I cannot remember which ones I read, but those were definitely some of the best ones out there for learning as a kid.
this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2025
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"They're minerals! Not stones" ~ hank from breaking bad probably after seeing that magazine
those were like crack to me when i was a kid, they were in my school library and i remember reading every time we got longer break, those and the shiny ones too with those textured covers and embeded plastic gems ahh
The "-ology" books? My parents kept my set of those in a box for however many years - at least 15 - and they've been passed on to my niece and nephew.
I am not going to lie, they still capture my attention the same way now. And I still remember the answers to all the riddles in Dragonology.
those are simply little masterpieces, capturing young minds with "ooo shiny secrets" and then also giving knowledge
I'd gladly sit down with one of those books today if I came across one. Wikipedia never has that many pictures.
My childhood library had a bunch of these, and someone had pain-stakingly gone through them to place sticky notes over every instance of uncovered boobs or genitals depicted in the classic art and sculptures. I, being too young to understand why someone would do that, ripped every sticky off because they were covering up the pictures.
Reminds me of the London A to Z before the era of smartphones with map apps.
Still have one in some box somewhere.
woah, you just unlocked a memory - thanks for this
I remember they were glossy and attractive but expensive. I wouldn't have bought one on a whim as a kid, and you kinda just read the ones school might have bought? Wikipedia is free and expansive; nostalgia aside I think kids today have it way better.
Lol no group of kids gathers around wikipedia to look at an article. Someone busted this book out in class, no matter the subject, and every kid in that class was at attention. It made learning much more fun.
That's cool you had such experiences. I don't remember anyone getting excited about a book and sharing it like that in my school, which is a shame.
Although I do remember everyone getting excited about the book buying thing in primary school and I think there were lots of DK books in that? My family couldn't really afford that stuff so guess it just isn't a nostalgic thing for me.
Always got mine from charity shops.
We couldn't afford them either, but we got them from the library. And it was always a context to see who checked out the coolest one that week.
I remember the glossiness! We had one but I really can't remember which one
wikipedia is great but it's hard to stumble across information not directly linked to what you're reading about. i think those books still have plenty of value as compediums of starting off points to later read about more online!
I’m not from the UK (or the Commonwealth) but I had some of these books as a child. Loved them. Thanks for posting this.
Those were awesom! . I had one on James Bond. Or the gadgets of James Bond or something like that. I think I had a car one too.
If its the same one I had, then it was about the evolution of actual spy gadgets in history