Editing Formicarium (section)

==History==
The formicarium was invented by [[Charles Janet]], a French entomologist and polymath, who had the idea of reducing the three dimensions of an ant nest to the virtual two dimensions between two panes of glass.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Janet |first=Charles |year=1893 |title=Appareil pour l'élevage et l'observation des fourmis |journal=Annales de la Société Entomologique de France |volume=62 |pages=467–482|language=fr}}</ref> His design was exhibited in the 1900 [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|Exposition Universelle]] in Paris. Janet's invention was recognized by his promotion to Chevalier (Knight) of the [[Legion of Honour]], but he did not obtain a patent for, nor attempt to market his creation.

The first commercially sold formicarium was introduced around 1929 by Frank Eugene Austin (1873–1964<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biography & History. |author=Anonymous |year=2011 |access-date=January 15, 2014 |url=http://ead.dartmouth.edu/html/ms186_biohist.html |work=Dartmouth College Library |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305034526/http://ead.dartmouth.edu/html/ms186_biohist.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>), an [[inventor]] and [[professor]] at the [[Thayer School of Engineering]] at [[Dartmouth College]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Austin ant house. |author=KC Cramer |year=1993|access-date= January 14, 2014 |url=http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/Library_Bulletin/Apr1993/LB-A93-Cramer.html?mswitch-redir=classic |work=Dartmouth College Library}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Original Ant Farm (Jun, 1936). |author=Anonymous |date=May 1, 2006 |access-date=January 14, 2014 |url=http://blog.modernmechanix.com/the-original-ant-farm/ |work=Modern Mechanix |archive-date=January 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115163015/http://blog.modernmechanix.com/the-original-ant-farm/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Austin received a patent for his formicarium on June 16, 1931,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Toys and American Culture: An Encyclopedia. |author=SM Scott |year=2009|access-date= January 15, 2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mbTUorcuXkoC&q=%22Frank+Austin%22+ant+farm+patent&pg=PA20 |work=ABC-CLIO, LLC|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=9780313347986 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=US Patent 1,810,745. F.E. Austin. Educational Apparatus. |author=FE Austin |date=June 16, 1931 |access-date=January 15, 2014 |url=http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=01810745&IDKey=F303C8A28100%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO2%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsearch-adv.htm%2526r%3D218%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526d%3DPALL%2526s1%3D19310616.PD.%2526p%3D5%2526OS%3DISD%2F19310616%2526RS%3DISD%2F19310616 |work=USPTO |archive-date=June 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629001733/http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=01810745&IDKey=F303C8A28100%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO2%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsearch-adv.htm%2526r%3D218%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526d%3DPALL%2526s1%3D19310616.PD.%2526p%3D5%2526OS%3DISD%2F19310616%2526RS%3DISD%2F19310616 |url-status=dead }}</ref> as well as further patents for its continued development.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Patent 2,080,160. F.E. Austin. Scenic Insect Cage. |author=FE Austin |date=May 11, 1937 |access-date=January 18, 2014 |url=http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=02080160&IDKey=A479561AF58F%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect2%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526d%3DPALL%2526S1%3D2080160.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2F2080160%2526RS%3DPN%2F2080160 |work=USPTO |archive-date=June 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628023601/http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=02080160&IDKey=A479561AF58F%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect2%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526d%3DPALL%2526S1%3D2080160.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2F2080160%2526RS%3DPN%2F2080160 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=US Patent 2,174,305. F.E. Austin. Scenic Insect Cage. |author=FE Austin |date=September 26, 1939 |access-date=January 18, 2014 |url=http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=02174305&IDKey=94842F5A82AC%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect2%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526d%3DPALL%2526S1%3D2174305.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2F2174305%2526RS%3DPN%2F2174305 |work=USPTO |archive-date=June 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628232744/http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=02174305&IDKey=94842F5A82AC%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect2%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526d%3DPALL%2526S1%3D2174305.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2F2174305%2526RS%3DPN%2F2174305 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Austin included whimsical painted or wooden scenes of palaces, [[farms]] and other settings above the ground level.

In 1956, [[Milton Levine]], founder of Uncle Milton Industries, created his own version of a formicarium, reportedly independently from Frank Austin. Levine got the idea when attending a Fourth of July picnic.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the Ant Farm. |author=Carlyn Main |year=2014 |access-date=January 14, 2014 |url=http://ant-farm-stores-review.toptenreviews.com/history-of-the-ant-farm.html |work=Techmedia Network |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112080721/http://ant-farm-stores-review.toptenreviews.com/history-of-the-ant-farm.html |archive-date=January 12, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Milton M. Levine, Inventor of Ant Farm, Dies at 97. |author=Dennis Hevesi |date=January 29, 2011|access-date= January 14, 2014 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/business/30levine.html?src=busln |work=NY Times}}</ref> Levine registered the term ''ant farm'' for his product and registered it as a trademark.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Word Mark: ANT FARM (renewal). |author=Anonymous |date=January 8, 2009|access-date= January 18, 2014 |url=http://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn72268158&docId=ACR20090109070125#docIndex=5&page=1 |work=USPTO}}</ref> Austin may not have used this term; in his patents, the formicarium is referred to as an "educational apparatus" and "scenic insect cage", and in the 1936 magazine article about Austin's device, the structure is called an "ant palace".

Levine's "Ant Farm" trademark received notoriety in 1995 when [[Scott Adams]] used the phrase in a  ''[[Dilbert]]'' comic and received threatening letters from Uncle Milton Industries' attorneys, demanding a retraction for the unauthorized use of the phrase. Adams satirized the incident in a later comic strip, in which Dilbert asked for a substitute phrase for "a habitat for worthless and disgusting little creatures", to which [[Dogbert]] replied "law school".<ref>{{Cite web |title='Dilbert' Creator, Open-Source Maverick Address EclipseCon |author=Stacy Cowley |date=March 7, 2007 |url=http://www.crn.com/news/applications-os/197800997/dilbert-creator-open-source-maverick-address-eclipsecon.htm |work=CRN}}</ref><ref>Scott Adams, "[http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1995-12-30/ Dilbert] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108193218/http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1995-12-30/ |date=2015-01-08 }}," United Feature Syndicate, Inc., December 30, 1995</ref>