General News Items

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20988, 26 September 1931, Page 5 (Supplement)

General News Items

FOR A BURGLAR. H> England, a thief broke into He found the safe empty, SSHlfo* t g t a table and made a meal of ; '-l£ e six pork pics.- six fn,it P ios > two o| cold beef/and three bottles of h eer * this liberal repast the burglar J»peied hrough a broken window-pane Jjfeseaped- •: yffO ROMAN BOWLS FOUND. TffO Roman bowls of Samian ware, in i;-than 30 pieces and buried 4ft. deep, i,ve been found at Chester-le-Streel, in jba county of Durham. One of the bowls is of a type rarely in England, and the second, beautiSjy figured, is dated about the year 120. bowls have been restored by the jjfjtish Museum. ■ | _ f B.A. DEGREE FOR MINER. Jlr. Albert Dowdall, a young Durham jtiner, has obtained the Degree of Bachelor of Arts at Oxford University tfjfh first-class honours. ' Formerly a hewer at Mainsforth Coljjdy, Mr. Dcwdall became a student of the Workers' Educational Association five years ago. A scholarship enabled him to ntiskin College, Oxford, in 1928, xrhence he passed on to Queen's College. - Between terms he pedal-cycled between Oxford and Spennymoor, a distance of over 200 miles. • hew signals for scouts. When the International Scout Conference met at Baden, near Vienna, not long ago, it was decided that the next jamboree shall be held in 1935 at Codollo, gfyout 20 miles from Budapest. 'This was the sixth conference, and the visitors included the Chief Scout himself and a representative of the League of Kations. Among many interesting things discussed was a new signalling system invented by Rumanian scouts, which is said to be »xceptionally easy to learn and remember. REMARKABLE CURE. The doctors of the London Hospital lava scored another triumph. They have re-made bones which had wasted almost to nothing. Mrs. Robinson of Durham, was in the grip of this disease, was perfectly helpless, and had no hope of cure, but an account was accidentally seen in a newspaper of a wonderful cure of a similar case at the London Hospital, and she was taken there. Special treatment and diet have built up the almost vanished bones, and Mrs. Robinson can walk again. OPERATIONS 3000 YEARS AGO. As far back as 3000 years ago delicate brain operations were performed by Swedish surgeons, according to Professor Otto Rvdbeck, in Lund, the old university town of Southern Sweden. The prpfessor, in a lecture recently given before the Ethnological Society of Lund, stated that fourteen or fifteen skulls found in Swedish soil show marks of trepanations, proving that Stone Age surgeons pierced the bone to reach the br^in. In the parish of Skivard the skeleton cl a man, who lived about 3000 years ago, showed that he had been operated on in order to remove a purulent infection on the brain. The operation, which had not been performed by boring, but by scraping off; the bone, had evidently been quite successful, since it was evident that the patient lived for many years M^mards. H(W HUMAN BEINGS SLEEP. Some old-fashioned notions about sleep *re dispelled by Dr. 11. M. Johnson, of tlie Mellon Institute of Industrial Research afc Pittsburgh, who reports that there is no such thing as " sleeping like 8 log." For six years Dr. Johnson has been studying the habits of sleepers, and he says.that the only man who slept like a, log under his observation was one ,wbo had been drugged. Dr. Johnson offers comfort to city folk by assuring them that noise does not prevent sound sleeping Ho says he has found that his patients were so restless under the influence of sleep that they assumed all positions from a " kitten coil to a prone sprawl." Ho says that men are more restless than women. A middle-aged man shifts his position once ever}' seven minutes, and a woman shifts hers onco in 13 minutes. / THRILLING ADVENTURES. Two men recently reached Callao after «liree months afoot, from the centre of Matto Grosso, in Brazil, to La Paz and thence as stowaways to Callao. The men are Peter Sosna and Hans Obielgo, of German and American nationality respectively. According to (heir story, while on a hunting expedition, they were lost m ; the jungle. Attempts to find their way back were barred by Indians and floods. Fairly well equipped as to clothing, firms and ammunition, the two men started their south-westward march through- jungles and scrub-covered plains find across flooded rivers to Santa Cruz de la Sierra and eventually La Paz. In spite of half a dozen encounters with Ind.ans and incessant battles with insect pests, they arrived in excellent health. Both men were penniless, arms and equipment having been sold to obtain food on the last stages of their trek. NAVAL TOM SAWYER. In connection with Navy Week at Portsmouth a good story is told revealing how an enterprising first lieutenant deVl sed an antidote to the monotonous task of painting the ship. Ihe crew of a destroyer were engaged 111 the task of chipping off the old paint, v, hen the first lieutenant noticed a small boy looking enviously on. " Like a go, sonny ? asked the officer, with a merry twinkle in his eye. " Rather, sir," came t"e response, and in a few minutes the boy was banging away with the chipping hammer. Other lads were attracted, and soon the competition for the hammer became so keen that the lieutenant had to form the boys into a queue, and impose a time limit of five minutes each. It was in much the same way, according to Twain's famous story, that Tom Sawyer incited his Loy friends to paiut tho garden fence. "HEALING BY DANCING." Not infrequently the alleged " quack °f one generation finds justification in the ne *t, and the recommendation of dancing as a cure for mental and physical ill by s o cautious a scientist as Sir Arthur Keith " ,a y rehabilitate the memory of Donald McAlpin, who a con airy ago set up as a healer hv dancing at Strathspey. A shepherd and a famous dancer, Donald was reputed to have cured a woman a mysterious malady by dancing a reel *,ith her, and this story being noised abroad his cottage was besieged by crowds of sick folk who hoped to be rid °' their ailments by persuading him to a " ce with them. .Donald was shrewd enough to take adantage of such a stroke of luck. He .igaged an ancient piper as assistant, and Between them the pair evolved a course tn treatment for almost every ill which the flesh is heir, establishing y tensive practice from which, for a *' le y derived a considerable in- . me. Tlie doc'ors, of course, denounced' rikl 35 a c but it seems iiiit Pt>sMe that be Jul 0 u a real remedy lor ffcrtam troubles.

REMARKABLE SUICIDE CASE. 4XhT'f"f S , from in of pi hjci, grieved at the frivolitv of the from' g a Ef' at '""' flU " g himself to tlealh " a I S h "miaret of his mosque. usual 0 t/ 1 !," roounled to the tower „s Pi"-er \VI IQllOd the to and* lri'rk baw tlie young men etb L I" 01 " 8 0 " l!lc Atones below died.! SCi,: UUO t ! 10U - and bachelor breaks Jlis VOWS. J'T as ( ?, I '\ rna >" recently in the Cardiff Reffi'n l? 7 11,0 president, Mr. hren I Pi®' am,ou " ced intention to break the club vows and to take marriage "'stead. The members are all sworn never to marry, or even to " walk out " with a girl. llow to prevent desertions in the future is being discussed. Due proposal is that a new oath of loyalty shad be taken with a penalty of £4o or more if it be broken. Meanwhile the president offered tho members a farewell .supper. THE ROYAL INVESTITURE. Ihe Kings investiture at Buckingham talace is a marvel of careful arrangement and exact timing. All the decorations are set out in the order in which they are to he conferred, and handed to His Majesty on a cushion by the King-of-Arms as the recipients approach. In conferring the accolade the King uses three different kinds of swords. " For naval ofi.cers the King uses the sword of a vice-admiral, for army officers the sword of Gold-Stick-in-Waitlng, and for civilians the sword of the Kquerry-in-Waiting. J ENORMOUS BUTT OF SHERRY. There is a good time some body who likes sherry. One of the largest butts of wine handled at the Port of London, for many years has come from Jerez, Spain, to the London docks, and it was being kept in the importer's vaults—until called for. The butt is long, has a circumference of 12£ ft., and it contains tho equivalent of ever 2,000 bottles of wine. It is so large that it is called a "treblebutt " and it is so precious that it was given a jacket of grass to protect it on the journey. ORGAN WITH A HISTORY. The organ in St. Mary's Church, Edge Hill, Liverpool, which is being repaired, is a link with the Napoleonic wars. A French frigate was captured and brought into Portsmouth Harbour as a prize. When its cargo was examined the parts of an organ were discovered. The parts were acquired by Mr. Edward Mason, founder of the church of St. Mary, who was popularly known as the " King of Edge Hill." He caused the parts to be assembled and the organ was erected in the church more than 100 years ago. Considerable additions have been made to it since, but it still occupies its original pesition in the west end. VALUE OF A MISTAKE. It was announced in tho London " Gazette " recently that Group-Captain Lionel W. B. Rees, an officer of the Royal Air Force, who won the V.C. by taking advantage of his own mistake, had been placed on the retired list at his own request. On July 1, 1916, while fighting in France, Captain Rees mistook a group of about 10 enemy aeroplanes for Allied bombers, and approached to escort, them. One of them attacked him, but he drove it down damaged. Five more then opened fire, but lie dispersed theni. He seriously damaged two, and was wounded, while chasing two of the others. IRON ROAD EXPERIMENT. For nine months the road leading to one of the biggest ironworks in England, the Stanton Iron Works, near Nottingham, has been paved with iron. It consists of triangular cast-iron plates on a concrete foundation. The plates have a 12in. base, and are studded all over, so close that no narrow tyre could stick between them. ■< The inventor claims for the system that there is a reduction of noise and vibration, complete absence of skidding, an indefinite life, simplicity and cheapness in laying, and unusual rapidity in renovations. 'lhe materials arc entirely British. MONEY VALUE OF ANIMALS. Lions are the kings of the jungle, but their value on the open market is often much less than that of other animals. A good gorilla, according to Popular Mechanics, usually is worth about while lions have sold for even less than £4O. And a goiilla is a risky purchase because the climate of most American cities is hard on the big apes. In (he zoo market, the rhinoceros brings the highest price—£looo or more. Snakes are sold by the foot, some of the more interesting varieties selling at £3 a foot.. Giraffes have recently cone up in value and run tho rhinos a close race in price. Among birds, the little blue love birds are worth their weight in gold. HOSPHJE IN HIMALAYAS. The two monks who went to Tibet to look into tlie need for a hospice in the Himalaya mountains have returned to the Grand St. - Bernard. They gave an in-teresting-account of their voyage to the meeting of the Congregation of Angus tinian Canons, which conducts tho famous Hospice on the Italian-Swiss frontier. As a result of theJ- findings it. has been decided to found a branch in Asia. "Tho realisation of this project will demand a certain amount of time," the Prior writes, " but we intend to set to work on it at once Our two explorers had a mos'S satisfactory journey, in spile of its many hardships." The new refuge for mountain travellers is to be be von d tho Upper Mekong, between the 27th and '29 th degree of latitude, on tho very edge of Tibet. It is probable that part of the world-famed pack of powerful, short-haired dogs specially bred .it the monastery in the Swiss Alps for rescue work in the snow will (ravel to Asia with tlie Lathers. POPULARITY OF MELONS. Surely tho shades of the Emperor Tiberius and Peter the Great must be haunting Covent Garden. And what a sight to gladden their hearts, if spectres can be regarded as retaining such relics of their mundane existence. Pliny and Columella recorded the extraordinary measures taken to satisfy the ciaving of Tiberius for melons in and out of season, and Zimmerman found that 1 eter the Great ate three or four at breakfast. That the melon is popular to-day is demonstrated by the wonderful display at the great London market, says a London newspaper. . t> •• a • There is the prime produce of Britain s own glasshouses flanked by case after case from Spain, Holland, France, Channel Islands, United States, Italy, Belgium, Portugal and Hungary. j Melons have not been al, ° tted * !a ®! to themselves in tho monthly returns of the Board of Trade. They come within the comprehensive category ° dc3 fi crintions "—rather a pity consideiing \ve are receiving over 1,000 tons a wee • Grape-fruit was formerly in the ™ situation, but has now tq .the dignity of a separate item in i_tat>ie9. "

LION'S MISADVENTURE. ( Sir Arthur Itoslron ex-commodorc of the Cunard fleet says" Sometimes we get. curious live cargo, 'llic Alauretauia was once chosen as the transport for a lion. It, was to lie turned over to the zoo in New ork. On arrival ihe cage was being swung out to the dock when the bottom tell out. So, of course, did the lion—plump into tlio water. " That lion made rather a fuss about llio. way America was receiving hint, and we were mighty glad when he was eveiutually lassoed by men who chased utter him in boats." r DANCING FOR 752 HOURS. Ihe marathon dance of Paris ended at 4 o clock in the morning recently with only ono couple—Ted Stantley, an American, and Mdile. Galache, French—left on the lloor out of the 30 pairs who started. With a triumphant whoop of joy tlio winners leapt into the air before collapsing, when it was announced that, after having danced, with stops of 15 minutes every hour, for 752 hours, they had won. The winning couple received £IOO and two silver cups, in addition to a considerable sum of money given by spectators. UNWASHED FOR FIFTY YEARS. A well-known Norfolk hermit, Edwin Colman, aged 78, was found dead at Gissing, near Diss, England, recently, with a bruise on the head. Ho was turned out of two homes and an effort was made to evict him from a shed in which he took refuge. As the result of a public petition, however, he was allowed to remain. A whist drive was held, and with the proceeds and donations Colman s shed was remodelled, and he had since lived peacefully ther'j, looking after his poultry. It is reported that he liad not. undressed for years and had not washed for fifty years. ELECTRICAL WINDS. Electrical winds are said to have damaged Kansas grain crops, especially wheat. There is no question about electrical wind, states the meteorologist Mr. S. D. Floral They occur in Western Kansas in dry times when there is a lot of dust in the air and there is something in the reports that they damage wheat and other crops. Sometimes these winds carry so much electricty that they charge wire fences and steel windmill frames to such an extent that a person touching them gets a severe shock. The winds usually damage crops m streaks very much as hail storms do. THE AGE OF SNOBBERY. A judge of the English County Court has been raising his voice in protest against a tailor describing himself as " a creator of clothes." Most of us are inclined to put on a small swank in this way, says the Aberdeen Press. " Girl typists are now secretaries, bookkeepers are accountants, plumbers are sanitary engineers, barbers are beauty culturists, customers have become clients, Esquire has replaced Mr., socks are footwear, pyjamas are known as slumber suits. They have gone further in the great land of democracy across the water, where undertakers* style themselves morticians, and, if an American satirist is to be believed, there is a Grand United Order of Garbage Practitioners." ROOSTER PERPLEXES SCIENTISTS. A cock which violated all the traditions of his kind was the subject of a long discussion in Paris by the highly learned members of that august institution, the Academy of Sciences, reports the News Chronicle. The cock began to crow at midnight under the walls of the Paris Observatory. The director heard this unique performance himself, and he saw the bird saluting, not the rising sun, but the full moon, lie judged the phenomenon to be of such importance that a special meeting of the greatest savants in France was called to consider it. The gravo men of science came to no definite decision, hut they were inclined to believe that it was a case of moonstruck, arid they solemnly thanked M. Bigourdan for reporting the historic event. EQUIPMENT OF OCEAN LINERS. You would be aghast at the quantities and weights of different articles we carry," says Sir Arthur Rostron, late, commodore of the Cunard line in speaking of ocean liners. He adds that table-silver and cutlery would go into thousands of pieces and weigh tons. Linen, with bed linen and blankets, may easily total more than 100,000 pieces. Sir Arthur says: "I remember on one occasion we had been delayed in the Berengaria by fog, having to anchor outside. New York Harbour for 48 hours. This meant that instead of three days in port we had to sail again in 16 hours. In that short time we had sent 40,000 pieces of linen to the. laundry, the ship was supplied with provisions, and had taken on board nearly 5,000 tons of fresh water and 6000 tons of oil fuel! This is just to show you that the sea is no place for an eight-hour-a-day man!" DIFFICULT SLUM PROBLEM. Unusual proposals for dealing with slum clearances were made by Sir Seymour Williams, clerk of (he rural district council of Warmlev, near Bristol, at a recent meeting. Following a discussion as to the misconduct of a certain type of tenant when transferred from the slums to council houses, Sir Seymour Williams said: " These people represent the real slum problem. They are insistent in their demands for houses, and yet, when satistied, they create new slums, and upset the other tenants. The only thing to do is to have a separate and less cosily type of house in which to put these undesirable. tenants. I am seriously asking this council to set an example to other places. I know you will have all tho housing reformers against you, low cling the standard and so forth, they will declare, but you have to luce facts. It was agreed that the surveyor should estimate tho cost of building four houses in a row with just the bare necessities for decent dwelling as proposed by Sir Seymour. WOMAN AS AN ENGINEER. Preferring home-building to bridgebuilding, a woman engineer has forsaken a business career which had already reached tho point of brilliance, says tho London News Chronicle. She regards marriage as a full-time job. v Two years ago, Mrs. William Fleming, A.M.Inst.C.E., a daughter-in-law of Dr. Archibald Fleming, was engaged on intricate mathematical calculations and drawings for the Sydney Harbour bridge. To-day. she is an industrious housewife, busy making her home in a new flat in a south-west London suburb. " Mrs. Fleming, who was Miss Dorothy Buchanan before her marriage last year, is the only woman Associate Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers." Miss Caroline Haslolt, secretary of the Women's Engineering Society, said, " and her loss to the profession came as a big blow. While still in her early twenties, she came to London from Edinburgh University, and gained experience on the building of a dam in Northern Ireland. Later, as an engineer with Messrs. Dorman Long, she did mathematical work for the Sydney Harbour bridge, and also took an important part in preparing the drawings and calculations for the Newcastle and Fulhain bridges."

TWO OF A KIND. Two cowboys agreed to settle their differences with revolvers. Both were dreading the ordeal. 'lho knees of one, in fact, knocked together to such an extent that they affected his aim. " Look here!" ho said to his opponent. " Will you, as a favour, allow mo to rest my leg against this milestone to steady myself?" " Yes," said the other man, trying hard to control his fears, " if you'll allow mc to vest my leg against the next!" WHAT WORRIED HIM! An artist saw a labourer whom he thought would make a good model, so ho offered him ten shillings to let, him paint liini. Instead of jumping at the offer the man seemed rather reluctant. " It's an easy way of earning ten shillings!" urged the artist; "you know, a chance like this doesn't come often." " Oh, 1 know the money's good," replied the man dubiously, " but yor see, 1 bin wonderin' 'ow I'd get the paint off afterwards." NOT QUITE RIGHT. Eustace had been taking a good deal of trouble over dressing himself for the reception which a. fashionable hostess was giving that evening. As a result he was more than half an hour late. On being shown into the lady's drawing room, lie rushed up to her with outstretched hand. " I beg ;t thousand pardons for coming late!' he exclaimed. Ilis hostess put on her most gracious look. "My dear sir," she replied, '' no apologies are needed. You can never come too Jalc." NOT WORTH IT. A woman took her small son to a hospital and . said ho had swallowed a shilling. The child was X-rayed, the coin detectod, and the mother sent home with dietary instructions, and told to report again in a day or sp. The mother did not reappear, and a nurse was sent to make inquiries. " Well nurse," said tho woman. " ver see, when I got. 'omo I went through me purse agon, and fahound that young Willie 'adn't swallered a bob after al|. It was only a 'a'penny. So 1 didn't worry abaht it." THE REAL REASON. The big London railway terminus was packed to overflowing with people bound for the sea and country. Suddenly through an opening the tourist espied a face that was familiar. " llullo, Tom! " lie said. " Going away'! " " Yes," replied Tpjn. " Going abroad for six months." The other looked puzzled. " But I don't understand," he said. " The last lime I met you, you said you were so broke that you couldn't pay your liabilities." " That's certainly correct," said Tom, " and that's just tho reason why I'm going abroad."

NOT IN THE LESSON. The Sunday school teacher fixed littlo Bertie with a stern look. " You're a naughty boy," she commenced. " You've been fighting again." " Couldn't help it this time, teacher," replied the boy. " But didn't last Sunday's lesson teach you that when you are struck on one cheek you ought to turn the other to the striker?" "Yes," agreed Bertie; "but he hit 111 c on the nose, and I've only got one." ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR. " Has the professor in room 13 had his breakfast yet ? " asked the landlady of the seaside boarding-house. " I don't know, mum," replied the maid. "You don't know?" echoed the landlandy stiffly. "Go up and ask him, then." • The maid shrugged her shoulders helplessly. " I have already asked him," she said, " but ho says he doesn't know."

" Pardon me, madam, but have you. any small children?" " Er—no!" " Dogs or cats?" " No." " Perhaps a wireless set?" " No, er—are you from the Town Hall?" " Oh, no, I'm thinking of buying the house next door." —London Opinion.

DOCTOR'S TERRIBLE BLUNDER. Boots, the young doctor, met a friend in tho same profession. ? " Hallo, Pills," ho exclaimed, "you're looking down in the mouth. What s happened ?" "No wonder," returned Pills, " I'm attending that wealthy Mr. I've sent him the wrong medicine."^ Boots looked at his friend in astonishment. "Good gracious!" ho said, "that's a very serious blunder!" Pills wiped his furrowed brow. "It is, indeed," he explained. " The medicine I sent him will cure him in two days."

SENSITIVE CHILD. At a charity entertainment a lady had just risen from her seat at the piano. " Wouldn't you like to be able to sing and play as l*do?" she asked one of her small listeners. " Oh, no, madam," came the child's immediate reply. "And why not, mv dear," asked the lady, somewhat surprised. "'Cos I wouldn't like to have peoplo say horrid tilings about me," was the child's retort. A STORM AHEAD. Tho door of tho bar-parlour burst open and a flying figure dashed up to tho bar. " Quick, guv'nor," he said anxiously, " give mo a pint before the trouble starts." The astonished barman served him with a large glass of beer. "Now, what's the trouble?" he asked, after the man had drunk it. The man replaced tho glass on the counter. " I ain't got no money," he said. MAKING LIGHT OF IT. ' Tho little boy sat down on the kerb and burst into tears. Hg had just lost the penny which his father gave him as pocket-money every week. In vain had ho been searching the pavement and the gutter for it. •* Presently an old Scotsman ventured along. He inquired what was the matter, and a sympathetic look came over his face as he heard the child's tale of woe. " Dinna cry, laddie," he said consolingly. " If yo canno find it afore dark — weel, here's a match." WAYS AND MEANS. Ruth, the daughter of the house, returned from a shopping expedition with an expensive-looking new hat. "How do y!)u like it, mother?" asked tho girl, displaying her bargain. "Very nice/dear,' snid t lie mother, and added: " But how did you manage to afford it ?" " : earned u myself. said tlie girl. " How was that ?" asked tho mother in surprise " I talked dad out of two pounds nineteen and eleven for it," said her daughter. " PLAIN SOOTOH." Two Scotsmen were staying at an hotel and discovered that there was no soap in the bathroom. They rang for the boy. " Sen' up sape, lad—a wee bit sape, 3uick!" exclaimed ono of tho Caloonians. The boy- gazed open-mouthed at the two men, muttering: " They ain't French, nor German, nor yet Spanish. What can they want?" One Scot became angry. " Mon." he thundered, " can ye no' understan' plain Scotch ?" The boy promptly withdrew, and returned with a bottle and two glasses.