” But it’s kind of a neat trick! A local news station in Denver, CO demonstrates in a video on their website: You can glue two notebooks together just by weaving together their pages. Don’t believe us? Science guy Steve Spangler explains how it works. Spoiler alert: the … Continue reading Glue Notebooks Together… Without Glue?

Archaeological Notebooks

I came across these gorgeous archaeological notebooks on Pinterest, and traced them back to a website about the archaeological excavations of the Athenian Agora being carried out by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. I’m always fascinated by field notebooks and scientific notebooks like this! Archaeological excavation in the Athenian Agora is recorded … Continue reading Archaeological Notebooks

Mottled Pressboard Notebooks

Only the biggest stationery geek in the world goes around saying things like “I LOVE MOTTLED PRESSBOARD!” Only the biggest stationery geeks probably even know what it is… in fact, I myself didn’t know what it was until just recently. Or rather, I knew what it was but I didn’t know what it was called. … Continue reading Mottled Pressboard Notebooks