Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1885-07-03
CROOKED ANSWERS.
Startling Items of Information
Furnished by School Children.

The knowledge attributed to the pro-
verbal "school-boy" must always have
amazed any person of only ordinary in
tellIgence. Recent school examinations
have, however, revealed a depth and
variety of information possessed by
juveniles, which bids fair to make the
coming school-boy throw his predeccs-
sors quite into the shade. Amongst
many startling items of information
may be instancel that "a fort is a pace
to put men in, and fortress u place
to put women in" "a famine in the
land, " it appears, is what made the
Tower of Pisa lean; and "'cos the
moon is so changin'," is the reason
why it is of different gender from the
sun. The surface OF the earth consists
of land and water, said bright young
stcr; but when asked: "What, then. do
land and water make?" he instantly re-
piled: "Mud."
In many cases, it is evident that the
pupils do not understand what the qucs-
lions mean. When inquiring: what
comes next TO man in the scale of be-
ing5" it is rather surprising to be tod
that it is "his shirt" 1t surely must
Lave cen the same boy who replied
that the chief end of man was: THE
end what's got his head on The first
man that went round the world was, in
a little girls opinion, "The man in the
moon" A cOnsonant is ''portion of
land surrounded by water" 1t was
Daniel in the lions den" who said:
at is not good for man to lie alone"
and "why the Israelites made q golden
calf was: because they hadn t
enough silver to make cow"
Reports of School examinations
will form quite comic library. "What
would have happened ii Henry " of
France had not been mllrdered?" The
reply was: ale would probably have
died natural DEATH" "Where WAS
Bishop Latimcr burned to dcath?' In
the fire, " replied little fellow, looking
very grave and wise. An equally unex-
pected reply was elected from pupil
when asked: "What did the Israeitcs
do when they came out of the Red
Sea?" "They dried themselves. {"
"What is the feminine of friarP" First
bright boy: Hash any," Next. Z"
Second bright boy: Nun" CHATS
right" First boy, Indignantly: "That's
just what said'
The following is still more ludicrous.
A teacher asked juvenile class some
questions regarding their knowledge OF
electricity, and inquired which of them
had ever seen magnet One sharp
boy Immediately said he had seen lots
of them. "Where?" inquired his in
structor, aslonished at his proficiency,
SIN cheese" was the ready reply.
But the good things are not all mo-
nopolizcd by the boys. "Some little
girls were studying the history of David,
the passage for the day being that
which describes the shepherd boys vic
tory ever Goliath. The teacher asked
the question, Now, can any of YOU
little girls tell me who killed the giant?"
Quic ( as thought one Of the smallest
responded: Jack.
An examination of girls in Board
schools for prizes offered by the Ma
Lional Health Society revealed some
curious items of information. One re-
ply to: Mention any occupation;
considered injurious to health" was
Occupations which are injurious to
health are carbolic acid gas, which is
impure blood" Another pupil said:
"a stone mason's work is Injurious,
because when he is chipping he breathes
in all the little chips, and then they are
taken into the lungs" A third SAYS;
"A bootmaker's trade is very injuri.
Gus, because the bootmakers press the
boots against the thorav; and, there.
fore, it presses the thorax in, and i,
touches the heart; and, if they do not
die, they are cripplcs for life" With a
beautiful decsveness, one girl declares
that "all mechanical work is injurious
to health" A reply to a question
about digestion runs: 1--WE should
never eat fat, because the food does moi
digest. " Another states that "when
food is swallowed, it passes through the
Wlnuplpei ami tllaJ 1.-THE chlle Lows
up the middle Of the backbone, and
reG:.-ges L'e .c"..!t. w'.e-v T. -. -
oxygen, and is purified" Another
says: "The work of the heart is to re.
pair the different organs in about half q
minute" One little psychologist re-
plies: "We have an upper and a
lower skin; the lower skin moves at its
will, and the upper skin moves when
we do" Another child says: "The
heart is. comicaI shaped bag" A
third, that the upper skin is called
epEcdeydy, AMI the lower skin is called
aerbV';" while fourth cnumeratcs the
organs of digestion as stomach,
htcas5ts. liver and spleen"
Another schoa! furnishes us with some
choice specimens Of general informa-
ton. geography, history and grammar.
With reference II the first we are told