NEWS CURIOSITIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 305, 26 December 1931, Page 3 (Supplement)

NEWS CURIOSITIES.

JOTTINGS FROM U.S.A. PRESS.

Two organs built in 1571 and 1736 have been repaired and were successfully tested at the Medieval Church of the Knghts of St. Stephen, in Pisa, Italy.

December 10, the day set for the execution of Ralph Duringer, convicted murderer, was also his birthday, Sing Sing Prison authorities disclosed.

Trees in Venezuela yield a sweet fluid like milk when the bark is pierced. Tests show that this fluid is even richer than cow's milk in phosphates and sugar.

Thirty couples took advantage of the opportunity to get married without cost at Great Yarmouth,. England, where one day each year is set aside for this purpose.

Clay tablets from ancient Babylon and Assyria show that banking transactions not so different from those of the present time were carried on 4000, or 5000 years ago.

William R. Eba, a world war veteran now living in Los Angeles, has been reported dead by the Government so often that he has retained a lawyer to prove that he is alive.

No taxes for 1932 is the announcement of the Board of Aldermen of Lyons, Mass. The city is entirely out of debt, and there are sufficient funds to meet the expenses of the coming year.

Convicted of reckless driving in Killingly, Connecticut, Joseph Bonine, of New York City was fined 36.50 dollars. He paid by cheque, and when he got home stopped payment. Now he is under arrest.

Goosefoot School, near New Philadelphia, is holding class again after the School Board and the citizenry clashed. The board said there was no money and padlocked the building. Irate parents hired a private teacher and removed the padlock.

A device which lights up a show window when there is a spectator has been perfected in Berlin. It works through the reflection of a light on a photo, cell. When someone steps in__front of the line of reflection the electric current is released.

The globe that first put America on the map is owned by Mr. A. S. W. Rosen-; bach, of Philadelphia. Intended as a gift for the Emperor Charles V., it is almost 400 years old, and was made by the famous geographer and map maker, Mercator.

Joseph Kzcmorski, of Brooklyn, Isevr York became dizzy in a subway station and fell from the platform. His right hand touched the third rail, but the shock of the current hurled him clear. Passengers rescued him just as a train approached. He was unharmed, save for a slightly burned hand.

When an English child was born in Paris recently the parents were notified that its name had to be chosen from an official list of "permitted" Christian names, and those not listed were banned. The officials explained that the ruling wai put into effect to protect children from parents having more enthusiasm than consideration in giving such names w 5 pt ,