HERE AND THERE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17527, 2 May 1925, Page 8

HERE AND THERE.

AN EYE FOR EVERYTHING. A WEIRD WATCH LEGEND. Until comparatively modern times the wearing of a watch 'was considered ! a proof ol' tbe owner’s gentility, rhougli tbe invention can traced back to the fourteenth century. AVatclies were worn attached to a chain i suspended round the neck, a fashion ; which still survives with women. From the following story of one Air Allen, a j reputed sorcerer, who died i?» 3«>*T, watches must have been very uncomj raon in his day. Being at Holme i Lacey, in Herefordshire, Allen happened to leave his watch in the chamj ber window. The maids entered his ! room to make the bed. and, hearing a j curious ticking sound coming from a i ease, concluded that rL. was their j master’s devil. One of them took it i up with tongs and throw it out of j the window into the moat. The string I attached to the case caught on the sprig of an elder that grew out oF the | moat, and tins confirmed their belief : that the case contained an evil ' spirit . SNUBS FOR SMOKERS. The policy of tlic original railway I companies was one of exclusion and oppression. For iustance, the tliird- ! class was systematically suubbed, and at first only two trains a day—one early in the morning and one late at night—included third-class accommodation. It was long before . smoking was allowed on a train, although the first smoking carriage was actually! introduced on the Eastern , Counties Railway in 1846. It was not, I however, until IS6B that the provision of smoking compartments on a.l trains ; was made compulsory. In that year H. B. Sheridan, ALP. for Dudley, moved an amendment to a runway bill making this provision, and it was warmly supported by John Stuart Alill in the last, speech he ever made in the Commons. It was passed by tli« narrow majority of twenty-two. When the Aletropolitan Railway was constructed, perhaps because it was mainly tunnel travel, and therefore already almost asphyxiating before it was electrified, it obtained a special exemption from this Act, and it was not until 1874 that smoking was allowed on tbe “Underground.” IF WORDS COULD COME TO LIFE! If the words we use could bring up iike a cinematograph film, the pictures which lie behind them, conversation would be more entertaining th’an it is as a rule. For instance, when we say a thing is dilapidated, we bring up an image of an ancient temple crumbling to ruin, for the root meaning of the word is “crumbling stone.” Similarly, the word stunned means thunderstruck, and ardent formerly meant burning. AVl)at a remarkable picture the word scandal calls up. TLs original application was to that part of a trap on which the bait was placed and which, when the trap was touched, sprang up and caught the victim. Another odd word is scruple, which originally meant a little stone, in weights means twenty grains, and iii modern use means something which hurts or worries the conscience. Irritate referred originally to the snarling of a dog. Perplexed brings up a picture of being tangled in miles of string, wound completely round and round : whilst the word eliminate denotes what the man did to his barometer when it continued to register “Set Fair” after it had been raining for a week, for it means “to kick out of doors.” SHAPING SHIPS FOR SPEED. To prophesy accurately the time that will be taken by a ship, nearly 1000 feet in length, on its maiden voyage from Great Britain to America is one of tbe wonders of modern science. Preliminary designs of a large Atlantic liner are first prepared, it being assumed that the sea express will leave Liverpool or New York about once every three weeks. Ju order to avoid a rapid and expensive “turn-round” in port, not more than five and a half days are usually allowed for the voyage. A speed of 23 knots is therefore decided upon. AVhether this speed will be attained depends to a large extent upon the shape of the hull and the size of the propellers. The plan adopted by the builders of one of the largest Atlantio greyhounds was to make a small wax model of the boat, jiccordhig to the preliminary designs of the hull. This model was floated in a tank 4GQ feet long and 20 feet wide, and was then drawn through the water at a rate uroportionate to the designed speed of the ship. Intricate and deb’eate recording instruments noted the resistance of the water, and slight alterations in the shape of the wax model were made until the water resistance was as small as possible. In a recent case So 7 experiments were necessary before the ideal shape was given to the hull ami the best size found for the propellers.