SCIENCE SIFTINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 199, 20 August 1904, Page 10

SCIENCE SIFTINGS.

THE BICYCLE AND MENTAL PERVERSITY. The latest of the physical phenomena observed among bicycle riders to receive medical study and investigation is bicycle fright. This phenomena is explained on psychological principles, and : is characterised as a distinct and wellrecognised form of nervous perturbation. Under certain conditions the passive machine becomes an uncontrollable and active agent of an apparently unavoidable accident. So far from having any proper will force in the matter, the rider appears to aid the perverse and calamii tous tendency. One of the remedies suggested is to look away from rather than towards the object to be avoided. A WEATHER PLANT. After very extensive experiments, according to the "Daily News," Professor Nowach, of Vienna, has established to his own satisfaction, the possibility of accurately predicting the weather by observation of the abrus precatorius mbilis, an Indian plant. The professor also claims to be able to forecast earthquakes and eruptions by the same means, and a great advantage claimed is that m«»re serious disturbances may be predicted with accuracy as much as 27 days ahead. To such a state of efficiency has Professor Nowach advanced his basis of deduction that the establishment is proposed of an institute to supply daily forecasts of the weather from two to seven days in advance, and for furnishing Governments with timely predictions of natural disasters. It is also intended to give meteorological predictions to marine insurance and shipping companies. MAN WITH TWO HEARTS. The discovery has been made at Leece, in Italy, during the medical examination of Giuseppe de Maggio, aged 23, that the man possesses two ribs more than the usual number, and two hearts. The hearts are on either side of the chest cavity, that on fhe right being h« lthy, the other atrophied. De Maggio has been offered £1600 for his body after death by an American museum, one half to be paid at once, and the rest when he is 46. CRABS THAT EAT COCOANTJTS. Crabs which live upon cocoanuts which they pick for themselves are found in the coral islands. Mature has provided this crustacean with claws and nippers of enormous strength, and it is supposed that the crab climbs the cocoa palms and detaches the nuts. It reaches the meat of the fruit by picking and rapping with its claws at the end of the nut where the three small holes are lo be found till a slight breach is made. Then the nippers are brought into use for the rough fibres which surround the shell. These he shreds with his nippers and conveys to his burrows, where they form a comfortable bed for the crab while he is changing his coat. Some of these crabs attain a length of over two feet, and live in holes which they have made in the earth at the roots of tropical trees. ACROSS THE ATLANTIC EY BALLOON. Members of the Aeronautical Society gravely discussed the possibilities of crossing the Atlantic by balloon last month, while General Baden-Powell sat in the chair and talked of the value of kites in making meteorological observations. Mr Charles Harding said Mr Walter Powell, M.P., who was killed in a balloon accident in 1801, desired to cross the Atlantic from the British side, but he himself thought the wind was better the other way. Another member thought the notion of starting from England should not be abandoned, but Mr Harding aeronauts would not risk their necke. STOPPED BY EELS. On the Chattoga River, Georgia, United States America, are large cotton factories which are run by water power furnished by a turbine water wheel. Not long ago the superintendent of the factory found that something had gone wrong" with the power, and the factory had to be stopped to see what was the matter. The water, was shut off, the sluice gates raised, the water drained from the canal, and the pierhead and the wheel box were opened. Inside were found an enormous number of eels, which were twisted and knotted around the shaft and among the blades of the wheel so as to make the force of the water, although amounting to several hundred horse-power, insufficient to I turn the machinery. When the eels \ were removed they were found to number ICO and weighed 2Ctlb, some of them scaling as high as lib. The river has long been celebrated for it" eel fishing, but this was an unusually large i catch. ARTIFICIAL FvUiuES. ■ M. Vernoui! '-as discovered the ; mct.!i»d <.f |#n h"i:.'j lhe rt'by a fine' ally by nii'l' ":•".;.' .i m'tMiire "i alumina and oj.i.le of e':r<v.-.- at a e<>r t.'.-il tetuptrat'.tre of s?vcu: tho".s;'ii>l •>,-.: ees. and jin livers super;-i.-ed fr.i.u :':,-> -v si.Lito t he iii-;k! \ in order to ;<revcnt '.he j production of crocks in liv crystalline I mas-;. Tiii:., eminent c:ic-:-.ist h.is succeeded in creating :t ruby weighing p'uoul 2500 grans, and having a c:;nmerci.U value of about SOOO fr.vies. For securing the extreme temp .'iv.'ire indispensable fur the success cf this operation, M. Yerr.euil had reeouv-.p to a I vertical oxyhydrogen blov p'pe, the flame' of which wa< cMreeted fruin above downward. The hardness of the stone ; w:is secured by au e:icrgetie tempering. : Kin', ienly suspending the action of the | blow pipe. The ruby of M. Verneuil has ! admirable fluorescence, on account of ; its grcnt purity. It possesses all the ! physical properties of the natural ruby, j and, like the natural ruby, can be cut and receive a very beautiful polish. WEATHER SIGNS. Every man may be his own weather prophet (says the "Penny Magazine'), and these are the signs of the approach of rain:— (1) Matches are difficult to light. (2) Walking-3ticks become damp. (3) Blind-cords become tight—the looser they are the finer and sunnier the <lay will be. (4) Gloves contract, and »r 'eulf to put on. (5) Bootlaces snap. (0) Silk hats become dull. (7) Newspapers are damp und c ily torn. When eats sneeze it is a sign of rain. The cardinal point to which a eat turns and washes her face after rain shows the direction from which the wind will blow. When eats are snoring - , foul weather is sure to follow. Cats with their tails up and hair apparently electrified indicate approaching wind. If sparks are seen when stroking a cat's back, expect a change of weather soon. When a cat washes her face with its back to the fire, except a thaw in winter,