On the latest episode of the podcast with readings so interesting they put you to sleep, our eleventh installment from the 1898 book “Philip’s Experiments, or, Physical Science at Home,” by John Trowbridge. 

This time, father and Philip discuss fireplace designs and do experiments to determine whether rubber or lead tubing is better for making distilled water. Their neighbor, who thinks it is pointless to learn about technology when you can hire people to handle it for you, spends a sleepless night when the special push-button on his bedpost fails to turn off the electric lights. Another friend explains electricity to Philip and his father, including the importance of having insulation on wires for your electric lights if you don’t want your house to burn down. If you stay awake long enough, you’ll hear the story of a passenger in an electric car in France who saved a motoring expedition by replacing a blown fuse with a piece of foil from a chocolate wrapper.

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