MISTAKES WE ALL MAKE.
It is curious how many common things are wrongly named, observes Everyday Science. For instance A lead pencil has no lead in it. Kid gloves are not now made from kids, but usually from sheepskin. Catgut is not made from any part of a cat. There is no wax in sealing wax; it is made from shellac, turpentine and cinnabar. Camels’ hair brushes are never made from the hair of the camel. As a general rule the hair of squirrels is used. The whale is not a fish, but a warm blooded mammal which suckles its young like a cow. Fishes are cold blooded and lay eggs. What you see coming from a boilingkettle is not steam, but condensed moisture. Steam is invisible. Silkworms are not worms; they are just the caterpillar stage of a moth. Lightning never comes in zig-zag form as is commonly shown in pictures. The forked tongue of the snake is not a “sting.” The poison comes from the teeth. A cat cannot see better in the dark than in the light; although it can see a good deal better in the dark than we can.
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Bibliographic details
Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1370, 22 March 1923, Page 8
Word Count
194MISTAKES WE ALL MAKE. Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1370, 22 March 1923, Page 8
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