Animal Testing Should be Banned - 543 Words

Sammy, who has been trained to aid blind people, but he has not been adopted within a year. Of course, they are unknowledgeable to the fact he could help the indigent people because they do not take the time to determine his special gifts. Thus, the scientists decide to use him for research. The agonizing pain flows through his body as he lies on the table getting chemicals put through his tense veins. He wants to run, but the scientists have him strapped to the bed so tightly that he cannot move. As they run the chemicals through him, he cannot do anything but think of his life and extraordinary past owner he had before he got sent to the local dog shelter. Although researchers would have to find new innovations other than animal experimentation to make safe products for humans, the testing of animals should be banned. Many animals grieve over their kind passing away in several different ways, although some people do not consider it grieving. All animals mourn losses in such ways as standing around them for a long period, or carrying them everywhere they go for periods of time. In the Mystery of Animal Grief article scientist’s state â€Å"Human beings have fixed ideas about the hearts and minds of beasts, most of them not very flattering. Animals are simpletons on the whole, sometimes capable of impressive flashes of cleverness and a kind of wagging, nuzzling, tongue-lolling love† (The Mystery of Animal Grief). Humans do not usually see the same perspective as animals when theShow MoreRelatedShould Animal Testing Be Banned?844 Words   |  3 PagesShould animal testing be banned? Nowadays, a lot of animals has been tested on a range of experiments over the world. You could be supporting animal teasing cruelty without knowing it. Have you ever check if there’s animal testing on the cosmetics before you buy it? Today, a lot of cosmetics has been testing on helpless animals and there are about 1.4 million animals die each year from animal testing ( CatalanoJ, 1994). Most of the experiments that are completed in the laboratories are very cruelRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned880 Words   |  4 Pagesdepending on animals testing. Therefore, if people talk about laboratories, they should remember animal experiments. Those animals have the right to live, according to people who dislike the idea of doing testing on animals; the other opinion, supports the idea of animal testing as the important part of the source of what has reached medicine of the results and solutions for diseases prevalent in every time and place. Each year huge numbers of animals a re sacrificed for the science all these animals, whetherRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned776 Words   |  4 PagesAnimal Testing Should be Banned  ¨Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisioned and abused in US labs every year ¨ ( ¨11 Facts About Animal Testing ¨). Imagine if that was someones animal getting tortured in labs just to test things such as beauty products and perfume. Animal testing was first suggested when,  ¨Charles Darwin evolutionary theory in the mid 1850s also served to suggest that animals could serve as effective models to facilitate biological understanding in humans ¨ (Murnaghan)Read MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned940 Words   |  4 Pages1). Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned, and abused in US labs every year. 2). 92% of experimental drugs that are safe and effective in animals fail in human clinical trials. (DoSomething â€Å"11 Facts About Animal Testing†). There are currently no laws combating the testing of cosmetics on animals, but the practice is harmful and must be ended. As evidenced by the statistics above, millions of animals are tortured and murdered in the United States every year for virtually no reasonRead MoreShould Animal Testing Be Banned?1665 Words   |  7 PagesTesting Cosmetics on Animals Companies around the world use animals to test cosmetics. Animals, such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, and mice, are used to test the effects of chemicals on the eyes and skin. While animal testing is not mandatory, many companies use it. About Cosmetics Animal Testing by the Humane Society International talks about the different options companies have that do not require the cruel use and eventual death of animals. The article also talks about the overallRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned1572 Words   |  7 PagesAnimal Testing Every year, over two hundred million innocent animals are injured or killed in scientific experiments across the world. Of those animals, between seventeen and twenty million are used in the United States alone. It is said that an animal dies in a laboratory every three seconds (Animal Testing 101). Those in favor of animal experimentation say they are taking animals’ lives to save humans. It is not necessary to subject animals to torturous conditions or painful experiments in theRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned1581 Words   |  7 PagesAnimal testing is being used by different organizations all over the world to prevent specific diseases, especially cancer. Americans see animal testing having a harmful effect but it is one of the main reasons why society has most cures for some illnesses. This topic is important because people need to know what goes on during animal testing and why it is very beneficial. Animal testing needs to be used to find all cures. Some ani mals such as chimps/ monkeys have 90% of the same DNA humans haveRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Not Be Banned1721 Words   |  7 Pages † Today, more animals are being used in experiments than ever before: around 100 million in the United States alone† (3). Animal testing is now an international issue, and it is becoming a major story. Currently, animals are often used in medical testing, make-up testing, and other consumer product testing. Animals used in such product testing are often abused and suffer from serious side-effects. Animal testing can be painful for the animals, testing results are usually not even useable forRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned1364 Words   |  6 Pagesbenefit. Using animals for these experimentations usually does not come to mind. Animals are often abused, suffer, and even die during laboratory testing for the benefits of people to make sure medications, household products, newest procedures, and cosmetics are safe and effective for human use. Humans have benefited from animal testing for years while these animals suffer consequences with no positive outcomes for themselves. Even if a product or procedure is deemed successful, these animals are frequentlyRead MoreAnimal Testing Should Be Banned Essay1632 Words   |  7 Pages Animal Testing Should Be Banned Throughout the decades, animals have been used in medical research to test the safety of cosmetics including makeup, hair products, soaps, perfume, and countless of other products. Animals have also been used to test antibiotics and other medicines to eliminate any potential risks that they could cause to humans. The number of animals worldwide that are used in laboratory experiments yearly exceeds 115 million animals. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of

Effects Of Mass Media And Gender - 889 Words

Gender Socialization In today’s society, we see the effects of mass media and media imaging more than we have in any era before. Whether it be the large amount of new social media apps, the access to growing technology and communication throughout the world, or simply the millions of viewers and users, social media has become one, if not the most influential source in the world. This gives mass media the power to create, destroy, and spread any image or idea having a large effect on the audience that sees it. And whether we realize it or not, mass media effects how we think, act, and associate ourselves in everyday life depending on what image it is depicting and what kind of idea it is trying to plant in today’s culture and society. A†¦show more content†¦This wave lead to many other cultural changes and has brought us to where males and females experience equal pressure from media expectations. Men and women are also now seen as equals in almost every spectru m of society, but the key word is â€Å"almost†, as there are still current issues regarding gender equality today. Females are still scene as miss treated and under appreciated by large portions of the United States and even more so in other parts of the world. But why is this still an issue, and why hasn’t it been fixed? No matter what gender you are, whether you choose to identify as a male, female, or one of the many newly established genders within the last couple of years, mass media has expectations on how individuals are supposed to dress, act, and function as a person based of their gender. It is not only females that are categorizing with certain notions, such as clothing, jobs, physical attributes, and hobbies, impacting how an individual thinks they are supposed to grow and meet the expectations of their role in society. Although usually favoring males, the media has done this, and continues to do this by carefully placing images, actions, and commentaries into various media tools such as advertisements, commercials, or anything else that will project the affect they want on society whether we realize it or not. In a test done by Melinda Jones a Professor at theShow MoreRelatedMass Media And Its Effect On Children1363 Words   |  6 PagesIn today’s society Mass Media portrays gender roles in a negative way as well as the educational systems for both males and females. Mass media is defined â€Å"as any of the means of communication such as television, newspapers that reach to large amount of people†. (Dictionary.com, 2015). Today’s educational system, mass media reaches out to large amount of people such as the students. In schools, the mass media shows more negativity to gender roles than positivity, for example males would be portrayedRead MoreGender in the Mass Media- Projecting Masculinity1397 Words   |  6 Pagespresentation of gender in the mass media and projection of masculinity The mass media play a significant role in a modern world, by broadcasting information  in fast pace and giving entertainment to vast audiences. They consist of press, television, radio, books and the Internet. The latter is now the most developing medium, however, TV also has a wide field of influence. By creating a certain type of message, media can manipulate people’s attitude and opinions. GENDER STEREOTYPES IN MASS MEDIA The massRead More The Media As A social Problem Essay1731 Words   |  7 PagesThe Media as a Social Problem nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The mass media plays a large role in modern society. Indeed, many have argued that people spend more time in â€Å"mass-mediated† interaction than in actual human interaction. The mass media, then, would seemingly be an excellent position to initiate social change, positively affect social problems, and help combat social ills that are considered normal patterns of behavior. Yet, the mass media has largelyRead MoreThe Media as a Social Problem Essay1748 Words   |  7 PagesDan Thomas 11-21-01 The Media as a Social Problem The mass media plays a large role in modern society. Indeed, many have argued that people spend more time in mass-mediated interaction than in actual human interaction. The mass media, then, would seemingly be an excellent position to initiate social change, positively affect social problems, and help combat social ills that are considered normal patterns of behavior. Yet, the mass media has largely failed in addressing and helpingRead MoreThe Communications Reinforcement Theory And Its Effects On Society997 Words   |  4 Pagesassumption is that individuals who possess a liking or passion for all forms of media will reinforce this feeling by indulging in media consumption and production. This leads to several hypotheses that may be verified by empirical evidence from college campuses. The overarching hypothesis here is that students who consume one form of mass media, such as T.V., will also exhibit parallel tendencies of consumption to other forms of media such as social netw orking sites or recorded music. To test this generalRead MoreThe Beliefs Of Misconceptions And Gender, Race, And Sexuality1472 Words   |  6 PagesCollins approaches the beliefs of misconceptions already existent towards multi social groups’ underlying different issues mostly affecting African Americans. These issues highlighted by Collins include, â€Å"a set of ideas and social practices shaped by gender, race, and sexuality that frame Black men and women’s treatment of one another, as well as how African Americans are perceived and treated by others† (p.7). These ideas encapsulate a false understanding of the issues surrounding the persecutions theRead MoreThe Media s Influence On Gender Roles1042 Words   |  5 PagesThe media is a well-known, influential aspect on gender roles that broadcast negative messages to society through television by the images that are mainstreamed, which has an effect on people’s thinking process. Television brainwashes both men and women to believe they are not perfect, unless they have the body image of a celebrity. Though it is just a fantasy and not reality, â€Å"81% of 10 year girls are afraid of being fat, half of those girls believe they feel better about themselves when they wereRead MoreHow Media Affects The Socialization Of Children1562 Words   |  7 PagesHow Media Affects the Socialization of Children As mass media continues to expand through our use of everyday electronics, children s socialization skills may be suffering by the lack of face to face, physical, and natural interaction. Mass media like television, computers, radios, newspapers, video games and many others play a huge role in socialization in children. Children need interaction, and mass media offers no physical interaction at all. Children are spending more and more time in theRead MoreThe Media Is A Mirror Of Society, And If That Society Is1461 Words   |  6 PagesThe media is a mirror of society, and if that society is by any means influenced by stereotypes, the media will reflect it. Advertising, according to Erving Goffman, author of the book Gender Advertising, depicts how men and women behave as a social purpose and how today’s social purpose is highly unbalanced in men’s favor. Some people say that advertisers should be held accountable for the unethical images they present. Others, however , say that consumers should be to blame because by buying theRead MoreSports Media Essay1063 Words   |  5 Pagesthem. Entwined in our sports culture is the giant business of mass broadcasting. Indeed, sports and the media go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly, like Mickey and Minnie, Darth Vader and Luke. They are intertwined and depend on each other to continue to grow. Sports media includes television, radio, magazines, newspapers, books, films, and, now, most importantly, social media devices provided by the Internet. Sports media has had it advantages and its disadvantages and its truths and

Dreams in the Great Gatsby Free Essays

string(40) " she will do with the rest of her days\." The Broken American Dream of the 1920s An accurate name for the 1920s is the roaring twenties. This was a decade full of social transformation and industrialization. Through this shift, a degradation in social moral occurred. We will write a custom essay sample on Dreams in the Great Gatsby or any similar topic only for you Order Now A victim of this shift is the character J. Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Gatsby is â€Å"corrupted by values and attitudes that he holds in common with a society that destroys him†(44). Through this mutual and obscured social moral, Gatsby seems to obtain a destructive view of his â€Å"American Dream†. Where the American Dream once â€Å"consisted of the belief that people of talent in this land of opportunity and plenty could reasonably aspire to material success if they adhered to a well-defined set of behaviors†(Trask). These behaviors were actions such as working hard, staying honest, and better educating ones self; much like the list that Gatsby made as a young boy. But with the boom of industrialization, came a trend of bootlegging and get rich quick schemes and unfortunately Gatsby became a victim of the era. As a matter of fact, Gatsby is not the only one who has suffered from this time of moral deterioration. Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby’s object of obsession, also is a victim of a society that allows her to not take responsibility for her actions. Daisy hides behind her public facade and her innocent carefree charm. Her husband Tom Buchanan has also manipulated the greedy, selfish social society that exists on East egg. Tom has no dreams or aspirations and â€Å"seeks excitement first in sport, then in infidelity, seeking identity in a book of racist political philosophy†(Wershoven). In a time of moral peril, each character is corrupted by a societal idea that taints their grasp of the â€Å"American Dream†. During Gatsby’s adolescent years, he has a clear and healthy mindset about what he wanted to accomplish in his life. Gatsby was self-motivated to make something of his life. But once he meets Daisy, Daisy becomes the embodiment of his dreams and the object of his obsession. As a young boy, growing up in North Dakota, Gatsby was motivated to be successful. Gatsby’s father said â€Å" Jimmy was bound to get ahead†. Even as a young adult, Gatsby refused to think of himself as an average person. Gatsby’s parents were â€Å"shiftless and unsuccessful† and Gatsby never â€Å" really accepted them as his parents at all. Instead Gatsby had a schedule of each day that would help him to attain his wealth. As Trask says, â€Å" He early decided that he could contemplate future glory. † Early on Gatsby embodies the ideals of society before the 1920s; he is determined and eager to work hard to independently reach success. This is until he meets Daisy, th e idea of Daisy is what sways Gatsby’s dreams off the right path. Gatsby met Daisy as a young man and hopelessly fell in love with her. However in the end, Daisy broke it off with Gatsby since he was not financially suitable for maintaining her lifestyle. It seems as though Gatsby never recovered from getting his heart broken by Daisy. As Nick says, â€Å" [Gatsby] had a extraordinary gift of hope- a romantic readiness such I have never found in any other person and which is not likely I shall find ever again†(2). Nick also says â€Å"Gatsby turned out alright at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-wind elations of men†(2). Indeed, it was the idea of winning Daisy’s love that drove Gatsby to his success. It corrupted his earlier ideas of working hard and saving his money; now he had to make money fast and resorted to bootlegging. Gatsby becomes frantic at the idea of coming wealthy and instead of slowly climbing up the success latter, he desperately and quickly makes money in any way he can so he can win Daisy back as quickly as possible. Gatsby became consumed with the idea of winning Daisy’s affection and rekindling their past romance. This is apparent when Gatsby describes their first kiss; â€Å"His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions of her perishable breathe, his mind would never romp again like the mind of god. So he waited†¦Then he kissed her†¦and the incarnation was complete†(112). Gatsby is brought down by Daisy and the â€Å"refusal to see the nature of his own dreams†(Wershoven). Nick sums up Gatsby’s debacle perfectly when he says that perhaps Gatsby’s â€Å"dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in the vast obscurity. What nick says is true, Gatsby was so blinded by love that he could not see Daisy’s flaws and Gatsby ended up paying the ultimate price . As Trask says, Daisy could never become a â€Å"legitimate actualization of Gatsby’s illegitimate dream†(Trask). Among those who have distorted dreams, Daisy Buchanan might perhaps be the worst. Daisy is a selfish, rich girl w ho has never â€Å"been held responsible for her actions, for she embodies the pure freedom of endless choice without consequences†(Wershoven). Daisy has never had to concern herself with worrying about money or materialistic things. Daisy has always gotten things handed to her and would not want it any other way. Daisy takes advantage of the fact that she lives in a society that has put her on a pedistal, and allows her to â€Å"smash† up things without any consquences. Her attractive nature and charm has helped her support this type of lifestyle. Daisy cannot even fathom the idea of having to work for something and therefore she has a sense of entitlement to everything that is given to her. At first Daisy seems harmless and bored as she mindlessly wonders out loud what she will do with the rest of her days. You read "Dreams in the Great Gatsby" in category "Papers" But as the novel goes on, it becomes quite clear that Daisy is not what she seems. Daisy has become a master of manipulation in order to maintain her lavish lifestyle. She knows exactly how to agree with what society expects of her and knows how to dress and maintain her appearance. But despite her warm and inviting appearance, Daisy is quite cold and superficial. Daisy’s ideals of wealth and money lead her to live a superficial and meaningless life that wreaks havoc in the lives of the other characters. It is this love of money that led here to marry her husband Tom Buchanan. Instead of waiting for Gatsby to return to the war, Daisy just decides to marry Tom because of his wealth and promise of a lavish life. Tom even gives her a three-hundred thousand-dollar pearl necklace. Even this amount of money is not enough to ensure Daisy’s fidelity. As soon as Gatsby comes back into town, she begins to have an affair. Even after years of leading Gatsby on, she still breaks his heart when she says that she â€Å"loves them both. † This is when it comes apparent that Daisy will never leave Tom. For Daisy, even true love is not enough to make her change her lifestyle. Her love of money has made her cold and reckless when it comes to love. Another example of Daisy’s reckless nature is when Tom’s mistress, Myrtle Wilson, is killed. Daisy is perfectly content with letting Gatsby take the fall. Not one time does she even contemplate the idea of coming forward to take responsibility. Instead she hides behind her wealth and her appearance. As Wershoven puts it, â€Å"society helps to cover up the deed. † Daisy is an insatiable girl that has no need for validation by others. Daisy wants things and people but, â€Å"there is no space inside her that can be filled, no unfinished part of her can be completed by another†(Wershoven). Therefore, Daisy views people as at her disposal. This is ultimately the attitude that is responsible for Gatsby’s death. Daisy is so caught up in the materialistic needs of that time that she cannot value anything e else. She views everything she has as an accessory; even her own daughter. Were as most parents feel defined by their children’s lives, the reader almost forgets that Daisy even has a daughter at all. She only interacts with her child when it is convenient for her; and when it looks good in front of company. Daisy’s husband, Tom Buchanan is an ex- football star from the same college that Nick attended. Nick describes Tom as â€Å"one of those men that reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterwards savors anti-climax†(10). Tom falls victim to greed and cannot satisfy his need for more. As Wereshoven says: â€Å"Daisy and Tom are always looking for something, something new and better, for they are bored with the things they already bought. Daisy wonders what they’ll do each day, and the next day, identifying the dilemma of people who can have whatever they want, as soon as they want it† (Wershoven). Tom is in a perpetuating cycle of greed in which he still cannot find satisfaction. He seeks thrills through sports, literature and even infidelity and all fall short of the glory he had back in college. He shares the same kind of entitlement and ignorance as Daisy. Toms idea of good literature are books like the â€Å"The Rise of the Colored Empire† and even expresses to Nick his distress over the submersion of the white race. But even Tom’s attempts at sounding intelligent fall short and he ends up sounding ignorant and pretentious. Another telling thing about Tom is the way he treats the women in his life. While he appears to be happily married to Daisy, he still is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson. For months, Tom brings Myrtle to his apartment in New York and for months, Tom knowingly leads her on. Tom showers her with gifts and even buys her a dog and an expensive leash. However, Tom has no intention of ever leaving Daisy for Myrtle; someone of lower social status than him. But yet Myrtle is under the delusional impression that Tom will leave his wife for her; and she will at last be part of the social network she dreams of. Myrtle is so in love with this idea that in turn, she despises the life that she lives without Tom; including her husband, George Wilson. Tom is also the ultimate hypocrite. While he the first one to criticize Daisy and Gatsby’s affair, he himself is having an affair. When Tom finds out about Daisy’s affair, he confronts Gatsby and says I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that’s the idea then you can count me out† (137). He even claims that their affair is a â€Å"step toward inter-racial marriage. † Tom condemns his wife for her infidelity but describes his own as once in a while â€Å"going on a spree making a fool out of [himself], but [he] has always come back, and in [his] heart [he] loves her all the time†. Not only is Tom cheating with George Wilson’s wife, but he also acts as a bully toward George. George Wilson is an honest, good-hearted man and Tom just toys with him. Tom promises George that he will sell his car to him but he really never has any intention of doing so. George Wilson is depending on that money so he can start a new life out west and all Tom is doing is giving him empty promises. When George tries to bring up the subject to Tom, Tom gets offended and says â€Å"† Very well then, I won’t sell you the car at all†¦ I’m under no obligations to you at all†¦ And as for your bothering me about it at lunch time I won’t stand for that at all! † (122). Tom tries to find satisfaction by making George look like a fool and is amused by how easily he is able to do so. Just like Daisy, Tom has no remorse for the pain he inflicts in others. Overall the characters in The Great Gatsby, all embodied ideals that were emphasized in that time. Women were viewed as accessories and not yet contributing members of society. Women were still in charge of maintaining the home, especially in wealthy households, and concerned themselves with the small things. Daisy takes full advantage of this attitude and successfully gets away with murder. It is Daisy who corrupts J. Gatsby’s ideal of his American dream and instead of working hard, and â€Å"pulling himself up y his own bootstraps†, he resorts to crime in order to become rich quickly so that he can win Daisy back. Instead of working hard for his own self-success, he chases this idea of Daisy. And finally Tom, was a victim of his own insatiable appetite that he could not fulfill. In every aspect of his life, Tom wanted more. Tom held an ideal that was very common throughout the 1920s; that his money and high social class would be able to buy him anything in life. The idea of the American dream is wanting more for ones own life and becoming successful by hard honest work. All these characters shared the same sense of wanting more. But the had immoral ways of fulfilling their needs. Gatsby resorts to criminal activity in order to become wealthy. And Tom and Daisy resort to affairs in trying to satisfy their need for love. Unfortunately Gatsby is the one that pays the price in the end. Work Cited Trask, David F. â€Å"A Note on Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. † University Review. 3. 3 (Mar. 1967): 197-202. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 197-202. Literature Resource Center. Gale. 12 Oct. 2009 http://go. galegroup. com/ps/start. do? p=LitRC=a04fu Wershoven, Carol. â€Å"Insatiable Girls. † Child Brides and Intruders. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1993. 92-99. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol. 157. Detroit: Gale, 200 5. 92-99. Literature Resource Center. Gale. 12 Oct. 2009 . How to cite Dreams in the Great Gatsby, Papers

The New Book of Knowledge (set) Essay Example For Students

The New Book of Knowledge (set) Essay Complete Set 1952 Book of Knowledge The Childrens Encyclopedia (That Leads to Love of Learning). 20 Volumes in 10 Leather Hardcover Books. Plus School-Subject Guide and Graded Courses of Study books keyed to the 1952 Book of Knowledge, Master Keys to Understanding the Book of Knowledge guide to using the Index contained in last bound volume, and Character Education Guide to the Book of Knowledge also keyed to the 1952 Edition printing. Rare complete set with ancillary guides A twenty-volume edition illustrated with maps, pictograms, and photographs in color and black and white. Entries are written on a range of reading levels and are the work of qualified specialists. Every volume is separately indexed with cross references to pertinent information found in the other volumes. I had a somewhat earlier version of this encyclopedia and I loved it. It was my first encyclopedia and Grolier did a wonderful job making hundreds of subjects more accessible to school aged students. I would pour over the maps and artist plates especially for hours. I particularly remember one colorful plate of the birds of paradise from New Guinea. This set opened a window into exotic and foreign lands and sparked an interest in natural history and geography that continues to this day 50 years later. Later in high school I started reading more mature encyclopedias like the World Book, which was strong on history and especially U.S. history, and of course the Britannica, which was stronger on the science, but it all started here. I purchased a set of these in 01 for our little homeschool. My son and I spent many delightful hours reading them to each other on sultry Hawaiian afternoons. I wish I had something like this as a child. Im re-reading them again now that Im an empty-nester.