RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 147, 16 March 1940, Page 10

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights On Current Events (By Kickshaws.) A man found iu a South American jungle claims to have written "Mein Kampf.” Hitler is not out of the wood, either. A large proportion of the New Zealand wheat crop is reported to have vanished mysteriously. Is this the start of something novel in thriller cereals. * * # Sweden and Norwav now announce that they intend to get together with Finland. In view of those peace terms, the question arises, get what together? * * * “Reading in your column recently that the amount of iron ore taken oat of Britain was 9,000,000 tons annually, and that this had been going on for 2000 years or more, reminded me of the accounts one sees occasionally about the sea erosion that is going on round England’s coast,” says “R.0.P.” “It seems to me tihat if we keep on digging bits out of an island, coal, and iron and what-not, we must expect the sides to cave in eventually. In fact, if we knew the total amount dug out annually, and measured up the mountains and /plains, and subtracted the rivers and likes, it should be easy to calculate how long it would take the English to dig themselves out of house aud home.” * * * Maylbe the stone tile at Wharaeama Church is a curious memorial. Nevertheless, as memorials go, there have been even more curious. Was it not Virgiil who erected a gold coffin as a memorial to his pet house-fly ? (Moreover, his ,pet was given an elaborate funeral at a cost, it is said, of £20,000. The ceremony took place at Virgil’s town house in Rome. Maybe Virgil felt a genuine pang at the death of his pet fly, but we can only wonder at the curious manner in which Ecuador perpetrated the memory’ of her pet poet, Olmedo. Made to order memorials and statues, it was found, were expensive. The authorities, therefore, decided to buy a discarded statue. The junk yards of London were searched, with the result that a second-hand statue of Lord Byron was acquired. Lord Byron's statue stands today in Guayaquil, Ecuador, as a memorial to their poet. Engraved on the base are the words “O'i/meda,” which, in the course of time, no doubt will settle all argument.

The reported disappearance into thin air of enough wheat to satisfy New Zealand’s requirements is nearly as mysterious as the disappearance of a 50ft. bridge in Poland, or the way a chimney stack 120 feet high simply vanished in the night. No solution was ever found in the two last-named disappearances. The things were there In the evening and gone the next morning. In. much the same way a complete railway station disappeared from a town in Bulgaria. In this ease, however, it transpired that a neighbouring township had removed the railway station and put it together again on their own. site. Railway disappearances seem to have created a high degree of skill. It was found in France, some years ago, for example, that six miles of railway line had disappeared completely, leaving no trace. Central Europe also reported a similar mystery. The railway which ascends a steep mountain at disappeared utterly, except for one cogwheel. These things just happen, and, presumably, will continue to do so as man .becomes more skilled in disappearing tricks.

Talking of the way things just disappear, is a reminder of what happened one night at Salt Lake Zoo. Two fierce lions disappeared, just like that, without the slightest warning. Obviously, the lions could not have eaten one another without leaving something behind. In view of this fact, it is by no means incredible to learn that, at the public library at Chorta Kalia, India, books, shelves, manuscripts, cupboards and all, disappeared one night, leaving no trace. One can well stand up, therefore, to the story that, In France a complete house, furniture and all, not to mention four large sheds, disappeared some years ago, leaving only the bare foundations. We are now able to report, without batting an eyelid, whatever that means, that in 1937 the whole of the roof of the bridge of Sighs vanished. The roof weighed just a bare four tons, and the mystery was made all the more complete by the fact that members of the public did not have access to either end of the bridge on the night in question. There may be something in the fact that the roof was made largely of lead, a commorl/ity not without value. Nevertheless, we take off our hats to the magician who did the “hey presto” stunt.

An inkling as to how things disappear was obtained by a householder who admitted 1 two men to attend to his furnace. After a careful examination, they slated that the furnace would ’have to be removed for repair. Tim men went off and returned with a fourton lorry. The furnace was removed complete, and that was the last that the householder saw of it. In much the same way no less than 125 baths were disconnected from unoccupied houses and 1 vanished completely, leaving not even a cake of soap behind. One would have thought, nevertheless, that a house full of furniture was fairly safe while the house was lived in. Air. Wilson Barrett, the actor, had his furniture disappear before the eyes of his own housekeeiwr. Some men came in with a note giving permission for them to remove furniture. The furniture from every room was removed and placed in a furniture van beside a policeman on duty. When Mr. Barrett returned he found a completely empty house. One can, therefore, assume that a grocer’s shop which vanished one night, tinned salmon, sardines and all, must have been an easy task.

Reports of over 100 bushels to the acre of wheat is of especial significance to the fanning community, but it leaves the average town-dweller untouched. Indeed, how many of us could, with any degree of accuracy, say how much might be expected off the average acre. It may be interesting, therefore, to point out that the average acre might be expected to keep a person in meat to the extent of Soz. daily. This ration Is more than enough for one jierson. but probably insufficient for two. Those who prefer mutton would receive a ration of lOoz. Meat is. admittedly, a more concentrated food than are vegetables. Nevertheless, if one were given the choice of meat or vegetable, it is difficult to know Whether to decide in favour of 551 b. of i[K>tato&s daily in lieu of that equivalent lew ounces of meat. The two are comparable on the acre standard. Bread-lovers may care to know that one acre of wheat would give them 4}lb. of wheat a. day. When losses had been allowed for this would represent perhaps 31b. of bread a day. Scots folk with a leaning toward porridge, no doubt would make the best they could from the Glib, of oats that theiit acre would give them.