PEOPLE WHO THY ODD EXPERIMENTS.

Otago Witness, 14 December 1893, Page 42

PEOPLE WHO THY ODD EXPERIMENTS.

The seekers of sensation are many, and their methods exceedingly various. One way of getting a fillip to life is to strike out, if possible, a novelty in the field of experiment. Of course, it happens that a sum of money is often staked on the issue. But whether or no f . the foolish gaming instinct demands a wager, the humour of the thing is in the strangeness of the test. BEES V. PIGEONS. For instance, a prosperous bsc-owner in Westphalia recently arranged a very unusaal flying match with a neighbour who kept pigeons. The question vjas, Did tha bee 3 , on a point of speed, outdo the birds ? Ifc was put to the proof. The distance determined upou was three miles from hiveg and pigeon-houses. Twelve bees and twelve pigeons were selected to cover this course in competition. Probably it was the prevalent opinion that ths birdti would win easily. They had sizo in their favour, and nvght be supposed to hold a truar line tor? aids home.

But the faith of the bee-farmer was justified by his pets. The first bee distanced the earliest pigeon by a minute, three other bees followed to the hives, then the second pigeon to the columbary, and the rest arrived practically together. BEATEN BY A DROP OF WATER. Another recant case of an out-of-the-way experiment comes 'from Austria. A wily Yankee challenged a well-known athlete of Vienna to proof of endurance. Ie was to take a new form. Let him merely hold out his open hand and receive drop by drop in. the open palm a litre of water poured from the inconsiderable height of three feet. The quantity suggested was not large, a htre being equal to rather more than au English pint and a-halE. The professional athlete accepted the challenge, and tha experiment was duly made. Here, again, it was the current view that the proposer of the strange test would see it successfully accomplished. How was a big fellow, with an enormous hand hardened by feats of strength, to be worsted by this trivial dodge 1 Bat he was worstecl. At the piling of the drops into the third hundred he showed unmistakable signs of distress, and at the four hundred and twentieth drop he threw up the sponge. The agony had becjrns more than he could bear. His hand was swollen and lacerated, and proved that in goiog on even so far with the experiment he had displayed both courage and fortitude. ASKING FOR MORE. Rational and trade character has been the subject of amusing tests. A Dablin eximple has been reported. Could a typical cabman oE the Irish metropolis be contented with a fare at the first blush, and resist the temptation to solicit more. There was a difference of belief about the matter between two friend?. Au experiment was planned. A cabby was marked down as the unwitting subject, and was hired. The distance of the proof journey wag nominal — aquarter of a mile or so. Then half a sovereign was offered as a liberal tip. It was a veritable eye-opener to the recipient when he understood that he was to be paid 10 times as much as bi3 legal charge. H3 whipped up his horse with delight. But before going very far he returned. " P<ease, sir, have ye a thrc'-panny bit about ye ? " he said with obsequoui apology. "It 'ud be a pity to break a bright bit of gold just for a drink, wouldn't it, sor 1 " VICTIMISING THE DOCTORS. Science, for one purpose and another, arranges not a few extraordinary experiments. And, contrariwise, the professed adherents of science are sometimes the butt of laymen who indulge in these eccentrio freaks. A well-known newspaper, a year or two ago, dealt a blow tbu3 at the medical faculty. A smart lady interviewer called on a number of doctors. She did not mention the paper Ehe "represented. Instead she complained persistently of headache, and sought professional advice— and paid for it. She was carrviDg out her instructions to the letter. By-and-bye the daring editor who had thought of this experiment was in a position to astonish his readers — and not lsss the doctors. He published a table of questions asked, and fees demanded and given, and prescriptions supplied. There were the strangest divergencies, and various quaint piece 3 of counsel. The visitor was credited with a round dozen of grave ailments. It would seem that doctors like other people, sometimes find that which they set out with preconceived ideas to seek. SEVENTY-FIVE PER CENT. OF ERRORS. A trap of a somewhat similar sort was set a few year 3, back, nob in jest but in earnest, for the London purveyors of drugs. Fifty doctors' perecriptions were sent about town to chemists' 3hop3 and drug companies. The test was to find how near to or how far from strict accuracy was the average filling of the order. One of the London vestries received the analyst's report. Seventeen out of 50 perscriptions were improperly dispensed. There was a case in which one drug included was 85 per cent, less in quantity than it should have been, and another in which it was 57 per cent, in excess. It was stated that certain supply companies had no less than 75 per cent, of error 3. There wis apparently grave risk for some patients. PROFESSORS PLAYING " PITCH AND TOSS." As an instance of scientific men indulging in an odd amusement the late Sir George Airy, tho astronomer-royal, and Professor Kallend may bo mentioned. Oa one occasion they seemed to bo squandering time in the most outrageous manner. Ie was positively puerile, or, worse still, it was gambling very much out of placa. Perhaps the servants thought so. Taese eminent man were doing little but toss pennies together from morning till night. They kept on their singular sport for a whole waek. But it was only a highly original test to obtain a notion of tb.3 docLrine of chances. How many timas would tails turn up in succession 1 It is said that the two professors decided that the longest run which then could obtain was 28.