Who Invented the Self-Cleaning House

The ultimate convenience invention for domestic living must certainly be inventor Frances Gabe’s self-cleaning house. The house, a combination of some 68 time, labor, and space saving mechanisms, was conceived as a way to make the drudgery of housework obsolete. The Early Years Frances Gabe (or Frances G. Bateson) was born in 1915 and now lives in Newberg, Oregon, in the prototype of her self-cleaning house. Gabe gained experience in housing design and construction at an early age from working with her father, Frederick Arnholtz. She adored her father, a building contractor and architect, and rode with him to his job sites beginning at the early age of 3. Her mother died when Frances was young and her father had jobs across the Pacific Northwest and so her â€Å"family† became the construction workers who taught her all she would ever need to know about building her â€Å"dream house† someday. She attended 18 different grade schools and at age 12 she started attending the Girl’s Polytechnic School in Portland, Oregon. In two years, she completed her high school education, graduating in 1929 at age 14. In 1932, at the age of 17, she married Herbert Bateson who was an electrical engineer. Bert never worked much aside from odd jobs here and there, so Frances was forced to support their family, including their two children.   Gabe did not let her 18 years of partial blindness that followed her childs birth stop her from starting her own business. Soon after losing her sight, she started a home repair business in Portland. The business was quite successful and, according to Charles Carey, author of  American Inventors, Entrepreneurs, and Business Visionaries, her husband was so embarrassed by her success that he demanded she stop using his name. Grace chose to take the initials of her entire married name  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Grace Arnholtz Bateson,† and tack an â€Å"e† on the end to become Gabe.   In 1978, shortly after changing her name, she and Bert separated and eventually divorced. Features of a Self-Cleaning House Each of the rooms in the termite-proof, cinder block constructed, self-cleaning house is fitted with a 10-inch, ceiling-mounted cleaning/drying/heating/cooling device. The walls, ceilings and floors of the house are covered with resin, a liquid that becomes water-proof when hardened. The furniture is made of a water-proof composition, and there are no dust-collecting carpets anywhere in the house. At the push of a sequence of buttons, jets of soapy water wash the entire room. Then, after a rinse, the blower dries up any remaining water that hasn’t run down the sloping floors into a waiting drain. The sink, shower, toilet and bathtub are all capable of cleaning themselves. The bookshelves dust themselves while a drain in the fireplace carries away ashes. The clothes closet works as a washer/drier combination  and the kitchen cabinet functions like a dishwasher—simply pile in soiled dishes, and don’t bother taking them out until they are needed again. Not only is the house of practical appeal to overworked homeowners, but also to physically handicapped people and the elderly.

The Great Wall of China Essay - 2903 Words

The Great Wall of China To the northwest and north of Beijing, a huge, serrated wall zigzags its way to the east and west along the undulating mountains. This is the Great Wall, which is said to be visible from the moon. This massive wall has not only been one of the Ancient Seven Wonders of the World, but it has also been inspiration for many artists, and writers. The building of the Great Wall is one of the biggest tragedies, but through this tragedy arose triumph with the wall, being so much to so many people. The Great Wall of China is much more than a wall, and was built for many reasons that are hidden to most. Construction of the Great Wall started in the 7th century B.C. The wall states that under the Zhou Dynasty in the†¦show more content†¦Of elephants, lions, birds, flower and heavenly kings as well as charms in six languages-Sanskrit, Tibetan, Phats pa (Mongolian), Uygur, West Xia and Han. (Karls) The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, 70 kilometers northeast of Beijing, is linked to the Gubeikou section on the east and the Badaling section on the west. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is crenellated for watching and shooting at the invading enemy. Some of the battle forts on the wall are as close as 50 meters apart. It is one of the best sections of the Great Wall. (Karls) Located in Miyun County northeast of Beijing, the Jinshanling division of the Great Wall, like the Simatai division, belongs to the Gubeikou section of the colossal defence barrier. The battlements in the Jinshanling division of the Great Wall are built along the ridge of a mountain, where the soldiers can resist the invading enemy by taking advantage of the high terrain. (Karls) Located to the east of Jinshanling, the Simatai division of the Great Wall is 3,000 meters long and has 35 battle forts. The wall rises and falls with the precipitous mountain ridge, while the battle forts are located high up the hills. From the Beakon Tower alarm was raised by means of smoke signals, at night by fire. Smoke was produced by burning a mixture of wolf dung, sulfur and saltpeter. Shots were fired at the same time. Thus an alarm could be relayed over 500km within just a few hours.Show MoreRelatedThe Great Wall Of China1196 Words   |  5 Pagesincludes modules of ________ so you can see the construction of _____ Today I am going to be presenting the Great Wall of China and what political and military reasons it was built for. The construction was a feat of great magnitude and reflected the innovations and technological advancements of the Ancient Chinese. The reason I have decided to focus upon the Ancient Chinese is because I find China a very interesting civilisation. The ancient Chinese civilisation began 7,000 to 8,000 years ago and aboutRead MoreThe Great Wall Of China1123 Words   |  5 Pagesthe Great Wall] demonstrates the manifestation of the wisdom and tenacity of the Chinese people.†(cortland.edu). China is considered one of the world’s oldest civilizations with the first dynasty beginning in 221 B.C.. A famous icon of this great civilization is the Great Wall of China, or known to the Chinese as Wan Li Chang Cheng. During the Warring States period, many feudal societies built their own sections for security. Eventually the walls were connected and there was a unified China. WithRead MoreThe Great Wall Of China1641 Words   |  7 Pages The Great Wall of China is known as the largest construction project to be put in effect in all of world history. The wall, also known in China as long wall of 10,000 li, is a collection of numerous short walls extending along the crest of hills on the southern edge of the Mongolian plain. Although it is a common misconception that the Great Wall of China is one long continuous wall, it s structural inconsistency in no way undermines its greatness. The wall has been built, destructed, rebuiltRead MoreThe Great Wall Of China1266 Words   |  6 Pages The Great Wall of China James Allen World History 1st period February 1, 2015 The first unified Chinese empire was formed in 221 B.C., that was when seven states were brought together by Shi Huangdi, a conqueror from the state of Qin. Shi Huangdi means â€Å"first emperor.† Until the twentieth century all rulers of imperial China called themselves the emperor. The emperor was believed, by the people of China, to be the son of heaven, God-like. They believed that each ofRead MoreThe Great Wall Of China905 Words   |  4 Pages It has been said that the Great Wall of China is so immense that it can be seen from space with just the human eye. Unfortunately, that is simply a rumor and has been confirmed false. Nonetheless, the Great Wall of China is also the world’s longest wall and biggest piece of ancient architecture, which is still a pretty big deal. Its official length is about 13,170 miles long, more than four times the width of the United States. The wall crosses over ten provinces and cities, including QinghaiRead MoreThe Great Wall of China600 Words   |  3 PagesThe Great Wall of China is an assemblage of smaller walls built by various dynasties over many years. Builders erected these walls for protection from invasions by those from the north. The Great Wall itself, with a history lasting over 2000 years, measures approximately 5,500 miles in length, although some of the sections lie in ruin or have disappeared altogether. It is about 25 feet high and is 15-30 feet wide. It is the longest man-made structure in the world. In the 7th century B.C. the firstRead MoreThe Great Wall Of China2440 Words   |  10 Pagescollectively achieve the objectives. The Great Wall of China is an example of the history of the success goal of organization. Ming dynasty, Zhengtong Emperor has forced approximately 2 to 3 millions labor to build the defense wall to protect the empire and also border control that could encourage trade. With the Zhengtong Emperor led the organization of collective effort of the people, the result is 8851.8 kilometers of defense wall, with combined of previous built great wall is 21,196 kilometers, becomingRead MoreEssay on The Great Wall of China1270 Words   |  6 PagesThe Great Wall of China is one of the greatest architectural achievements ever recorded in history. The Great Wall translates to â€Å"long fortress.† The wall was made entirely by hand. It was built to protect the Chinese from intruders from different Nomadic Tribes. The wall is about 5,500 miles long. The wall did not stretch across all of China but it stretched from Shanhaiguan in the East to Lop Nur in the West. Some people say that you can even see the wall from the moon! Wouldn’t that be somethingRead MoreGreat Wall of China Essay example1375 Words   |  6 PagesThe Great Wall of China stretches about 5,500 miles long crossing deserts, mountains, grasslands, and plateaus. It took more than 2,000 years to build this incredible manmade structure. Many people died to build this wall. It displays the changes between the agricultural and nomadic civilizations. It proves that the superb structure was very important to military defense. It became a national symbol of the Chinese as a security for their country and its people. The Great Wall of China must be preservedRead MoreGreat Wall of China Report Essay2063 Words   |  9 PagesThe Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China is truly one of the greatest architectural achievements in recorded history. The longest structure ever built, it is about 6,700 kilometers (4,163 miles) long and made entirely by hand. This wall is said to be visible from the moon. It crosses Northern China, from the East coast to Central China (Karls, 1). This massive wall is not only one of the ancient wonders of the world, but it also has been the inspiration of many writers and artists. With

Anabolic Steroids A Misunderstood Substance free essay sample

When the term â€Å"steroids† is used, it is typically used in reference to anabolic steroids intended for the purposes of improving physical performance. However, steroids are actually a class of organic molecules with similar physical structure. The male sex hormone, testosterone, is perhaps the most widely known steroid in existence. But what is less known is that the female sex hormone, estrogen, is a steroid as well. Steroids are not limited solely to androgenic effects, but are also used for structural support in cells. However, for the purposes of this article, and for ease of writing, the term steroids will be used only to refer to anabolic/androgenic steroids commonly referred to by the abbreviation â€Å"AAS† . The term anabolic refers to metabolic processes that result in increased muscular hypertrophy while â€Å"androgenic† means supporting the development of male characteristics i.e. male pattern baldness, voice deepening, facial hair, muscular deve lopment, etc (Solomon 1056). AAS have been notorious in history for rampant usage in professional sports and bodybuilding. Critics argue that steroid use is life-threatening, which certainly holds its merits, but AAS are too complex to simply be labeled as â€Å"bad.† Due to controversy surrounding this substance, the United States labeled anabolic steroids as a controlled schedule III drug in 1990. In addition to the illegality of it, most professional sports organizations have banned the use of performance enhancing drugs in their respective sport. While these organizations hold the belief that AAS are cheating, they seem to ignore the other side of the argument. In reality, modern research does not support the media’s notion that anabolic steroids are awful, unhealthy, and immoral drugs with the potential to cause murderous rampages. It seems as though when steroids are brought up in conversation, the risk of atherosclerosis, more commonly known as heart disease, tends to be a concern-able issue. William Llewelynn, Director of Research and Development of Molecular Nutrition, wrote about steroid risks and benefits in his book William Llewellyn’s Anabolics.The side-effects section of this book explains that short-term steroid cycling has been shown to negatively impact cholesterol levels, which can lead to increased plaque levels in the arteries and therefore a greater risk of heart disease (Llewellyn 149). While on a cycle, the user’s HDL levels tend to decrease while LDL levels increase. HDL levels are correlated to positive cholesterol values while LDL molecules may risk increased plaque levels in arteries (Solomon 1056 ). Even though this is true,steroids are taken in cycles, usually periods of 6-12 weeks. Afterward, a short period of post-cycle therapy begins in order to alleviate temporary side -effects that may have occurred while the individual was taking supratherapeutic doses of AAS. Post-cycle therapy helps to restore the cycler’s hormones back to pre-cycling conditions and thus the change in cholesterol levels is not a permanent side effect (Llewellyn 289-290). Another common complaint about steroid abuse is the negative effect the drugs may have on the liver. Some oral steroids certainly can cause permanent damage to theliver as it is suspected that they interact with androgen receptors in the hepatic system. Injectable steroids on the other hand, do not pass through the liver while metabolizing and therefore are not liver toxic (Llewellyn 171-173). Therefore liver toxicity while cycling steroids is a null-issue as long as the type of steroids taken by the user are non-toxic to the liver. The use of AAS is correlated to negative aesthetic side effects including male pattern baldness, decreased size of the testes, and gynecomastia. These are all proven potential side-effects of AAS, although they are not guaranteed simply by taking steroids. Furthermore, steroids do not cause the androgenic side effect of baldness, they only increase the rate at which somebody genetically pre-disposed to male-pattern baldnesswould achieve hair loss (Llewellyn 182). So this side-effect only applies to those who are genetically pre-disposed to baldness. Christopher Bell, director and writer of the documentary Bigger Stronger Faster*, explores the controversy of steroid use and his own personal use as well. Part of this movie discusses testicular shrinkage. The male testicles may shrink while cycling as a result of artifical testosterone injections resulting in the body to produce less of its own testosterone. This side effect is not permanent, and the testicles tend to return to their n ormal size after successful PCT (Bell). Gynecomastia, or male breast enlargement, can be caused as a result of increased estrogen levels while cycling AAS. Estrogen levels will rise while on a cycle in an attempt to counter-balance the increase in testosterone levels. The rise in estrogen levels is not necessarily bad, but can potentially result in gynecomastia. This unaesthetic side-effect can be easily avoided with the use of aromatase inhibitors such as Nolvadex (Llewellyn 337-338). Additionally this side-effect will only occur in specific individuals, not everyone. Modern medical research agrees with the idea that steroids are generally safe drugs when taken properly by healthy adult men. Take for example a study published in the Journal of American Physiology and Endocrinology. 61 men were placed into different groups and given differing dosages of testosterone enanthate. The results showed that those taking the higher doses had gained the most muscle mass, and those with the l owest doses had the lowest increase in mass. The only notable side-effect found in the men with the highest steroids dosages was a decrease in HDL cholesterol values. No statistically significant changes were found in liver enzymes, sexual ability, or mental health (Bhasin). What this study shows is that the only negative health effect of testosterone enanthate was a negative impact in cholesterol valueswhile it had the positive health effects of increasing athletic ability and muscle mass. So steroids really cannot be labeled as beneficial or harmful toward health since they benefit some areas of health while damaging others. Overall however, it seems as though AAS are not truly detrimental to a person’s well-being and therefore when considering the ethics of steroid use, negative health impacts is not a major consideration. There are drugs on the market that are arguably far worse than steroids such as amphetamines like Adderall, prescribed for treatment of Attention Defici t Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Adderall has even been correlated to death by myocardial infarction, otherwise known as heart disease (Cohle, 2013). Not only does this drug have a less negative connotation than anabolic steroids, but tit is also prescribed to children as young as three years old. It is important to note that thus far the discussion of health impacts of AAS only applies to healthy adult men and not children or women. The effects of AAS in those less than 18 years of age are not completely understood as very little research has been done in that area. Women on the other hand, since their bodies do not typically create large amounts of testosterone like in men, may experience adverse and permanent side-effects. Some of these side-effects include excessive facial hair, enlarged clitoris, and infertility (Llewellyn 195-200). For these reasons, if steroids are to be taken by a female, they should be forewarned of the dangers in advance. Children should not take AAS as their is not enough research on them to know if any serious damage could be caused. Furthermore some commonly believed side-effects of steroids are not even proven. Take for example, the story of Chris Benoit. Benoit was a professional wrestler for WWE back in the mid 2000‘s, but it seems he is more famous for being the poster child for â€Å"roid rage†. Roid rage is supposedly â€Å"violent and uncontrolled anger as a side effect of anabolic steroid use† according to Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Benoit murdered his wife, child, and then committed suicide. It was discovered that he had been taking heavy doses of anabolic steroids when his murder was under investigation. When the media found out about it, his murder-suicide was immediately blamed as a side effect of steroids. Of course, their is no actual evidence linking the murder to have been caused as a result of taking steroids. This is a type of fallacious argument known as an undistributed middle. In reality it is much more likely that steroids were not the cause of the murder, but rather that he was taking illicit drugs as a result of some sort of imbalance in mental cognition. As seen in the study by Bhasin injection of AAS did not alter cognitive functioning significantly. Anecdotally, Mark Be ll, brother of Christopher Bell of the documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster* had taken steroids for years before the release of the film. Mark Bell’s wife stated in the movie â€Å"Ive never seen Roid Rage. Ive never seen any difference in his personality or how he is with me, how he is with Jake. It hasnt done anything that all those after-school specials tell you that its gonna do.† (Bell). Furthermore, this film explains that the illegality of steroids is mainly a result of political reasons rather than actual scientific research. In fact, it was brought to attention in the film that medical research at the time did not support adverse side-effects of AAS. During the congressional hearing that resulted in the illegalization of AAS in the United States, a child’s suicide was brought to attention. The father of this child blamed his suicide on anabolic steroids, although the child was also taking anti-depressant medication which is correlated to mental instability. Once again, anabolic steroids were not proven to have been the cause of this child’s suicide yet the father’s speech during the hearing seemed to have more impact on the congressional decision than all of the scientific research available at the time (Bell). The current stigma surrounding steroids is the notion that they are â€Å"cheating† and â€Å"unnatural,† however this view once again fails to represent the entire picture. The common argument when considering sports and steroids is that steroids are cheating because they are not naturally found in the body, and that by taking them the person’s athletic abilities are unfairly enhanced above those who do not use them. Now, it is true that a person with higher testosterone levels than another tends to gain muscle mass faster, but that is not always true. In fact, steroids are only one of various factors contributing to athletic performance. Genetics play a significant role as well. Profesional Strength Coach Mark Rippetoe writes in his book PracticalProgramming: for Strength Training There are at least 73 genes associated with fitness and performance. While humans allswim in the same genetic pool, their is a huge amount of variation in both the genespossessed and the genes actively expressed. And so, like it or not, here is the rule: DNAmakes RNA makes protein makes function. The reality is that genetic potential ultimatelyaffects the performance of every individual. These variations lead to differences in performance potential. (2006, p. 105) Is it unfair if one athlete has an athletic advantage over another simply because his genome is more tailored toward that sport? If that is the case then is it unfair if one athlete’s muscle mass is higher than another’s simply because he is genetically inclined to naturally higher testosterone levels and not because he works harder? If so, then steroids are not the cause of unfairness, genetics is. If steroids were to be regulated around national sports associations, then it would actually be possible to minimize testosterone level differences as a variable in sports performance. If all athletes were put on to similar steroid cycles then no one would have a significant advantage over the other in regards to testosterone. Now, some critics may argue that steroids would make sports less fair because some athletes would simply take higher doses than others. Once again, this does not encompass the full scale of steroid use. As with the majority of things in life, steroids follow the concept of diminishing returns. In this case it means that each dosage increase will result in less performance increase than the previous increase.Take for example the study previously mentioned that was published in the American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology, and Metabolism. Three groups were given high dosages of testosterone enanthate: 125mg (milligram), 300mg, and 600mg. The groups found an average increase in lean body mass (lbm) of 7.48lbs, 11.44lbs, and 17.38lbs respectively (Bhasin). Dividing lbm by amount of testosterone enanthate injected shows the amount of muscle gained per mg of testosterone. The three groups had pounds of lbm increase per miligram of testosterone values of .0598, .0381, and .0290 respectively. This clearly demonstrates that dosing of AAS does not follow a linear increase, but rather AAS have a threshold point in which increasing dosage fails to increase performance any more. While the exact value to which increasing dosage fails to provide any significant benefit is unknown and may differ between individuals, this shows that AAS do in fact hold a performance increase threshold. Another common argument as to why steroids are cheating is that they are a shortcut. Steroids are far from a shortcut in any respect. Muscular hypertrophy requires two factors: a stressor and recovery period (Rippetoe 23-24). A stress is any sort of extreme tension placed on the muscle and central nervous system , while a recovery period is the time where no stress is applied to the body and the body adapts to the previous stress allowing the muscles to gain protein and increase in efficiency. While AAS do support muscular hypertrophy and motor neuron recruitment in the central nervous system, the body still requires a stressor to create an adaptation to facilitate muscle growth. This means that the athlete still needs to work out and lift weights in order to gain the performance advantage. Steroids effectively increase recovery efficiency, which means that the individual who is taking steroids will recover quicker. This also means that people who are cycling can workout harder than before since their bodies are now capable of recovering from heavier stress. And in respect to sports, this means that steroids allow athletes to put in more effort than before.By this logic, steroids can make sports more competitive by allowing athletes to work harder for improved performance. The people who would benefit most are those who are truly dedicated, since they would be capable of working out more than if they were not cycling steroids. Overall AAS are an extremely misunderstood drug with over-exaggerated health implications and under-rated health benefits. Changes in cognitive functioning in humans has never been supported by research. Steroids have not been shown to be detrimental to health and are in fact safer than many prescription medications. In professional sports, steroids can allow athletes to achieve previously unheard of athletic ability while also allowing them to train harder than ever before. The subject of roid rage has been debunked as a myth built on the faulty premise of fallacious argumentation. AAS have no reason to be illegal in the United States because their original decision to become illegal was not based on scientific evidence. Legalization of steroids would benefit society as those taking them would no longer have to hide their faces in shame, but can instead be admired for their hard-earned achievements. These people would no longer have to live lives of disgrace and stereotyping, but i nstead be encouraged to break records and become the strongest and most athletic human beings they can possibly be. References: Bigger, stronger, faster* [Motion picture]. (2008). Magnolia Home Entertainment. Bhasin, S. (2001). Testosterone dose-response relationships in healthy young men. AmericanJournal of Physiology Endrocinology and Metabolism. Cohle, S. (2013). Fatal coronary artery intimal hyperplasia due to amphetamine use.Cardiovascular Pathology, 22(3), E1-E4. Llewellyn, W. (2010.). William Llewellyns Anabolics (E-Book ed., p. 1496). Solomon, E., Berg, L., Martin, D. (2011). Endocrine Regulation. In Biology (9th ed.) PacificGrove, CA: Brooks/Cole Thomson Learning. Rippetoe, M., Kilgore, L. (2006). Practical programming for strength training. Wichita FallsTex.: Aasgaard.

Introduction Essays (2296 words) - Guggenheim Fellows, McCarthyism

Introduction Of his time, Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) was considered the most admired American sociologist. Parsons was bread into a well-to-do family and was given a strong educational foundation as a child. Starting as a biologist, Parsons felt out of place and transferred to economics and sociology. As he excelled in these fields, Parsons began studies in Europe, giving him a wide view on different societies. He began teaching at Harvard, and there he exposed his sociological thoughts. Although very controversial, Parsons' works had influences on all aspects of Sociology. He generally focused on social action and systems and believed that morality in social action is the main element to help preserve social order. In The Structure of Social Action (1937), Parsons developed earlier sociologists' views into a theory of social action, or the action theory. These ideas look into today's society and it's institutional structures, which work to clarify action and to gain from it. His second book, The Social System (1951), extends and further explains his prior theories, including a structural-functional strategy. Talcott Parsons' functionalistic ways, influenced by Bronislaw Malinowski, became the center of debate. His beliefs were questioned and challenged by rival sociologists. His studies became even greater and his theories more significant. Until the time of his death, his principal aim focused on the systematic study of social action and it's components. He looked at the surrounding factors and if and why they influenced the social system. As an award before his death, Parsons received high honors for his accomplishments in sociology. Many people considered him the most intelligent sociologist of his era. Methods for Securing Information To gather material on this subject, I used a few research tools. First, I utilized the internet as a source of information. Starting off, I figured I would use search engines, or special programs that find websites concerning your topic, to begin. I listed as many keywords as I could, including Talcott Parsons, Parsons, sociology, sociologists, dead sociologists, and structural-functional paradigm. I then used these keywords in my searches on the yahoo!, excite, starting point, and webcrawler search engines. I passed trough websites, selecting valuable information and printing out what was needed. I looked over the various internet articles, and I highlighted and took notes on some important details. I kept the web pages nearby for quick reference. Next, I visited the Boca Raton Public Library to collect more substantial data. I began by using the library's computers to search for information on Talcott Parsons and sociology. I was lead to the International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, in which I found biographical supplements. I copied specific pages concerning Talcott Parsons, and as I read the text, I choose certain information for reviewing. This information was observantly copied to note cards. I located two other encyclopedias, The New Encyclopedia Britannica and Encyclopedia Americana, and repeated the steps as before, using note cards to take notes. During my search, I found a paperback book on sociology. I studied the section pertaining to Talcott Parsons, and I took careful notes on his works. Afterwards, I researched the historical events happening while Parsons grew up. Initially, I found these events on the Society in History: Time Lines in my sociology text book. I noted the events and relied on the internet. I used the same method as before, search engines and websites. I listed the keywords on the subjects and found many different articles. I printed the useful documents and reviewed them for significant points. Last, I highlighted the main topics and noted the major facts. Biographical Information Talcott Parsons was born on December 13, 1902 in Colorado Springs. His family consisted of five siblings and his mother and father, Mary Ingersol Parsons and Edward Parson. According to the Inter. Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, "His mother...was a suffragist...and his father was a 'social gospel' Protestant of broad academic interests" (610). Parsons was academically pushed by his father, who was the first in the family to attend college. Although of Christian faith, his family was still interested in the sciences of Darwinism, which gave Parsons an early view of science. He attended high school at Horace Mann High School in New York City. After graduation, he started his studies at Amherst College. Parsons majored in biology, but