Encyclopedias in the Home

On the way home from our vacation this summer, we stopped what my kids call "Papa's house." Papa's house is where my grandma used to live. My dad goes there often to do stuff with the farms that he and his siblings inherited and that sort of thing. My brother also lives down the street, so it is great for Mom and Dad to use when they visit my brother.

My grandma had a set of encyclopedias from 1959. No one wanted old encyclopedias so they were in a stack with some other books to be gotten rid of. I was so excited! You can bet that they found their way to a new home! And they've already come in handy!

Today, at breakfast, David, Jr. announced that some sting rays live in fresh water. Allyssa was dubious. Where had he learned this? (school) That's what he always says! She was still doubtful.

The encyclopedia came to our rescue.

And now we all know, there are some sting rays that live in fresh water.

Later in the day David told me that he learned that rubies explode in a game that he played at basketball camp. I had a feeling that this was just part of the game and wasn't a fact. The encyclopedia came in handy again. Do you want to know what happens when you break a ruby? You get smaller rubies.

So my set of encyclopedias might be circa 1959, and Swagbucks might be at my fingertips, but this momma will take a book over the internet almost every time.