"They're minerals! Not stones" ~ hank from breaking bad probably after seeing that magazine

I cannot remember which ones I read, but those were definitely some of the best ones out there for learning as a kid.

Reminds me of the London A to Z before the era of smartphones with map apps.

Still have one in some box somewhere.

Those were awesom! . I had one on James Bond. Or the gadgets of James Bond or something like that. I think I had a car one too.

those were like crack to me when i was a kid, they were in my school library and i remember reading every time we got longer break, those and the shiny ones too with those textured covers and embeded plastic gems ahh

I'd gladly sit down with one of those books today if I came across one. Wikipedia never has that many pictures.

Both trending topics in Wikipedia

My childhood library had a bunch of these, and someone had pain-stakingly gone through them to place sticky notes over every instance of uncovered boobs or genitals depicted in the classic art and sculptures. I, being too young to understand why someone would do that, ripped every sticky off because they were covering up the pictures.

I remember they were glossy and attractive but expensive. I wouldn't have bought one on a whim as a kid, and you kinda just read the ones school might have bought? Wikipedia is free and expansive; nostalgia aside I think kids today have it way better.

woah, you just unlocked a memory - thanks for this

Intro tune for the vhs series is still a banger - YouTube link.

I’m not from the UK (or the Commonwealth) but I had some of these books as a child. Loved them. Thanks for posting this.