WORLD-WIDE NOTES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XII, Issue 1173, 13 February 1919, Page 6

WORLD-WIDE NOTES.

WHEN YOUR FACE IS A DOT

Here are a few facts which will help you to judge distances. At thirty yards, assuming that your sight is o« the average strength, the white of a man's eye is plainly seen, and the eyes themselves up to eighty yards. At 100 yarctavj.il parts of the body are seen distinctly, slight movements are perceptible, and the details of the dress can be distinguished. At 200 yards the outlines of the face are confined, and rows of buttons look like stripes. At 409 yards the face is a mere dot. but all mover.-Tnts of the legs and arms are still distinct. At MW yards details can no lonrer be distinguished. At 800 yards the men in a crowd cannot be counted, nor their individual movements distiniSHShed. At 1.000 yards a line of soldier?* reisembles a broad belt. At !.;»>♦» jards cavalry can be distin •?tti*hed from infantry, and at 2,>m ynr«l«t a mounted man usually appears « mrre speck.

HOW HEELS ORIGINATED

Heels originally came from Persia, where they were used in the shape of small wooden blocks, which the people fastened below their sandals, in order to keep their feet as high above the level of the burning sand as possible. At first they were only four centimetres high for men and women alike. Soon, however, the ladies favoured fabulous sizes. reaching up to a* much as thirty-six centimetres. A few years later on these heels were brought to Venice, where they became the fashion ; they were called "chapineys," and were ornamented and decorated in every possible style and shape that cobblers could dream of. The height of the "chapincys" showerf the rank of the wc-trer. and fti.aUy they attained such dimensions that many fashionable ladies were quite unable to walk.

LIVING BAROMETER

A leech confined in a glass jar 01 water will prove an excellent weather prophet. If* the weather is to continue fine the leech lies motionless at the bottom of the vial and rolled together in a spiral form. If it is to rain, either before or after noon, it is? found to have crept up to the top of its lodging, and there remains till the weather is settled. If we are to have wind the poor prisoner gallops through his liquid habitation with amazing swiftness, and seldom rests till it begins to blow hard.* If a remarkable storm of thunder and rain is to succeed, for some days before the leech lodges almost continually without water, and gives itself up to violent throes and convulsive-like motions. In frost, as in clear summer weather, it lies constantly at the. bottom ; and in snow, as in rainy v.-(father, it pitches its dwelling on the very mouth of the vial.

THE MYSTERY OF NIAGARA.

The depth of the whirlpool rapids in the Niagara River just below the falls has been estimated at anything between 250 and 1,000 feet, but as no boat can live in the rapids it has b<?<?n impossible to verify this estimate. Engineers now propose to take n scries of soundings from a passenfcr aero car line constructed 200 feet above the water. A weight of r.OOlb. will be used, or heavier if necessary. A similar uncertainty prevails as to the depth of the water immediate'? under the falls, the strength of the current interferring with the sounding lines.

HEALTHY OCCUPATIONS

Breweries and tanneries »nd print-ing-ink factories confer an exemption from tuberculosis, and employes in turpentine factories never have rheumatism. Copper mining excludes the possibility of typhoid among the workers. Shepherds enjoy remarkable health. Men and women working in lavender, whether gathering or clistilling it, are said never to suffer from neuralgia or nervous headache La vender, moreover, is as good as n sea voyage for giving tone to the system. Persons suffering from nervous br«vkdown frequently give tb<?«r services gratis to lavender planters in order that they may build tip their vitality. Salt miners can wear summer clothes in blizzard weather without fear of catching cold, for colds arc unknown among these workers.

A CURIOUS WATER-HOLE

A curious form of water-hole is found in the deserts of Western Australia. dry by day but yieldfw? an abundant supply of water l»y night. The How of water is preceded by weird hissing and sounds 01 rirshing air. On examining one it .vsir found that the water supply occurred in a long, narrow trench, at the bottom of which was a thin plate of gneiss (a species of rock arranged in layers) separated by a cavity from the main rock mass beneath. Apparently the heat of the day causes this plate to expand in the form of a t>prpss:o:», in which the water retreats. When it cools nml contracts at ni:;ht it forc.73 first air and then water back into the trench.