Nicolaus Copernicus took issue with early astronomers such as Ptolemy, who wrote the "Almgest," a catalog of the motions of the planets and position of stars based on his use of an astrolabe. Costumed actors portraying Copernicus and his pupil Rheticus discuss astronomical theories and question the prevailing belief in the epicycles of planets in an earth-centered universe. However, their work was criticized by the church, including Martin Luther who considered the concept of the earth revolving and rotating to be "ludicrous." Danish astronomer Tyco Brahe combined the best findings from both Ptolemy and Copernicus, but did not accept the latter's heliocentric universe. Rheticus, however, wrote about that theory in his "First Account." Copernicus died in 1543, as his "Concerning the Revolution" was being published. Giordano Bruno defended the Copernican heliocentric theory and was tried as a heretic and burned at the stake.

Lynn Poole describes how Charles Darwin changed the world with his theory of evolution--that all forms of life evolved from lower forms through natural selection. Poole briefly describes Darwin's life, tracing on a map the naturalist's five-year (1831-36) journey on the "H.M.S. Beagle," on which he observed the variations of species on the Galapagos Islands and their modifications to their environments. Darwin concluded that successful characteristics are transmitted by the fittest survivors of a species and that the process of evolution continuously creates change. His ideas were published in 1859 in "Origin of Species," with the support of Joseph Hooker, Charles Lyell, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Thomas Huxley. Responses and challenges to these heretical views were made by such critics as Samuel Wilberforce, Lord Kelvin, and Fleeming Jenkin.

Lynn Poole describes some pottery pieces from several different centuries and civilizations and notes how the features of the pottery are clues to their past. Dr. Gus W. Van Beek, Johns Hopkins University archaeologist, says that of written and unwritten remains, archaeology is the only source of information on civilizations before the third millennium B.C., and pottery shreds are the most common remains. On a diagram of the Hajar bin Humeid mound excavated in 1950-51, he shows how each stratum is delineated by debris and specific features. The study of these layers is called stratigraphy. Since ancient pottery styles changed readily, relative chronology of a culture can be based on these changes. For example, the ledge handles on Palestinian jars went through four stages of design change. Likewise, immigration and colonization are revealed by changes in native pottery. Use of literary sources adds to this information for dating objects in the strata as does carbon-14 dating.

Lynn Poole briefly summarizes the highlights of Albert Einstein's life (1879-1955) with accompanying photos. Actors representing German physicist Max Planck, British scientist Sir Oliver Lodge, and Royal Society member Joseph J. Thompson comment on the progress of Einstein's work. Setting the foundation, Newton discovered the Corpuscular Theory of Light, Huygens the Wave Theory of Light, Maxwell and Hertz the Electromagnetic Theory, and Michelson and Morley the experiment using the interferometer to measure the speed of earth through "ether." From this evolved Einstein's 1905 "Special Theory of Relativity" (E=MC2) proving that all motion is relative and that light travels at a constant speed. Einstein won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the photoelectric effect; contributed to the theory of Brownian movement, the molecular construction of matter; and conducted research in unified field theory.

This program follows a patient, Mrs. Baker, through the procedure of cosmetic plastic surgery, beginning with her conferences with both psychiatrist Jacobson and surgeon Edgerton. The viewers follow the patient from hospital admittance and pre-op through the actual surgery to decrease her nose size and to augment her chin with a bone graft. Dr. Edgerton discusses post-op procedures and expectations and shows pre- and post-surgery profiles of Mrs. Baker. According to the patient, the plastic surgery changed her inner feelings of worth as much as her outward appearance. Dr. Jacobson stresses that cosmetic plastic surgery should never be sought for self-indulgence, only to remove self consciousness and self doubt.

Lynn Poole shows two children album pages of lasting gifts: the oldest hymn, "Gloria in Excelsis," inserted into Mass by Pope Telesphorus, sung by the Johns Hopkins Glee Club; the custom of Christmas cards, first designed by John Callcott Horsley at the request of his friend Henry Cole in 1843, and another card designed by W.M. Edgley; the story surrounding the composition of "Silent Night," with words by Father Joseph Mohr and music by Franz Gruber and sung by a duet; the history of the Christmas tree traced to Martin Luther; the development of Santa Claus by cartoonist Thomas Nast from Dr. Clement Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nick"; the 1897 "Is there a Santa Claus" letter to "The New York Sun" and response from its editor Francis P. Church; the Welsh air "Deck the Halls" sung by a quartet; the Yule log custom; Johns Hopkins' President Milton S. Eisenhower's remarks on the significance of Christmas; and the composition of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" with words by Charles Wesley.

Dr. Donald Benson, anesthesiologist-in-charge at Johns Hopkins Hospital and associate professor of anesthesiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, announces that the expired air resuscitation method is much preferred to the prone pressure method (both of which are demonstrated) for victims in need of artificial respiration. He outlines the history of assisted ventilation, including Elijah's documented use of it in the Bible, Versalius's use of bellows to inflate lungs of animals in 1555, Hooke's discovery of the function of lungs in 1667, the development of the safety bellows for humans in 1827, and the implementation of the prone pressure method in 1893 and Britain's rocking method in 1932. Dr. Benson describes breathing's response to anaesthesia as well as the normal breathing process. A film shows a patient undergoing thoracic surgery whose breathing is controlled by a breathing bag attached to an endotrachial tube. Dr. Benson explains and demonstrates mechanical respiration.

Lynn Poole opens this program on man's ability to measure with a sample of the first standardized measurement, a cubit, used in building the pyramids. Dr. Allen Astin and his colleagues, from the U. S. National Bureau of Standards (NBS), discuss the four standards of measurement: length/meter, mass/kilogram, time/tropical year, and temperature/six points of Celsius. Dr. Astin also talks about direct measurement with a simple balance vs. indirect measurement with a proving ring or dynamometer. Dr. Robert Huntoon points out that the earth's rotation varies, so to determine the exact time, the NBS uses quartz crystals, or for more accuracy, ammonium atom vibration or a cesium clock operating on the forces within the cesium atom. The new accurate reference for measuring length is the mercury 198 lamp. In temperature standards, Dr. Herbert Broida notes that the Soviet Union is able to accurately measure extreme temperatures, which are important in the space race.

Lynn Poole asks Dr. George Boas, Johns Hopkins professor emeritus of philosophy, a series of questions about the concern that in 1959 scientific problems seem more important than humanistic problems. Dr. Boas responds that there are four reasons for problems becoming obsolete, and he gives examples of each: they are insoluble; peoples' interests change; they arise from assumptions no longer held; and the problems themselves go out of style. When Mr. Poole asks if there are any humanistic problems whose solution would affect the lives of many people, Dr. Boas lists standardized textbooks in education, the trend towards authoritarianism, and the elimination of provincialism. He notes that there is no one right answer in the humanities; every person is his own interpreter. He illustrates this with a passage from the play "Hamlet," Piero della Francesca's painting "Resurrection," and the music of Bach's "St. Matthew Passion."

Lynn Poole opens the program with a brief history of radar. Dr. J.W. Gebhard, research psychologist with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL), explains that his job is to improve the way men interpret radar pictures on an A-scope. He then demonstrates a PPI (plan position indicator) scope, which uses a bearing dial and cursor to locate a target. Dr. Albert Stone, a physicist with the APL, explains that RADAR is an acronym for "radio detection and ranging," which measures unknown distances accurately. He demonstrates radar's principles and explains how it works, including the radar antenna that indicates direction. A film shows a police radar speed meter in operation. This is doppler radar, measuring only velocity. Other film clips show the use of radar at sea for guiding ships into harbors, air radar for a flight across Lake Erie, and storm forecasting radar. Dr. Gebhard describes ground control approach (GCA) radar including a film of one hour of airplane flights compressed to a few minutes.