How Milton Levine Made Millions of People Into Ant Farmers

BOB DOUGHTY¹: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I’m Bob Doughty.
FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. Today, we will tell about a report that people around the world are getting fatter. We will tell about the newly reopened Computer History Museum in California’s Silicon² Valley. And we will tell about a businessman who developed a best-selling product that brought living insects into millions of homes.
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BOB DOUGHTY: This month, a study of one hundred ninety-nine countries and territories confirmed what many people may have already suspected. People around the world are getting fatter. The study found that obesity³ has almost doubled since nineteen eighty.
Majid Ezzati at Imperial College London led the research team. He says the results show that obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol⁴ are no longer just found in wealthy nations. These are now worldwide problems.
Patients at a weight reduction hospital in Tianjin, in China, where obesity is on the rise as living standards improve
The Lancet published the findings. The study found that almost ten percent of men were obese⁵ in two thousand eight. That was up from about five percent in nineteen eighty. That same year, almost eight percent of women were obese. By two thousand eight, the rate of obesity among women was almost fourteen percent.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Body mass index, or BMI, is a measure of a person's weight in relation to height. A person with a BMI of twenty-five to twenty-nine is considered overweight. The World Health Organization defines obesity as a body mass index of thirty or more.
Pacific island nations have an average BMI of around thirty-five -- the highest in the world. The study found that the United States had the single highest average among wealthy countries. American men and women had an average BMI of over twenty-eight. New Zealand was next. Japan had the lowest, at about twenty-two for women and twenty-four for men.
The report had some good news, however, about high blood pressure. The percentage of people with this major cause of heart attack and strokes has fallen since nineteen eighty. Dr. Ezzati credits improved testing and treatment in wealthy countries. He says a decrease in the use of salt and unhealthful fats probably also helped.
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BOB DOUGHTY: Silicon Valley in northern California is home to many of the world’s largest technology companies. These include Apple, Google, Oracle⁶, Intel, Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard. The valley is also home to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. It reopened late last year after nineteen million dollars worth of improvements. The project took nearly two years.
Senior curator Dag Spicer looks at a replica⁷ of the first transistor⁸ at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California
One of the additions is a permanent exhibit called "Revolution: The First 2000 Years of Computing⁹." Alex Bochannek is a curator at the museum. He says the new exhibit tells the story of more than one thousand historical objects. He says one of the more popular items is a portable computer from nineteen eighty-one.
ALEX BOCHANNEK: “We think of portable computers today as laptops. But the Osborne One was about the size of a sewing machine and weighed twenty-four pounds. So, just being able to pick one of those up will help our visitors understand how difficult portability was about thirty years ago.”
FAITH LAPIDUS: Visitors to the Computer History Museum can also see parts of one of the earliest large-scale electronic computing devices. The ENIAC or Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer was designed during World War Two.
There are also pieces from the guidance computer that was used during the American space agency’s Apollo missions.
Mr. Bochannek says the "Revolution" exhibit is about more than the history of modern computing. He says it tells a much larger story about how these developments have affected¹⁰ society and culture, especially in recent years.
The Computer History Museum plans to launch an online version of the exhibit on its website next month.
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BOB DOUGHTY: Who would have thought that millions of people would buy a product containing living insects? A creative businessman named Milton Levine did, and he thought correctly. He and his brother-in-law, E. J. Cossman, created the Uncle Milton Ant Farm more than a half century ago. Today, grandchildren of the first ant colony owners are watching ants working hard on the farm.
Mr. Levine died recently at age ninety-seven. During his life, he saw the sale of more than twenty million of his ant colonies. He was part inventor, part businessman and part educator.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Milton Levine was not trained in the study of insects, also known as entomology. But he knew a lot about ants, and he designed an appealing way to share his knowledge. He respected the creatures. He sometimes said he had never stepped on an ant.
Mr. Levine’s son Steven says his father began his career as a maker¹¹ of unusual toys after World War Two. He had returned to his birthplace in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after serving in the United States military. During the war, he built bridges in Germany for the invading allied¹² troops of General George S. Patton.
BOB DOUGHTY: Steven Levine says his father got the idea for his future career from a business newsletter. The newsletter suggested that the best chances for jobs at the time were in bobby pins and toys.
Milton Levine did not want to make bobby pins, the small fasteners for women’s hair. He and Mr. Cossman decided¹³ instead to make toys. They understood that American society was about to change. The huge population increase known as the Baby Boom was beginning. There would be a huge demand for children’s playthings.
Milton Levine, co-inventor of the classic Ant Farm educational toy, poses with his invention in 2006
FAITH LAPIDUS: The two businessmen moved their company to Hollywood, California, in nineteen fifty-two. At that time, Milton Levine got the idea for an educational toy that would earn him lasting¹⁴ fame. He saw ants parading around a swimming pool while he was at an Independence Day celebration.
The sight made Mr. Levine remember how much he had liked watching and collecting ants as a boy on his uncle’s farm. Those thoughts gave him the idea for the Uncle Milton Ant Farm.
BOB DOUGHTY: Milton Levine and E. J. Cossman developed a narrow, green plastic container. The top looked like a farm, showing a farmhouse¹⁵, a barn, a bridge and a windmill. Under those images was a divider that separated the ants’ underground and above-ground areas. Under that was the sand where people could watch the ants digging passageways.
There was a problem before the product could be sold, however. Where would the company get enough ants? The company placed a newspaper advertisement asking for what they called ant-pickers. The pickers recovered a fine supply of ants from the desert.
FAITH LAPIDUS: The businessmen sold the first finished Uncle Milton Ant Farms through the mail. Buyers also received their ants by mail. But the ants arrived separately from the farm. The insects arrived in a vial, as they do today. A stopper device on the tube-like container held food for the ants as they traveled to their new homes.
Later, ground volcanic¹⁶ material replaced the sand, and stores also sold the Ant Farms.
Mr. Cossman and Mr. Levine placed newspaper ads urging people to watch the ants dig tunnels and build bridges. People paid one dollar and ninety-eight cents for the first products.
BOB DOUGHTY: The first Uncle Milton Ant Farms were an immediate¹⁷ success. They were sold in nineteen fifty-six. Two years later, two million of the educational toys had sold.
Through the years the toys continued to attract ant-watchers. When his father retired¹⁸, Steven Levine became the company’s head in the nineteen eighties. Last year, the company was sold to private investors¹⁹. But people continue to buy Uncle Milton Ant Farms from stores and order from websites.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Materials included with the products tell far more than how to care for the ants. For example, people receiving an Uncle Milton Ant Farm learn that the little insects are strong. Some can carry loads fifty times heavier than they are.
A writer in his thirties remembers owning an Uncle Milton Ant Farm when he was about five years old. He says he became very good at numbers by counting the ants.
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BOB DOUGHTY: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jerilyn Watson, Caty Weaver²⁰ and June Simms, who also was our producer. I’m Bob Doughty.
FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

3 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

4 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

5 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

6 oracle   

n.神谕，神谕处，预言

参考例句：

• In times of difficulty,she pray for an oracle to guide her.在困难的时候，她祈祷神谕来指引她。
• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important.它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。

7 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

8 transistor   

n.晶体管，晶体管收音机

参考例句：

• This make of transistor radio is small and beautifully designed.这半导体收音机小巧玲珑。
• Every transistor has at least three electrodes.每个晶体管至少有三个电极。

9 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

12 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

15 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

16 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

17 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

18 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

19 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

20 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。