RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 256, 25 July 1936, Page 8

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights on Current Events (By Kickshaws.') The transport problem has now resolved itself into the fact that patronising roads isn’t fare to the railways. » # » Internationalism seems to have reached that stage where each nation firmly believes in preserving the sanctity of the other fellow’s signature. « * ♦ Suggested compensation for all injuries on the road indicates that the 40-hour week will be the only limit imposed on professional jay walkers.

“May I offer you my deepest gratitude for the manner in which you dealt with my query re the history of the Baynes?” says “Alan.” "If I could. I would thank ‘Kinchyle,’ who supplied the facts, and the others who came to my help—but I see no manner in which I can, as I know nothing ot their identities—so their praises, it would seem, must remain unsung by me, which is a pity, unless you feel so inclined as to thank them for me.”

Whether or not we poor folks in New Zealand ought to be paying less interest on the money we have borrowed, it is a fact that this interest business plays many strange pranks with money—given time. Roughly speaking, a sum of money at compound interest doubles itself every 15 years. This is not much at first, but the total is apt to attain astonishing proportions—given time. One person who was frustrated in depositing one shilling at the Bank of England for 1500 years offered posterity a golden dawn. At the end of that period of time, so huge would the shilling have grown, that several thousand millions were to be handed over to the British Government in order to buy the American continent. Other bequests included one thousand million pounds to educational institutions; a similar sum to the bank to cover expenses involved in carrying the account for 1500 years; and a block of gold 3000 feet wide and the same length that was to be presented to the King of England. Unfortunately, there is a law which expressly forbids postponement of the distribution of money under a will for lojjger than a stipulated period.

In the United States of America the law does not appear to be so rigorous. One Chicago man recently deposited a dollar in his bank to be left there for 500 years at 3 per cent, compound interest. By that time the dollar will have grown to about £550,000, and it is to be divided among his heirs, who will also have grown in numbers. If each one receives the sum of 30 shillings he will be lucky. Roughly speaking, a sum of £1 left at compound interest at 5 per cent, becomes no less than £132 in 100 years; £17,500 in 200 years and over £2,250,000 in 300 years Peter Thelusson sought to take advantage of this fact when he directed that his property, valued at £600,000, was to accumulate at interest and be divided among the survivors of his great-great-grandchildren. It was expected that the estate would then be worth £14,000,000. When the time came in 1856, litigation and mismanagement left the final amount little larger than that originally bequeathed. An Act was subsequently passed in England making this sort of thing ille gal.

Leaving money at interest for a long period of years is closely akin to those curious mathematical sums about grains of wheat on chess boards and the like. The rhythmic doubling of anything eventually lands us in enormous figures. For example, few people would ever guess what it would cost to shoe a horse with 32 nails, beginning at one farthing and (ioubling for. each successive nail. The answer, as a matter of fact, is £4,473,924/5/3}. This may, perhaps, deter readers from having their horse shod in this manner. An eye-opener to fathers is the calculation regarding the giving of an infant son one penny on his first birthday, promising to double the gift every year. Lest fathers rashly embark on this idea without troubling to reckon out the answer it is timely to point out that when the son was 25 years old he would be due £69.905/1/4. Moreover, during that period the son would have received no less than £139,510/2/7, disregarding interest that the money might have earned as it accumulated.

Mention of tbe word “wbizzbang” in respect of some live shell war souvenirs recently acquired by a New Zealander makes one wonder who was the first person to give this missile that particular name. The name seems to have been current by the end of 1914. Anyone who has ever heard the arrival of a whizzbang cannot but have appreciated th e merit of the name. At short range, perhaps, the name ought to have been inverted to bangwhizz because the shell, travelling faster than sound, detonated before the whizz of its journey arrived. Those people who were lucky enough to have bad a dud whizzbang land at their feet on a still day no doubt realised this fact. Tbe next popular hostile missilo was dubbed a “five-nine.” This name arose from tbe size of the shell, which was five point nine inches. Anything larger than that was usually called a coal-box, unless, of course, it. came from the ever popular “minnie” across no-mau’s land. Minnie, of course, was no more than a contraction of the German Minnenwerfer.

While on the subject of shells can anyone explain just why an anti-air-craft shell was called au“archie” ? There must have been some good reason for this, but no military man seems to be able to trace this nickname to its source. Machine guns were inevitably contracted to “emmgees” but for some reason Verey lights seem to have remained Verey lights all through the war. Considering the number of missiles that were hurled about the landscape during the war, only a verv small minority of them were honoured with special names. A rille bullet never seems to have got beyond being called a three-o-tlireo, which after ail is practically the official name for the stuff. Perhaps, one day. someone will compile the unofficial names that ni’ssiles were called. Readers, maybe, would care to send along contributions. It is a curious fact that the Navy never seems to have become as "matey’’ with hostile shot and shell as did the infantry in the trenches.

“It is a tribute to your column that whenever an argument arises, the suggestion is made. ’We'll refer it to “Kickshaws,” of The Dominion.' Can you tell me approximately bow many Dames of the British Empire there are?” asks “Kelburn.” [The present total is 120.]