About this season
The Nature of Things is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on November 6, 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect that humans have on it. The program was one of the first to explore environmental issues, such as clear-cut logging. The series is named after an epic poem by Roman philosopher Lucretius: "Dē Rērum Nātūrā" — On the Nature of Things.
Episodes (24)
1. Looking Ahead
Aired 4 January 1962
2. Photography in Science
Aired 11 January 1962
3. To Educate a Scientist
Aired 18 January 1962
4. The Situation Is Fluid
Aired 25 January 1962
5. Gallstones
Aired 1 February 1962
6. The Upper Mantle Project
Aired 8 February 1962
7. The Physics of Music
Aired 22 February 1962
8. Survival
Aired 1 March 1962
An appraisal of the probable effects of a large-scale nuclear blast over a North American city. Dr. Tom Stonier of the Rockefeller Institute of Government discusses what can be expected to happen to people and property as a result of such a blast.
9. Man and the Moon
Aired 8 March 1962
10. Hibernating Molecules
Aired 15 March 1962
Hosts Dr. Donald Ivey and Dr. Patterson Hume talk about conditions at extremely cold temperatures, when matter 'hibernates' and molecular action slows almost to a complete stop, and how this allows physicists to study the basic structure of matter.
11. Monkey Curiosity
Aired 29 March 1962
12. Spermatozoa
Aired 5 April 1962
Lord Rothschild of the University of Cambridge describes the results of his research in the field of spermatozoa
13. Animals With Feathers
Aired 12 April 1962
Dr. William Swinton, head of the Royal Ontario Museum's Life Sciences Department, and John Livingston, executive director of the National Audubon Society, trace the history of birds
14. Getting the Upper Hand
Aired 26 April 1962
15. Thinking about Math
Aired 3 May 1962
Host Lister Sinclair discusses the thinking that goes into the science of mathematics. Using animated film and studio demonstrations, he explains Mathematical logic
16. The Plague
Aired 10 May 1962
17. Instant Heat
Aired 17 May 1962
Co-hosted by Drs. Patterson Hume and Donald Ivey, of the University of Toronto. They show how electricity can be produced directly from heat, and vice versa, and discuss the difficulties of transforming thermal energy into electrical energy.
18. A Science Newsreel
Aired 24 May 1962
19. Learning
Aired 7 June 1962
20. A Bang-Up Job
Aired 21 June 1962
21. Out of Africa
Aired 28 June 1962
22. Count on Me
Aired 5 July 1962
Computers are given the once-over by Drs. Donald Ivey and Patterson Hume.
23. Blood in the Balance
Aired 19 July 1962
24. Episode 24
Aired 26 July 1962
Examines work of Dr. William Sheldon, who has spent 30 years gathering statistics about the human physique, classifying body types, and correlating this information to medical and psychiatric studies