MULTUM IN PARVO.

Otago Witness, Issue 3526, 11 October 1921, Page 45

MULTUM IN PARVO.

Diamonds were first found in India. The moon moves 3350 ft every second. A fly walks, in proportion to its size, 13 times as fast as a man can run. The Zoological Society pays a yearly rental of £306 10s for its 17 acres of ground in Regent’s Park, London. Every town, seen from the air, has a distinctive colour. London is a dirty blue, Birmingham sepia, and Cheltenham a drab white.

The “double,” a small bronze coin worth half a farthing, and still minted in Guernsey, is the smallest coin in circulation in the United Kingdom. Solomon’s Temple, for the building of which practically the whole manhood of Israel was commandeered, would have cost £1,000,000,000 to construct at present prices. Discovery has been made of a process by which the muscular tissues of horses and cattle can be converted into silk. 'The gramme of radium, valued at £40,000, which the women of America presented to Mine. Curie, is in a casket no larger than a thimble. To ensure safety, this casket is encased in 00. bof lead. The whole is in a solid mahogany case that cost £IOOO.

Water tanks of reinforced concrete, in tower form, have recently been adopted in Germany, the largest being 200 ft high. Its base tank holds 132,000ga1, and is surmounted by others, holding 17,000ga1, 53,000ga1, 132,C00ga1, and 262,000 gal respectively, the top tank being 36ft high. —Grafting external ears on a three-months-old infant, who had been born without them, was the interesting surgical feat recently performed in an Omaha (Nebraska) hospital, U.S.A. Strips of skin from the tihigbs supplied t.he missing parts. The operation was performed in stages, and required several weeks. —At the Tobacco Tracers’ exhibition in London recently points were awarded to women smokers for gracefulness in placing cigarettes in the mouth and for the manner of inhaling. Points were also given for selecting cigarettes with coloured tips to match dresses.

America has 20 per cent, of the world’s supply of gold, 25 per cent, of its wheat, 40 per cent, of its iron and steel, 40 per cent, of its silver, 50 per cent, of its zinc, 52 per cent, of its aluminium, 60 per cent, of its cotton, 66 per cent, of its oil, and 75 per cent, of its maize. Two theories are cited to account for flying sickness. The French school, headed by Professors Bert and Keguard, holds that it is caused by shortage of oxygen, while the Italian school, led by Professor Mosso, maintains that shortage of oxygen does not of itself account for the sickness, but that collapse is due to lack of carbonic acid in the blood at high altitudes. Up to 9000 metres application of oxygen will overcome the sickness, but above that height a mixture containing carbon dioxide and oxygen is necessary.

-—A violinist recently gave a free performance to the inhabitants of the London Zoological Gardens, and the effect of his playing upon some of his audience was rather curious to observe (according to the Scottish Musical Magazine). The serpents, lizards, and scorpions seemed to be most appreciative of them, all; some of them became quiie agitated, while others hurried in the direction whence the sounds proceeded and listened attentively. The bears, sheep, boars, bisons, and zebras all evinced keen interest in the performance. But the wolves, foxes, and elephants slept the sleep of the bored. The monkeys were divided in their regard; some of them craned their necks with curiosity and listened with their hand beholds their ears, while others chattered menacingly, or disdainfully betook themselves away.

—lt is not generally known that the towering dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral is a dummy. It is built of wood and covered with lead, hut is not strong enough to support the lantern and gold ball that appear to rest upon it. Sixty feet below it is another and quite separate dome. This is built of bricks, and is the dome seen from the interior. Between these two, hidden from sight, is a brick cone, ISin in thickness and reinforced with iron tic-rods. The lantern and hall, which weigh 7CO tons are supplied by this cone. The total weight of the whole structure (64,000 tons) is carried on eight central piers. Hence the necessity of making sure that these piers rest on sure foundations. Why docs a photographer have to retouch his negatives before his customer is satisfied with the picture? asks the Popular Science Monthly, and answers as follows: The eye of the camera sees things differently from the human eye, although there are some lenses that so diffuse tlie image that the harsh, details is eliminated. These are the so-called “soft-focus” lenses, and photographs made with them generally need no extensive retouching. It is the difference in “seeing colour” between the lens and the eye that is largely responsible for retouching. The ruddy complexion so suggestive of good health under the relentless eye of the camera may turn into dark splotches, for red photographs dark. The penetrating blue-violet rays are those chiefly used in photography, and these rays furnish the delicate “modelling” of form. The surface of the skin reflects those rays into the-camera, and all irregularities, such as wrinkles, become more noticeable than when looked at with the human eye, which sees mostly by the red and orange, instead of the blue-violet rays caught by the eye of the camera. Nature has a wonderful way of helping her creatures. In the Arctic regions, when the snow is dense, the fox turns his tawny coat into a white one, so that he may prowl about unseen? his fur exactly matching the colour of the snow. His prey, too, have the same gift. They, in turn, become white, so that they may have more chance of escaping from their natural enemies. A hare, when squatting in a newly-ploughed field, is practically invisible, so well does her eoai tone with her surroundings. She knows this too, and is wise enough to remain absolutely still until any danger is past. The 1< aves of rose bushes are often riddled with holes made by a tinv green caterpillar, exactly the colour of the. food it enjoys so much ; in consequence, it is extremely difficult, to detect. The stripes of the tiger are for protective purposes. Tt lives in the jungle, and its stripes look like shadows amidst (ho tall grasses. You might walk over the same stretch of shingle time after time to find a plover’s nest, and not discover the eggs, so closely do they res- in Ile the stones amongst which they are laid The hawk is very fond of young grouse, hut if they keep quite still in the /leather he is likely to lie disappointed, for from the height at which he hunts the bird’s colouring renders it practically invisible.