Rosemarie Darychuk, age 13, of Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada, for her question:

How did the Nobel Prizes originate?

These world famous prizes are awarded because an inventor had a world wide idea about his invention. He was Alfred Nobel, born in Sweden in the year 1833. In 1867 he invented dynamite. This explosive mixture of chemicals astonished mankind and also shocked Alfred Nobel himself. Like many others, he saw the damage his dynamite could do if armies used it in warfare. Dynamite, of course, is a wonderful work saver on construction jobs and it has many worthwhile uses. But its explosive nature makes it hard to handle and it can be devastatingly dangerous. Nobel knew this. He had the idea that his invention was such a dangerous weapon that no country would dare to use it.

We know now that Nobel was wrong in this idea. Anew and deadly weapon does not stop people from making war. Far from it. But Nobel thought, or hoped, that future scientific projects in chemistry, physics and other sciences would turn men's minds from war. For this reason he willed his fortune to a yearly program of prizes to be awarded to persons who make outstanding contributions in these fields. He considered the most important award to be the Nobel Peace Prize, given to someone who helps to keep a hostile group of human beings from reverting to open conflict.