Occasional Observations of Traveling Technology Coach

I was looking for a science book and found this in the closet: The Elements by Ron Miller

Cover is pretty, right? However, the pages are mostly black and white. The few illustrations there were did intrigue me though:

Well, I am a toothpaste snob, and am currently using Marvis toothpaste. I have never heard of “fluoridine.” Google tells me it is a British brand.

OK. But what about “Black Cat Brand Salt?” I have never heard of it and neither has Google.

Same with the Black Cat baking soda:

and Bettcher’s Best Milk of Magnesia:

I feel like I have stumbled upon an alternate reality of countertop medications, like in any PK Dick novel.

A little research left me with the stunning conclusion: Ron MIller, the author of the textbook, created the illustrations himself, to use as examples for the chemical elements. Crazy, right? So I googled him.

Ron Miller is a superstar writer, illustrator, college professor, consultant, USPS postage stamp designer (!), comic book creator, and much, much more.

So there you have it.