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One unexpected discovery is that the average reader must have had better
near vision eyesight than today because the print size was very tiny. Even as recently as 1943, a large
portion of people could not afford corrective lenses so unless either a reading magnifier was a staple
of every household or it was common practice for the person with the best eyesight in the house to read
QST aloud to the poorly sighted of the house, the only conclusion can be that the average citizen had
better eyesight than today. I write that only partly in jest; a search for scientific data to back my
suspicion was not fruitful. See response from Joe B.
Kirt, Re:
The old QST font size. During WWII everything was rationed, including paper and ink, because
materials were needed for the war. Magazines were permitted because to not print them would
hurt morale. And since the Army and Navy (and Marines) needed radio operators, I suspect QST was
near the top of the permitted list. But the smaller the font, the more you could squeeze
into a given issue. 73
Joe (N3TTE) Birsa, P.E.
Warrendale, PA
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