NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19454, 9 October 1926, Page 1 (Supplement)

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Goats' tallow and beech ash were the ingredients of the earliest kind of soap. Mosquitoes are said to be capable of flying a distance of a mile and a-half. A man who fasted recently in Britain for 41 days lost nearly 401b. in weight. According to a Danish scientist the eel lives up to eight years in fresh waters. Nearly 5,000 new ways of using gas have been devised in the last ten years. It is estimated that the number of hairs on the human head varies from 100,000 to 250,000. Within a minuto after garlic is eaten by a cow the flavour can be detected in the milk. Wireless licences issued in Britain up to the end of May this year numbered • 2,049,549. Snow fell recently in parts of the Cape Province, South Africa, for the first time in 20 years. London has been provided by its County Council with more than 12,000 houses since the war. »- Shoes of aluminium with wooden soles are now being used by workmen in German chemical factories. According to a gem expert the total value of ail the diamonds in the world to-day is one billion pounds. By a new by-law of the Poniypool Council, milkmen are forbidden to smoke while engaged in delivering milk. The British birth rate last year was the lowest of any of the great European conntries for which figures are available. Eskimo dogs of the Arctic region ar* capable of hauling a sleigh over 20 to 40 miles of snow and ice in a single day. .Nearly one quart of blood may be lost by a healthy adult without serious effects, according to two university professors. At London's newest tube station— Morden—there is an omnibus terminus where passengers will alight under cover. Open-air bathing pools are provided for the public in 12 of the parks and open spaces under the London County Council. Tho fastest flowing river in the world is the Sutlej in India, which rises 15,200 ft. above the sea and falls 12,000 ft. in 180 miles. Among the "new arrivals" at the London Zoo are some baby sharks, which have been hatched out in the aquarium there. Acorns carefully graded in sizes are used for making a quaint Indian musical instrument discovered in Southern California. Of the 250 doctors who assembled at tho recent congress of the British Medical Association, less than 25 were cleanshaven. There are 40 direct telephone lines working between London and the Continent; these carried upward of 900,000 calls last year. Men engaged by the year in farm work in Canada received an average of £l2B 4s in wages and board last year. Women were paid £92 Bs. Hags used for oiling engines and other machines can be collected, the surplus oil extracted for making into soap and the rags cleaned for use again. Goldfish in Britain range in price, according to variety, from 6d to £3 a piece. Tho most expensive is the Lion Head, which comes from America. The first telephone exchange in London was opened 47 years ago. There are now oyer 500,000 subscribers in the 700 square miles of the London district. Largest of all privately-owned yachts is the Arcturus, an oil-engined boat of 2522 tons, which belongs to an American whose hobby is deep-sea fishing. Instead of using thermometers Chinese incubator caretakers test the temperature of eggs by pressing the large end of tha egg against their closed eyelid. One of the greatest highways in the world now links Winnipeg with Vancouver. This road crosses Canada from east to west and is 1500 miles long. The King of Spain owns more yachts than any other royal person. He has one motor and two sailing vessels, while two racing yachts are being built for him By replacing lifts with moving stairways the London Tube railways have been made even more popular among what are known as "short-distance" passengers. In the ten years of his life Cecil Cross, son of a British wireless expert, has travelled more than 40,000 miles, including trips to India, Australia and Trinidad. In two weeks the pupils of a St. Paneras school have transformed the site of an old stable from being a wilderness of old bricks and debris into a neat garden. A ray which literally deals death and promises to be of practical use in combating insect pests has been developed in the laboratories of the General Electric Company. Girls trained at a London school for the deaf now hold good positions in various West End firms. No girl 6f the 540 on the school record is noted as "unemployed." Oxygen, it is claimed, has proved successful as a cure and preventative for sea sickness. It is pointed out that it can be put in containers small enough to be carried in a suit case. Swans on the River Thames belong either to the King or to the Dyers' or Vintners' Company. These two bodies are the only city companies permitted to own swans on the Thames. Certain standards of lighting in factories and offices are enforced by law in several American States. It is claimed that this has led to a decrease in the number of accidents to workers. About fifty wrecks occurred last year in tho River Thames, between Teddington Lock and a spot some distance bovond the Nore, the length over which the Port of London Authority has control. Tho Primate of Hungary has forbidden the formation of girl guides among his flock on the grounds that such organisations pursue masculine aims and" "aro opposed to the very soul of a girl." Cigarette cards, to the number of 70,000, all in completo sets and no duplicates, have been collected by an enthusiast of Penge, London. The oldest set in the collection was issued in 1870. Niagara Falls, one of the wonders of the world, is constantly being changed so much in appearance by erosion that an engineering commission has be<;n appointed to consider how to keep the famous falls intact. Wood from fish boxes was the principal material used for a building by an 82-year-old fish-curer of Cnmden Town, London, The premises include a smoke-house and cleaning room for business purposes, two other rooms and a roof-garden. For what the Bench described as gross cruelty to a stray dog three youths at Wrangle, England, were fined £2 each and costs bv tho county magistrates. They admitted taking the dog into a garden, fastening its jaws with a horse twitch, pricking its hindquarters and injecting turpentine. They said it was done "for fun." The dog became mad and had to bo destroyed. When tho wreck of the United States submarine Ssl was towed into Brooklyn navy yard most of the crew of 36 were seen to havo died at their posts. Apparently none had tried to escape. Tho motors were in reverse and the conning tower hatch wide open. When tho Ssl was rammed and sunk off Boston last September it was stated that life might be possible on the vessel under water for seven days. It would appear now that death came mercifully swift to tho entrapped men.