Handling Hot Irons.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 295, 12 December 1891, Page 3 (Supplement)

Handling Hot Irons.

The Method by Which an Exhibixob

Baffled Scientists.

About the year 1800 one Lionebte, A Spaniard, astonished not only theignorftiit, but chemists and other men of science in France, Germany, Italy and England, by the impunity with which he handled redhot iron and molten lead, drank boiling oil, and performed obher feats equally iniracuJous. While he was ab Naples he attracted the notice of Professor Sementeni, who narrowly watched all his operations and endeavoured to discover his secret. lie observed, in the first place, thab when Lion* ebte applied a piece of red-hot iron to his hair dense fumes immediately rose from ib, and the same occurred when tie touched his foot with the iron. He also saw him placa a rod of iron, nearly red hot, between hia teeth without burning himself; drink tha third of a tablespoonful of boiling oil, and taking up molten lead with his fingers place it on his tongue withoub apparent inconvenience.

Sementeni's efforts, after performing several experiments upon himself, were finally crowned wibh success. He found that by friction with sulphuric acid, diluted wibh water, bhe skin might be mado insensible to the heat of red-hob iron ; solution of alum, evaporated until it became spongy, appeared to be more effectual in. these frictions. After having rubbed the parts which were thus rendered, in some degree, incombustible, wibh hard soap, he discovered on the application of hot iron that their insensibility waa increased. He then determined on again rubbing the parts wibh soap, and after bhis found that the hot iron nob only occasioned no pain, bub that it actually did. nob burn bhe hair. Being thus far satisfied, bhe professor applied hard soap to his tongue until ib became insensible to the heat of bhe iron ; and after having placed an ointment composed of spap mixed with a solution of alum upon it, boiling oil did not burn it. While the oil remained on the tongue a light hissing was heard, similar to that of hot iron when thrust into water ; the oil soon cooled, and might then be swallowed without danger. Several scientific men have since successfully repeated the experiments of Professor Sementeni.