RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 299, 14 September 1937, Page 10

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights on Current

Events

(By

Kickshaws.

Now that Mlle. Jedrezejowska has been beaten in the tennis finals, proofreaders can sit back and take a rest. » * *

The common cabbage plant, it is stated, affords a valuable base for a new fuel. We have a feeling that cigar makers discovered *that *first.

Hitler says that be has abolished the much-hated rubber truncheon from the police force, in place of revolvers, rifles and bayonets. There appears to be nothing disarming about the German police.

"Could you give me any reliable ruling on the following questions I ’ asks "D.J.” "If a cubic foot of cork, or any given size, and a cubic foot of lead, or any given size, were dropped from, say, a mile in the air, which would reach the ground first? Does the density of the material increase its gravitational pull?" [The density of a material increases its weight, which, after all, is the gravitational pull. Actually, when two objects the same shape but different weights are allowed to drop, other factors appear. Air-resistance is one. 11 is a general rule that the heavier object will reach the ground first when falling in air. When falling in a vacuum, neither shape nor size makes any difference, all objects falling with an approximate acceleration of 32 feet a second a second.]

The speaker at the American Chemical Society who declares that a grain of acetylcholine is sufficient to kill a million men must have his remarks received with a grain of salt; which, under certain conditons, might indeed be just as deadly. Actually, acetylcholine has been known for several years. Taken through the mouth it is more or- less harmless. Injected into the blood it has certain well-known and rather dangerous effects. Nevertheless, in spite of the admitted deadliuess of the stuff, doses up to 1J grains have been: given without fatal results. It will be seen, therefore, that the spectacle of opposing armies failing down in a faint and generals curling up in the office chair behind the lines are a little exaggerated. The drug would be far more useful to the generals as a headache cure, for which it is sometimes prescribed. It would appear, therefore, that a shell filled with the stuff might cause alarm and dismay, even a swoon, to the wretch who got knocked on the head by the shell, but the war would go on.

The truth about poisons, apart from those of the infective type, is that it requires more than is imagined to kill a man. It is doubtful if a grain of cyanide would kill more than a dozen men. Most of the other poisons have to be taken in comparatively large amounts. There are some alkaloid poisons that are deadly when onethirtieth of a grain is taken. The venom from snakes may kill when injected in very small amounts, and in the case of some poisonous spiders perhaps one-thirtieth of a grain suffices. Tests on curare, the arrow poison, indicate that it contains several poisonous alkaloids which in fhemselves are •

capable of killing a man when injected in comparatively small amounts. The danger from curare, however, is increased greatly owing to the infection set up. Poisons that act in an infective manner are obviously poisonous in very small amounts. In fact, one might go' so far as to say that one poisonous germ may be deadly. As several million are required to weigh a grain, in theory a germ should be considered the deadliest thing against which man has to contend. ft « « Roughly, once a year we are treated in the news to the discovery of the deadliest poison in the world. So far man has managed to get along in spite of it. Eight years ago Professor Hill stated that a toxin had been prepared which was so poisonous that a saltspoon of the stuff was enough to kill a million men. He omitted to name the chemical concerned, and so far it does not appear to have been used for that purpose. The toxin in question acted if inhaled in powder form or if it fell in the eyes. There are, moreover, many subtle poisons distilled in the plant world that are exceedingly poisonous. One, by name adenia, is slated to be the most poisonous thing hi the world. Men who dug up the plants were made unconscious,seven when they had not swallowed the poison. As a further test, it was shown that when the bulbs’of this plant, were cut up the men were overcome by the smell anl their lives were saved only with great difficulty. Are we, then, destined to shoot adenia bulbs at one another in the next war, or will we have news of even something better than acetylcholine before that?

The recent decision to increase the cost of sea travel some 10 per cent, will make those who are old enough sigh for the days when even a Scotsman, hoots mon, could get around the world almost for saxpence. In 1904, the trans-Atlantic steamship companies were so determined to get you aboard the lugger, that it was possible to travel from London to New York for the sum of two pounds. This trip, moreover, included railway fare from Liverpool to Grimsby, 36 hours board and lodging in Grimsby, and then aboard the Graf Waldersee for New York. As the distance was over 3000 miles for 480 pennies, few could .complain that they had not had their money’s worth. Indeed, it was possible at that time to make the round trip for a “liver.” This included being transported a distance of 7000 miles, 76 meals, and sleeping accommodation for 19 nights. One can only marvel that people didn’t adopt this mode of living as permanent, because it worked out far cheaper than staying at home.

Some old travellers may recall the days when it was possible to travel by sea between Sydney and Melbourne for an outlay of five shillings. This included all meals. The distance is 600 miles. Yet the record is not held in Australia for cheap travel. Two .steamship companies that plied between Liverpool and Drogheda. c.-tii boast the record. When one reduced the faro Hie other did so. only more. Eventually, one company was carrying passengers for nothing. The other company went one better by throwing in free meals and a bottle of boor. The rival company threw in a bottle of whisky as well as the beer and free meals. It is understood that at this stage the two companies settled their differences. During the shipping crisis after tlie war there was such difficulty in obtaining passengers from Salonika, that ridiculous faros were charged. A vessel bound for Piraeus, the harbour of Athens, left Salonika carrying passangers who had paid the proverbial Scottish sixpence for, the journey