SCIENCE SIFTINGS

New Zealand Tablet, 5 February 1920, Page 46

SCIENCE SIFTINGS

(By "Volt.")

Average Height of Mankind. / - Scientists show that differences exist between the average height of races of mankind. Generally, stature varies between sft 4in and sft lOin. Of really dwarf men, under sft in height, there are few, chiefly the bushmen of South Africa, the dwarfs of New Guinea, and the ; Laplanders. - Cuttlefish. r : V V- k Monster cuttlefish abound in the Southern seas. They range from 9ft to 18ft in length, with arms or tentacles 20ft to 30ft long, and Ift or 2ft in circumference. The power of these monsters when aroused— by nature they are timid and act on the defensiveis extraordinary. A Heart Theory. . -

The theory that a person who has had the misfortune to lose one or more limbs is likely to live longer than if he had not lost them, would seem to be borne out by facts. The reason is that the heart normally has to carry the blood to the limbs, and that the fewer limbs a man possesses the less work the heart has to perform, and the longer, therefore, it lasts.

Human Essentials.

Speaking before the Institute of Hygiene in London last November Dr. Soltan Fen wick declared that people who died of pneumonia in Great Britain during last year's influenza epidemic, died from heart failure, due to insufficient sugar. Sugar and fat, he said, were essentials, and last year people were underfed, especially in these two things.

A Tale of Salvage.

Quite one of the most extraordinary tales of salvage work surrounds the ship Avenger, which over 10 years ago encountered a tidal wave off an island in the Gulf of Mexico. Not all the concentrated efforts of a dozen salvage firms could move her. So, with her cargo worth many thousands of pounds, she remained until 1915, when a summer tidal wave obligingly shifted her off the rocks, and she was enabled thereby to be towed into a safe harbor and her cargo recovered.

Want of Energy.

Excess food is a cause of lack of energy. As far as possible, we should eat only about the amount of food tho body needs for its upkeep, for warmth, and in the young for growth. Comparatively young folks should eat more than adults, laborers more than brain-workers, and openair workers more than indoor ones. As we grow older we must lessen the amount of food, for then we need less. Excess food uses up the energy we need for other work, in digesting, absorbing, and stowing it away. Excess food clogs up the body's machinery, dulls the brain, and makes one feel lazy. Therefore to be bright, lively, and demons for work, we must not overeat. Let everyone find out the amount required, and keep to it. Three meals a day are enough for anyone; after 50, two a day are better. Hot and Cold Baths. " A wise physician will never lay down general laws to be followed by everyone in this matter of baths. A cold bath in the morning is an excellent thing for most people, but not for all. Each individual needs studying, an English doctor writes. I have a cold bath every morning, "and feel all the better for it; some of my friends turn quite blue after a cold bath, and feel ill. It is a splendid thing to have the water all over the skin every day. It is most invigorating to plunge into a cold bath, and the rub down is an important part of the process. It must be good to have a cold plunge, but there are people to whom cold baths would do harm. The fewer hot baths you have, consistent with cleanliness, the better. Hot baths are good cleansers of the pores of the skin, but they are rather weakening. The wrong way to have a hot bath .is to lie soaking in the water for three-quarters of an hour or so, and then run in a little more hot water to tune. up the temperature a bit. A hot bath should be taken as quickly as possible, and the grand finale should always be a spongeful of cooler water splashed all over the body; or the cold water should be run in so as to cool off the surface of the body. Elderly folk with weak hearts should beware of hot baths; they may bring on a faint, especially if the bathroom is small and the window is shut. - ■