Author Archives: paul
The Society and The Map
William Smith’s geological map of England and Wales turns 200 this year. Continue reading
Door 23: The Heart of a King
Door 15: James Parkinson and the Popgun Plot
Door 9: Football, geothermal energy and the 1954 wave of UFOs
Door 3: Why Christmas love letters led to the discovery of the earliest flowers on Earth
Top 5 geological Eurovision songs – and the geological secret to winning the Eurovision Song Contest
There’s a little known fact about Eurovision. One which, if followed to the letter, almost certainly guarantees a top two finish and probably a win. Apply certain geological knowledge to the writing of an original three-minute slice of disposable pop and you could be the next Abba, or even Bucks Fizz! More on that later. First, … Continue reading
The first evidence for climate change
In the first of our Climate Week blogs, we look at Shen Kuo, the 11th century Chinese scientist and statesman who might be considered the very first palaeoclimatologist… In Yanzhou, in around 1080, a large landslip occured on the banks of a nearby river. The entire riverbank collapsed, revealing a small forest of petrified bamboo … Continue reading
The Unfortunate Tale of the Museum of Practical Geology Pt II. Dippy and the Nippies
We rejoin the Museum of Practical Geology in the final years of Victoria’s reign. Still cramped, and welcoming about 200 visitors a day through its notoriously gloomy entrance hall. Over in ‘Albertopolis’ the newer Museums are prospering. The Natural History and Science Museums are open with far more space available. The foundation stone for the … Continue reading
The Unfortunate Tale of the Museum of Practical Geology Pt I.
Once upon a time, the great and good of the geological world had collected a large number of rocks, fossils, books and maps and needed somewhere to put them. But no matter how big you build a museum or library, it tends to run out of space. Collections grow to fill the space available for … Continue reading
The Geological Society Blog 