Encyclopedia Britannica: All the world at your fingertips

Two hundred and fifty years ago, in Edinburgh, Scotland, a printer, an engraver, and an editor teamed up to produce the first Encyclopedia Britannica, which contained scholarly essays and short definitional entries about practically everything. It was a revolution in information. But now that we have instant access to all knowledge from throughout human history via our smartphones, what would kids today think of the encyclopedia, which now encompasses 44 million words, in books? Luke Burbank reports.
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[@bonnierobinson5917]

My dad Bob Campbell sold these books in Utah and Idaho in the late 1950's and early 1960's. He died when I was nine years old. This story reminded me of him. A great dad.

[@gerrynightingale9045]

*Your Dad did something of value to 'make a living' and you have reason to have some pride in that* (The common availability of books with a storehouse of accumulated knowledge made 'America' and the rest of the World what it is now...as opposed to what it was for thousands of years...consider that the 'Age of Steam & Horses' was barely more than one human lifetime ago, and contrast 'nuclear power' and 'spaceflight' in 1969 to 'travel by steam' in 1869)

[@milagrosgarcia6332]

I prefer to read the books, because after been reading for a while from the website it afecte the eyesight.

[@jennymacallan9071]

My parents bought a set of World Book from a salesman when I was in 6th grade, over 50 years ago. They made monthly payments. People like your dad brought knowledge and resources to people who likely couldn't get them any other way. That is quite a legacy.

[@dallasmed65]

I will always prefer the books over the digital version. Something about cracking open a random page and learning something new is satisfying.

[@creatorio3088]

I totally agree, being able to just pick a book up and flip to a random page to learn something unexpected is certainly interesting.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

I agree sometimes there is information that is hard to find online

[@khanShehzad]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pp-TiIqGaZWLeKM

[@kerry9025]

*Back in the 1980’s (I was a kid) you still had door to door salesman who sold everything under the sun, Encyclopedias included. These were serious, professional, honest, suit-wearing men who made their living this way. My Mother wanted to buy a set for my brother & I from a salesman who had come calling but as a single parent on Disability (she was cripple & epileptic) we were pretty poor & she couldn’t afford it. The salesman worked it out so that he would come by once a month & drop off one book from the set & collect a payment of $5.00. It took my Mother forever to pay those Encyclopedias off but she was so proud to get them for us. Us kids were thrilled too as we never got anything we didn’t just have to have. I remember using those books for many homework assignments. I have the Encyclopedias now that my Mother is gone & I wouldn’t take anything in the world for them. When I’m gone my daughter will get them.* 📚📖📚

[@oscarosullivan4513]

I would love to own a set for information

[@khanShehzad]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pp-TiIqGaZWLeKM

[@themillionthj]

I think that's amazing ❤

[@TheLegion78]

Growing up we had two sets of Encyclopedias. I have retained one set for several reasons. One,they are beautiful and well written. Two, most of the knowledge in them is still relevant and more accurate than some stuff that is out there. There is just something about opening a book and doing research.

[@IsmailofeRegime]

Articles in print encyclopedias also tended to be written by acknowledged authorities in their fields, rather than anonymous people on the Internet who read about a subject as a hobby and decided to edit the Wikipedia article.

[@ES-sp4zr]

That's guys hair is incredible. Flock of Seagulls meets 2018.

[@RovingRoy]

It looks like a seagulls' nest. Grotesque.

[@MetFansince]

Flock of Seaguils meets David Lynch.

[@thomasbrunn3876]

yea he looks a mess what with the hair he no business man

[@merrim7765]

@@thomasbrunn3876 He's a scholar. And it's likely he has 2 options: grow it or buzz it. At 1" and he'd resemble George Gobel but you probably don't know who he is. Look him up in the Britannica.

[@earldeanpowell]

The beauty of an encyclopedia over the internet is that when a child searches a topic, the computer gives the topic. The book gives miscellaneous info every page turned and captures the mind of the child as he turns to his eventual topic.

[@brickfacemortar4432]

Very good comment. I am shocked about how little people know who rely on the internet.

[@LinkRocks]

The beauty of the internet is you can find encyclopedia information without having to flip through pages. It's not the technology that has hurt society it's the way people use said technology.

[@BL3SSed-Bliss]

The original matrix in which I used to find myself. (Though I had the full Funk & Wagnall's set, not EB.)

[@kyleebrock]

@@LinkRocks The internet is an amazing tool that most humans never learn a thing about.

[@thastayapongsak4422]

Wikipedia gives an option of random article, and it is also a much deeper rabbit hole for a kid to fall in with the hyperlink function.

[@THE-HammerMan]

My widowed(my father died) mother raising four children on her own with house payments, utilities, taxes, and the entire gamut of bills still found the extra money to buy a complete Encyclopaedia Brittanica(with standing custom bookshelf and Atlas!) for us kids to use doing homework, reports, etc. My mother was a saint. Proof of that being the encyclopedias and my surviving adolescence without her killing me!!!

[@oscarosullivan4513]

I agree

[@wallemon06]

I wonder if that Britannica guy ran so far away, he couldn’t get away. 🎶😂

[@jrnstvz]

i love my encyclopedia Britannica.,kudos Sunday Morning.

[@mlfeathers7527]

I love the Britannica guys hair!

[@phatato]

Haha yes. Between that and AJ Jacobs acting like a cartoon junior high nerd was pretty amusing.

[@silverlve70]

Growing up we used the EB for schoolwork and my parents owned them for a good decade.

[@ekop1778]

SAME HERE HOMEWORK TOO

[@Laceykat66]

The advantage to an encyclopedia, over electronic information systems, is not what you learn about the topic you want, but what you learn while GETTING there. I always stopped at two or three other articles before I got to the page the index sent me to. That often led me to other articles and even other volumes.

[@NSXTypeRGTRLM]

I remember being saddened when my library removed them from the stacks. This was my Wikipedia before it was available.

[@IsmailofeRegime]

I'd add that while an "encyclopedia anyone can edit" (i.e. Wikipedia) has its advantages, EB articles were generally written by acknowledged authorities in their fields who had to make sure the information was both concise and coherent, and could be held accountable for any errors or falsehoods.

[@NSXTypeRGTRLM]

@@IsmailofeRegime definitely a plus, but most Wikipedia articles are written by experts on the topic.

[@IsmailofeRegime]

@@NSXTypeRGTRLM Do you have a source for that? Keep in mind that "expert" doesn't mean "someone who has read a bunch of books on the American Civil War" (or whatever other subject is being written about), it means a recognized authority (someone like James M. McPherson or the late Shelby Foote.)

[@NSXTypeRGTRLM]

@@IsmailofeRegime note that I say most. I am aware of it's limitations. A lot of times people who are enthusiasts of the topic edit it. Of course your mileage may vary especially on sensitive topics.

[@thastayapongsak4422]

@@IsmailofeRegime most active volunteers on wikipedia are university students, researchers, professors, and independent nerds. Incorrect information are quickly reverted and the information provided in Wikipedia is often much much more in depth and up to date than in traditional encyclopedia, with actual citations too, unlike in book form where you'll have to trust the "expert" author for it and never have to question if what is written is incorrect or not.

[@lugoyvonne]

Oh my gosh, that hair!

[@RovingRoy]

He wouldn't be working for me. He would be required to get a new hairstyle before employment. That hairdo sucks big time!

[@TheLisa7374]

@@RovingRoy I'm confident that Ted Pappas with his Harvard Education, His 20 year career running Encyclopedia Britannica, and the numerous books he has authored...probably won't be beating down your door looking for a job anytime soon. His hair doesn't seem to have held him back yet.

[@RovingRoy]

@@TheLisa7374 Yeah, he probably fits in with all the other intellectual elitists in this country who think they are better than everyone else because they have all these alphabet soup degrees after their names from elitist colleges. You're welcome to him and his hairdo!

[@jollyolly34]

@@RovingRoy Wow, jealous much?

[@MichaelSHartman]

Hippie hit upside the head with a lawnmower.

[@195511SM]

We had a full set of 'World Book', when I was a kid in the 1960s. Came with dictionary, atlas.....and other books.....all on a nice wooden rack. In the 90s....I recall that some grocery store chains would sometimes run promotions.....where you could buy the individual installments every couple of weeks. I think I made it up to the letter E.

[@THE-HammerMan]

I grew up in the 60's too(b.1957), and when doing reports it was check the EB first; then the World Books, then Funk & Wagnall's. You always wanted to find and include one thing from all of them so the teacher wouldn't think you only resourced one encyclopedia. By far the best was the EB. Sometimes though, both others had the EB beat on a particular subject; sometimes had drawings and/or pictures to copy that were not in the other two. Man, when you found a "regular" book on a subject and drew from that source... that was when a "B" report became an "A+"! I sure wish I would've grabbed the encyclopedias before my mom sold them years later- I really missed the boat on that one.

[@gerrynightingale9045]

@@THE-HammerMan *I would love to own the 'full final issue' of 'EB'*...what a treasure-house of information! All of which could be read by the light of a single candle if necessary...no batteries needed. ( 'Lincoln' went from 'illiterate hillbilly' to an educated man by reading a set of 'Black's Law Dictionary' included inside a barrel of 'miscellaneous goods' for perhaps a few cents at an auction...that single event predicated the future of both America and World entire even now!) All from books few people had any use for at all other than 'bragging rights' and fire-starting material. ( I live in 'Hillbilly Country' in S. Illinois...the majority of residents here 'despise and loath' books as 'Jew conspiracies to separate you from your money and teach false things at the same time') Fortunately for me I'm old now...and soon will no longer have to hear 'nonsense as truth' being promoted as a 'good thing'.

[@THE-HammerMan]

@@gerrynightingale9045 No batteries? Candles? (Ha ha)! You mean one could read it by the flashlight mode of your "smart" phone! Actually my sister[recently retired Hugh School teacher] would tell you not many of today's generations could read nor comprehend the EB, since the "no child left behind" policy forced her to pass HS seniors in her classes that had a THIRD GRADE reading level!!! As for the ignorant Jew thing, I have been sorely vexed and am really really sick of A-holes blaming everything on God's green Earth on them. Not one person I've ever in my long life has ever been truthfully able to list a single thing that has harmed or affected them or their family done by a Jew. Haters for no other reason than to hate; stoopid idiots for no other reason than fear of being a man and using their own reason to think and have opinions of their own! Makes me want to vomit, sometimes... Makes me wish it was legal to eliminate vermin at other times! I believe I will keep on looking for a later-years complete EB set. I believe it would be great to have and pass on! "Vaya con Dios"!

[@gerrynightingale9045]

@@THE-HammerMan *The intent behind the 'candle' example was simply 'Candle/Book/Your Mind' is enough to 'prime the pump' for the ability to think on your own* (I live in an area where 'willful ignorance is a virtue to be admired' and thus anyone who is educated is 'suspect' and none more so than Jews)

[@THE-HammerMan]

@@gerrynightingale9045 That virtue is a poor excuse for being lazy...just an excuse. I've been trucking off & on for 46 yearsb coast to coast. Been thru Illinois in all parts; loaded directly from farms; gone to services in oil fields; met & known many from IL, and I find your attitude about "wilful ignorance" has not been the case in my experiences- not at all. Maybe not huge numbers in rural areas with college degrees, but there's some that have gone to university, I'll bet. Many "act" dumb to keep others fooled, so take care.

[@HardyGirl66]

The same set my family has owned for about 45 years sits proudly on my living room bookcase!

[@RemnantCult]

I still think there's value in printed word and I don't think it'll ever go away.

[@merrim7765]

My first report I had to write was in the 2nd grade, 1962. I (somehow) chose Grandma Moses. I sat at the dining room table, excited about having homework and found the content I needed in my family's set of the World Book Encyclopedia.

[@switchbackimage5966]

My Millennial cousin got our granny's set and I read almost half and used it for my grade school homework and I wanted that set so badly. Circa 1983 editions

[@kevmorris3000]

My parents bought a set of Colliers Encyclopedia and my sister and I used them throughout our school years. Wrote many essays and reports using that encyclopedia.

[@lequitalacey]

I never owned a set because lack of money. But at least the internet for good or bad is available to all.

[@kitcoffey7194]

You can put that in your Funk & Wagnall's.

[@WilliamJohnson-tf1ut]

Anybody remember the plastic like pages in the back of some books with the different parts of the human body.

[@mthatcher9064]

Yes l still have our set and still love those pages...that is so funny

[@fredmcelroy2839]

The Song 'Danger Zone' came to mind when I saw that guy's hair. :D

[@BL3SSed-Bliss]

"Britannica" is one of my nicknames. I embrace it proudly. I had the full Funk & Wagnalls set, myself.

[@oldtwinsna8347]

These were $1400 for the set in 1988, which is $3,000 in today's (2018) equivalent with inflation factored in. Sorry, but we could not afford such a thing back then. I had no access to these sets whatsoever.

[@annieclark4081]

If you have a local library, you have access - as a matter of fact, you helped pay for it with your taxes, so you really SHOULD go & enjoy it!

[@FredSmith110]

Keep up the good work, staff of Britannica, and the man who edits Snopes.

[@nat0106951]

I remember when I was in elementary in the 90s. Encyclopedias are a luxury and advantage for the rich kids.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Libraries used to have them

[@nat0106951]

@@oscarosullivan4513 there is always a long list of students borrowing them everyday though.

[@davanmani556]

I got one from 1980 displaying events from 1979 and before. I’m still looking for the Jane Pauley spot from that edition. LOL

[@BL3SSed-Bliss]

That fun fact of Smellie's "Callifornia" entry speaks volumes above what will resonate with most. It is, indeed, an important detail.

[@juanmonge8]

There are actually old maps that show California as an island. I guess it hadn't been surveyed back then.

[@foodandart5808]

Ah! A non-volatile information storage and retrieval system.. a book! (lots of 'em, actually) Grew up reading the Britannica. Good stuff.

[@nickhueper2906]

Nice hair 😂😂😂

[@shawnstone72]

Amazing hair. And love his suite. This guy needs to be a stylist.

[@user-ow3xu3go1g]

It's good to read nonfiction books and learn something. The books covered a lot of history, wars, what each state is about, countries...on and on beautiful reading.

[@ya-boyrookus7516]

Does anyone know the name of the old commercial/show that they show in the beginning of the video? Help would be much appreciated.

[@22ergie]

There was EB, Funk and Wagnalls, and we had the ones with the green and beige binding, but I cannot remember the name.

[@brickfacemortar4432]

Be aware that Alexa or Google does not always give you facts and they filter information. Reading and research is always best. Yes kids BOOKS!!!

[@BL3SSed-Bliss]

Books don't necessarily give one facts, either. (i.e.: Smellie's "Callifornia") Still, I agree that all sources of info shall be utilized as resources, being discerning enough to make/"pick sense out of nonsense".

[@IsmailofeRegime]

@@BL3SSed-Bliss To be fair, your example was based on Europeans having insufficient knowledge of California back in 1768, rather than an author knowingly distorting the facts of something for their own ulterior motive. Also it isn't like students are going to be consulting an 18th-century encyclopedia.

[@baseycaker]

What happened to volume 3 at the beginning of the clip?

[@fredmcelroy2839]

Where could I order the entire set?

[@leodahvee]

Just borrowed one edition of the EB from my grandparent's house today, if it was just going to collect dust, why not use it?

[@davinp]

The only encyclopedia that is still in print is the World Book Encyclopedia which you can find at your local library

[@davinp]

Encyclopedia Brittanica's last print edition was in 2010

[@colinnewton5254]

How many editions were published in book form? I have edition number 15, is the last one.

[@NaaJeevitham500]

This is my next book to read

[@somedude6267]

Good information

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Thank you.

[@ShakespeareCafe]

You can’t give these things away

[@GeorgeJansen]

He has 2019 Top Gun Iceman hair

[@ShahjahanBhatti]

Salute to this brilliant mind.

[@bobbyadkins9986]

cool

[@PheonixRynn]

Yes!

[@AhmadAhmad-qx6fp]

It's inevitable to have a macaw-sized hair to be an editor of world-renowned encyclopedia

[@AshwinKujur-tm5pc]

Great knowledge

[@LILEL613]

where's the britannica footage from? what documentary?

[@meztisangintsik]

where can i buy

[@roselucas9545]

How much

[@Starry_Night_Sky7455]

What if you printed Wikipedia like a time capsule of information at that point of printing? Imagine how many volumes that would make up?

[@byronstanga]

Knowledge is power

[@ShahjahanBhatti]

Enjoyed it since 2000 online for free.

[@biscuitburger725]

Shahjahan Bhatti enjoyed it since 1988 for - oh wait....

[@cptcosmo]

SNOPES?!?!?!? LMAO!!!

[@CJ_FetzOfficial]

Growing up my fascination with the mysteries of existence, life, the universe were fueled by encyclopedias. In fact, I decided to have my personal library at home. Printed books are much better than digital information.

[@SteveTheFazeman]

Jane Pauley is the last woman on national television news with real class.

[@levarmitchell3962]

Jay Jacobs has the most stereotypical nerd voice...just perfect. 😂

[@levarmitchell3962]

Ted looks like Hermann Rorschach.

[@Wills_Duffy]

Nice twist on pat in the hand let me take care of your thinking for you program.

[@JLeeMe]

I love that hair omg!

[@shemp1722]

For me, Books are better since it's more interactive and great for collection to build your own library than from the web

[@jillalexiestrada6034]

I want one now! For free!!!

[@danielthomas8670]

I want to know , even if you have a cage to protect cell pnones and computers, when you take it out of the cage a metal box , will it die even days later anyways????

[@Smorgasbord.]

Welp, we know "Ted with the shocking hair" definitely does what's necessary to stand out in the crowd. It's a little too indulgent and self absorbed for my taste but if this is how he gets his attention seeking needs met and it's not harming anyone, good on him. Great article, Sunday Morning. I dreamt of having my own set of encyclopedia's as a child. I feel we have the best of both worlds right now. Long live Britannica! :)

[@Smorgasbord.]

*self-absorbed

[@pauleckert4321]

When did Guile get a job at Britannica?

[@danielthomas8670]

i want to know about emps

[@nocturno5373]

My dad got me a book but just one

[@babyboy1971]

Remember me? This is the kid (now man) from those old 90’s encyclopedia Britannica commercials. This guy reversed my mullet and stole it.

[@user-kn7jv7dx1x]

Greatest knowledge books worldwide

[@tonycook2388]

I don't need a encyclopedia, my.wife knows everything.

[@SSNewberry]

A budding smoot. 4:37

[@NaaJeevitham500]

who finished reading all the volumes?. I want to start reading them.

[@alphaomega9626]

I love that Encyclopedia Britannica is currently headed by a rooster from a failed 80's synth band.

[@Sadboy80629]

These things are still relevant if you know how to use them. You cant type things in google if you never heard if it and they were written in their time meaning it cant be altered by current perspective. I would KZbin a lot of these things in the encyopledia .

[@oscarosullivan4513]

I agree and for local history your library has better sources

[@byronstanga]

I'm glad I bought my set before things got edited out of them

[@labronmcclue1022]

What edition?

[@nobodyuknow2490]

⌐_⌐ When the Editor of Encyclopedia Britannica went to the hair stylist and they asked "what would you like?" he said "something ELECTRIFYING!"

[@debralynnpaxton5238]

Ted Pappas is so handsome ! Love his style ! Love his brainpower ! ♡

[@gavinhelgeson2880]

Nice hair

[@ischandratiwari9853]

Good books encyclopedia

[@lizannewhitlow1085]

I owned an 11th edition once.

[@moderatesunited]

It's ironic we had a Britannica encyclopedia in the same room as the desktop computer hooked up to dial-up internet. Dark days when you couldn't Google something instantly. I feel old.

[@megakhoad8512]

I just wanna know bout nirvana

[@davinp]

Not just Alexa, but Google Assistant which is smarter then Alexa

[@mattwaldren]

is anyone one gonna mention that guys hairdo. is he trying to start up an 80's glam rock band or something? lol

[@mufasum]

so no one is gonna mention his hair....?

[@isshinish]

My childhood dream was to own one but we cannot afford it.

[@YADAMNDADDY]

you can still fulfill your childhood dream as an adult it's never too late.

[@juliogalvan2832]

2:55

[@christianprice1996]

It all started with the A

[@525Lines]

Autodidacticism should be in the forefront these days. Why isn't it?

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

We need a more scientific approach version of Snopes like "Did Irish monks reach North America" or "Did ALL dinosaurs have feathers?" Snopes is 2 urban legends based.

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Agreed we know know Vikings reached America well before Columbus

[@kingraiderr]

William smelly omg im dying.

[@sandeepkumarib3922]

Elon musk read it when he was 9 years old

[@tushardas3828]

Can someone pleassssssseeeee give me this encyclopedia 😭😭😭😭 I have been trying to find it but couldn't

[@emperorhirohito7924]

After 2010, It's not published. Britannica company said that they will focus on online publication of encyclopaedia.

[@IsmailofeRegime]

Whole sets could cost over a thousand dollars back in the day. Not the sort of thing you can just casually ask for on the Internet as a gift.

[@erickpaolod.santos3719]

Encyclopedia Britannica before Wikipedia