SSS 2009-08-26

（单词翻译）

Still have some vacation time to burn, but tired of reading bad novels on the beach? Try a book written especially for people who’d rather go to the planetarium¹ than to Planet Hollywood. It’s called The Geek Atlas²: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive, by John Graham-Cumming. Each venue’s writeup explains its relevant science and history.

For example, if you’re in Paris, stop by the Institut Pasteur and visit the museum commemorating³ the life and science of the man whose name is on your milk container.

The U.K. is teeming⁴ with sites of scientific interest, including the Eagle Pub in Cambridge where Watson and Crick modestly announced that they had found the secret to life. There’s the home and museum of physicist⁵ James Clerk Maxwell in Edinburgh. And there’s the British Airways⁶ Flight Training center, where visitors can operate the same training simulators that pilots use.

Here in the States, you can really get your geek on at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. Or get your bearings in Gaithersburg, Md., at the International Latitude⁷ Observatory⁸. Walk proudly in these hallowed and historic places. Because the geek shall inherit the Earth.

—Cynthia Graber