FRAGMENIS OF FACT.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1514, 7 March 1901, Page 61

FRAGMENIS OF FACT.

The average person wears nearly fourteen pounds of clothing. The Jewish Year Book estimates that there are in the world 11,000,000 of that race, more than hair being under Russian jurisdiction. The first envelope ever made is in the possession of the British Museum. Careful measurements prove that the average curvature of the earth is 6.99 inches to the statute mile. Between the ticks of a watch a ray of light could move eight times around the globe. As many at 4,061 muscles have been counted in the body of the moth. The Rhindl manuscript, now in the British Museum, is the oldest intelligible mathematical work extant that has ever been deciphered. The wings of birds are not only to aid locomotion in the air, but also on the ground and water. One hird even has ol'aws in the “elbows” of its wings to aid* in climbing. The regular army is made up of 25 per cent, of foreigners, while in the navy 52 per cent, of the petty officers and 42 per cent, of the seamen are foreign born. Forty per cent, of those who went down with the Maine were of this class. Betters 'dropped into a. box in Paris are delivered in Berlin within an hour, and sometimes within thirty-five minxites. They are whisked through tubes by pneumatic power. At the Strozzi Palace, in Rome, there is- a book made of marble, the leaves being of marvellously thinness. According to Professor Galton, a few persons see mentally in print every word they hear uttered. The average amount of sickness in human life is nine days out of the year. It is eighteen years since- the first Japanese newspaper was established, and now there are in existence 575 daily and weekly paoers, 35 law magazines, 35 medical magazines, 11 scientific and a large number of religious journals.

Tientsin and other Chinese cities have ' no lights at night except such as come from private houses. The number of newspapers published in Great Britain' is 19,582, in the English language, with 741 German, 65 Swedish, 56 Spanish, 51 French, 35 Bohemian, 33 Polish, 25 Italian, 18 Dutch, 18 Hebrew, etc. Tile number of soldiers on duty in the Federal army during , the American civil war is given as follows: —July 1, 1861, 183,588: January 1, 1862, 527,204; January 1, 1863, "69.8,802 ; January 1, 1864, 611,250; January 1, 1865, 620,924; May 1, 1865, 797,807. Dentists in Germany are using false teeth made of paper, instead of porcelain or mineral composition. These paper teeth are said to be very satisfactory, as they dk> not break; or chip ; are not sensitive to heat or cold, and are not susceptible to the moisture of the mouth, and, from their peculiar composition, they are very -cheap. Humming birds are domesticated by placing in their cages a number of paper flowers of tubular form containing a small quantity of sugar and water, which must be frequently renewed. Of this liquid the birds partake, and quickly become apparently contented with their captivity. A Chinaman always takes spirits, usually rice whisky, with his meals, but he drinks moderately, and never apart from meals. It is a strangle fact that injuries to the tongue, whether of man or animal, heal more quickly than those of any other part of the system. Human beings have -six muscles to each eye, that they may move it on either side; but horses, cows, sheep and other quadrupeds, which habitually " incline their heads to the earth in search of food, have a muscle by which their eyelids are suspended and supported, andi which we do not need. The year 47 B. 0.„ was the longest year on record. By order of Julius Caesar it contained 445 days. The additional days were put in to make the seasons conrorm as near a.s possible with the solar year. The organs of smell in a vulture and! a carrion crow are so keen that they ran scent their food for a distance of forty miles. The Chinese have a. god for every disease, even for mumps and measles. The oldest university in the world is at Pekin. It is called the “School for the Sons of the Empire.” Its antiquity is very great, and a granite register consisting of stone columns, 320 in number, contains the names of 60,000 graduates. Gaust is the smallest republic in the world. It has an area of one mile and! a population of 140. It has existed since 1648, and is recognised by both Spain and! France. It fliss situated on the flat top of a mountain in the Pyrenees, and has a president who is elected by the council of twelve. In 1841-47 the highest stone bridge in the world was constructed on the can-al leading to Marseilles, France, where it crosses the Arc Valley. The bridge has three tiers of arches. The lowest tier has twelve arches of 49.2 feet span; the middle tier fifteen arches of 52.5 feet, and the upper tier fifty-three arches of 16.4 feet span. The bridge is 48 feet wide on top, 1289 feet long and 271 feet high- The width of the canal on the bottom is about 22 feet. In 1852-59 the Cabin John Bridge, the largest stone arch in the world, was

built, jiear Washington, D.C., to carry an aqueduct and* highway over Rock Crecdc. Its span is 220 feet with a rise of 67.3 feet. The Czar and Czarina expect to visit the Glasgow Exhibition in July. The banns of marriage for three couples being published at the little village Church of Acton, in Suffolk, it was discovered that every one of the six persons concerned was named Woodgate. One of the largest collieries m the Wigan district was stopped a short time recently owing to a singular cause. The pumps ceased working, and on an examination being made it was found that an eel tw T o feet six inches in length had been drawn up the water pipe and caught in the “clack” of the pump. Or the many wonderful experiences of the British soldier in South Africa, that of Lieutenant J. Evans, of the Ist Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who was shot in 26 different places at Pieter’s Hill and afterwards recovered, is perhaps one of the most startling. Lieutenant Evans, having roovered, is now on his way to South Africa to rejoin his regiment for duty. “Suicide while temporarily insane,” was the verdict at the inquest at Croydon on John Blake, an inmate of Croydon Infirmary, who died after cutting his throat. The evidence showed that the dread of a cold bath preyed on, his mind. The Great Southern and Western Railway Company of Ireland has announcedi that in consequence of the greatly increased cost of working the company has been obliged to reduce its train mileage. The company regrets that such step is necessary, but says that, having regard to- shareholders’ interests, no other course v 7 as open. The juice of the green pineapple is accredited in Java, the Philippines, and throughout the Par East generally w T ith being blood-poison of a most deadly nature. It is said to be the substance with which the Malays poison their kreeses and daggers, and also to be the “fingernail” poison formely in use among aborigine Javanese women almost universally. These women cultivated a nail on each hand to a long, sharp point, and tlie least scratch frem one of tiiese was certain death.