The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1882-08-02
Science and Cigarettes.


II has been known for years to the
average schoo'boy that the alkaIi metals
cesium, rubidium, potassium, sodium
and lithium, have so powerful an alllnlty
for oxygen that they will decomposc
water on contact-combining with the
oxygen and liberating the hydrogen,
In the case of all but the last metal
named the reaction is SO violent that
heat enough il evolved TO fire the hydro
gen, which burns with n flame colored
by volatilized portions OF the metal, a'
follows: Ciesium, sky blue; rubidium,
ruby; potassium, violet; and sodium,
yellow. Lithium will inllamc only on
contact with strong nitric acid, when
it gives of an intensely white
light. A Broadway fakir has turned
this curious fact to advantage, and has
abandoned the cheap, soft gum-drop,
the marvellous tooih.pasie, the lightning
strOp, and the dozenfor-a-penny tin co..
lar-buttons to introduce small strips OF
sodium to the public under the name Of
Edison Miraculous Ilclec'ro'Dynamic
Pipe and Cigar-Lightcr. Ere, gentle.
men! fl 'undcrcd lights fer fiji cents
Having drawn q crowd. he illustrates
".1us' clip hort ha bit the size hof la
pin cad, put bit hin the tobacker-
this way, gentlemen then spit hon 1t,
50 IN ere yer see hit BuSTS hinto
flame, n yer AS yer light, ralner
shine
Til, delightful chemical surprise Of
rour.r $40 cells in oljstmcling he street
near Trinity Church almost rs wei rs
| doe, the United States strengthening
Company. The curious spectators gaze
AMI then pass in their nickc.' and re-
cciyc small bottles covered with pavc',
| in each Of which are three fragments OF
| sodium the size Of 4 pin worth ut
wholesale rates about Onc-tcnth o. II
mill. A. sodium oxydilcs very rapidly
when exposed 10 the air, and is pre-
served only by being submerged in
nppitha, the purchasers soon find Their
Edison lighters worthless, for the faEir
only put, about drop Of naphtha in
cah bottle Yesterday a smart man
| with 4 waNcd mustarhc and brown mats
un.cr his ear thought il would be very
funny 10 bus ono oi the Edison lighters,
shp,, il INTO a cigarette, and then win
ten Il lH,, from friend by betting him
be- could light the thing D., dipping II
mo ;"ntrr. The preliminar.cs were
| sk.llully AMI easily made, and the
Ioalci cigarette was carefully marked
and deposited in the ease with Others,
| I he man who was TO lose ten do lars
was found picking his teeth in front Of
Delmonico's, having just hal free
lunch in Nassau street
"llow do, Jim said the smart man,
sauntcring mp. "llavcr Cigarette -
careless like.
don't carcf do observed the man
who was to lose. "Gotter light
"No, butter guess there's water in
side insinuatcd the man who was Il
win.
water. VIVA for?" asked III man
who WIS to los, astonishcd.
"To light cigarette, OF course, re-
spondcd the man who was TO win, art
fully.
a few questions and answers thcl
flashed back and forth, until the mal
who WAS TO win said:
"Bctchcr ten dollars"
"Donc,n said the man who was u
lose. The money was produced, n pass
ing mutual friend was hailed and ap
pointed stakeholder, and the three en-
tered u neighboring saloon to get tn
water with which to light or not TO Iigl
D tho man who wa' TO win calm an
= smiling, the man who was to lose cain
. er and staggering, and tie stakcholdc
r lobster-cycd, thinking he had fallen
n with pair of lunatics.
4 The water was produced, crow
q gathered, the cigarette was dipped.
d did not light. The crowd smiled. III
$ man who was to lose laughed. I'll
3 stakeholder started to pass over ii
IS money. The man who was to vi
II checked him, said it was all right, stuC
the cigarette in his mouth and gave it
vigorous draw.
The crowd never knew what mat
!. him throw back somerset, claw at Il
n air, choke, gag, whistle, cough, spit M
= swear like South Sea Islander whoh;
=, inadvertently taken drink - -
!. Iloboken whisky. The barkecpcr "
"a so surprised that he set EN- up for Il
ia crowd. Ike stakeholder passed ov
n. the money and said h. had never brio
v witnessed such gymnastics. The mi
m who was to lose but ii dat was diVld
m between anxiety to make another b
n. and fear that his friends reason W
an permanently gone. Nobody knew Il
nj secret Of the mystery but the 2aUc M
a. aud the man who wa, to win ~; dds
ID They knew that the wrong end o. t
d prepared cigarette had gone into t
is water
N And didn't light.
ye The right end had gone into t
-. month";