Collins Unbound

Images by Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi: “Trout Traveling Upstream and Bush Clover” and “Catfish and Trout”

Looking for some Japanese artwork for that ARTH 368 class project? Need some inspiration for your own art piece? Intrigued by Asian art in general? Then come and check out Hiraki korekushon ukiyoe in the Archives & Special Collections! These oversized volumes (20!) feature a multitude of pieces ranging from snowscapes to seascapes, and everything in between. With 20 volumes full of countless pieces by a wide selection of Japanese artists, you’ll be sure to find exactly what you’re looking for! Perfect for art history majors and art connoisseurs alike! So come and check it out Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 1:00-3:00pm in the Archives & Special Collections, room 211!

By Monica Patterson

Rarely do I come across a book that is as physically beautiful as the words inside. I usually read a book because the story is intriguing or wonderful. But those books are just words on a page. While I was looking through the Archives & Special Collections today, I came across a book that is way more than words. The book, Tours d’Arithmetique by Jean Louis Bernard, was created by Bernard for his studies in 1809. Every page is a work of art. Even the script is remarkable. I sat there totally absorbed in its complexity. You can still see the pencil marks that allowed him to make straight lines. Could you imagine if books today were treated with such focus and detail? In the Archives & Special Collections you can find such pieces!

Open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 1:00-3:00 pm.

By Sierra Scott

If you’ve ever glanced over the table of elements in the past thirty years or so, you might be familiar with the name “seaborgium.” Turns out, the namesake of that element, Glenn T. Seaborg, was actually a speaker here at our very own Diamond Jubilee in 1963! A Diamond Jubilee is the 75th anniversary of a thing – if you might recall, we had our 125th anniversary back in 2013. Seaborg’s speech had some pretty interesting predictions for the future (as scientists love to make crazy predictions), some of which were right, some of which were wrong.

For example, he predicted that nuclear power was going to be the forerunner for the production of electricity by 2038, and now that it’s 2015, nuclear power still only accounts for 11% of the world’s electricity. It comes in fourth after coal (40%), gas (23%), and hydroelectric (17%), and it’s unlikely that nuclear will overtake any of these three any time soon, but with 20 years of research and advancing technologies, I suppose it’s still possible. Seaborg’s other predictions included nuclear-powered rockets, manned bases in space, and communication satellites. Humorously enough, he calculated that the entire world would only need three communications satellites to handle coverage of the entire world – according to ucsusa.org we have 1,235 communications satellites in orbit. I mean, it’s only a small difference compared to three.

Seaborg also apparently said, “to keep peace with the scientific age our educational system must produce men and women who are knowledgeable in science.” This certainly hasn’t changed as a fact in the past 52 years, and likely won’t any time soon. But I suppose we’ll see how his predictions hold up by the time our sesquicentennial (that’s a 150th anniversary) rolls around!

You can always see pictures of the Diamond Jubilee, read Seaborg’s entire prediction, or learn more about other speakers and celebrations we’ve had at the University of Puget Sound if you stop into the Archives & Special Collections on Tuesday, Wednesday, and/or Thursday between 1:00-3:00 p.m.!

By Morgan Ford

Do not be fooled by this book’s description! It may say the “Holy Bible” on the cover, but the truth of its ulterior motives is hidden in the spine—it is a “parallel bible.”

If you’ve never heard of parallel bibles, it’s probably because the government has been doing a fantastic job of keeping them a secret from the general public. Fear not! We have acquired one of these tomes for your languid perusal. Should you choose to browse through this very large, very heavy specimen, you will find that pages from the well-known bible of our own dimension is situated on the right hand page, while on the opposite (left) page there lies something else entirely—a bible with ideas totally apart from our own, ideas and morals from another dimension, that is very aware of us, and is very clearly observing us. While the language still appears to be English, there are subtle differences between the two that lead scholars to believe that one is derived from the other–however the connection still remains unclear to this day. It is likely that the language we wish to claim as our own is actually a derivative of this parallel dimension’s primary method of communication.

This book of comparisons and detailing of parallels is highly detailed, with an intricate binding and clasps on the outside to warn passersby away from its radical ideas, and thousands of gold-gilt pages filled with careful studies and comparisons in the margins. Even the art in the preface of the book–surprisingly similar to our own dimension’s medieval art–is carefully annotated. It is unclear whether the purpose of this parallel bible is to copy us as a species or to compare their pre-existing culture to our own.

We probably acquired this book in a shady deal over a game of chess with a government scholar, who probably acquired it from a questionable area of influence.

You can read some decrypted government files on the subject of parallel bibles and their possible contents here or here, or you could stop in to the Archives & Special Collections and see what sort of extradimensional secrets you can glean from its pages for yourself.

“the best kind of comedy is flagrant lies and nonsense, delivered deadpan and seriously.” (rosaluxmemeburg)