The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-06-17
GLASS-EATING.
Men who Pretend to to Chew
and Swallow Glass.
A Probable Explanation Of the Manner in
which it is Done

tne aiieSeu gidSS-eatlnS, Wnlcn mas now
become regular profession" with q
number of men-s woman has never yet
tried it. The feat originated in Phila-
delphia, where, it seems, negro appear
ed to develop peculiar fancy for lamp
chimneys and other kinds of glass as an
article of diet. The doctors advertised
the thing quite extensively at the time
by declaring that the man would surely
die. He did not, however, to their
amazement, and still continues to dupe
credulous people into the belief that he
consumes "fused sand" His pose as the
"original and only" glass-eater was soon
spoiled by the appearance of numerous
other applicants for glass-cating glory,
and now dime museum is poor indeed
that cannot support one of these "human
ostrichcs." They are the legitimate sue
cessors of the sword-swalowers and
eaters of fire. who were at one time the
standard "wonder" at circuses and mu.
seums. The sword-swallower is obliged
to educate his throat so as to allow for
eign substance to remain in it for an in
definite period. That this is a difficult
task let any one who believes to the con-
trary run even his finger down his throat
and mark the result. The fire eater
toughens his mouth with astringent
washes, and then uses for fire volatile
substances, which produce a great deal
Of flame with but little heat. But how
docs this glass-eater dispose of his finty
lunch, which, if taken into his stomach,
would produce the same effect as a score
of lancets or a dose of cyanide of potas-
sium-a most agonizing death? Pow
dered glass has long been used as SOW
ereign but cruel remedy for superfaous
cats, dogs, &c. Now, if the stomach of
a dog or cat, which so easily digests
bones and other hard substances, cannot
dispose of little powdered glass; how,
then, do the interior organs Of the
colored professor" at neighboring
|aa-- - Il .,----.--.---r-- -,
more or less, meals of this kind a day2
The most obvious answer to this is that
the eater of glass never eats glass, in fact,
although those who witness the edifying
spectacle and are afforded the opportu-
nifty of exploring the dark recesses of the
Ethiopian's gulet, may be unable to fully
understand what he does with the pieces
in his mouth. The explanation by the
medical man whose certificate is printed
on the bills, of the manner in which the
performer disposes of his dyspeptic load
is ludicrous in the extreme when one be-
gins to think of the absurdity of it. He
says: "From personal examination of
the mans stomach, l have found that the
gastric juices and alkalies contained
therein are just what will dissolve glass,
iron or stone" Any one who has dab
bled in chemistry knows that the state
ment is bare e-faced--romance. In fact,
about the only acid that will dissolve
glass-hydrohuoric-is so powerful that
should it get into this pretentious indi-
vidual's interior it would cat its way out,
in less time than it takes to record the
fact. But the man really does take
| glass-not bites ont Of tumblcrs, but thin
glass such as lamp chlmneys are made
of-into his mouth, and, with pinch of
salt, probably to take off the excessive
freshness of his meal, and glass of water
to wash it down, chews it up and appar-
emily swallows it. AT any rate, the glass
does not remain in the performers mouth
as an examination by the writer's fingers
proved. And it was real every y-day glass.
as several pieces taken from the mouth
just as he was on the point of swallowing
them are now in the reporters pocket
book-that is, if the sharp fragments
have not cut their way out. So this dis
proves one theory, that the alleged glass
''as clever imitation, manufactured out
OF gelatine clarified and made brittle, tc
represent the real article The geatine
would, of course, do the man no harm
but would, in fact, prove rather nour-
ishing. Another theory is that the per.
former had previously been a sword
swallowcr, thereby having made his
throat so callous that the glass would mo-
cut it on its passage to the stomach; bu
this does not explain how it is digested
From all this, knowing that the glass
does not stay in his mouth, and being
equally certain that it cannot go into thu
stomach, there is bu. one conclusion tc
be drawn that the glass is intercepted
before reaching its destination. But how
can this be done2 Very easily. Tn,
sword d-swallower educates his throat t.
allow the presence of the sword; tn,
glass-eater prepares his to receive tube
of some description, which probably ha
a strainer in the end to allow the watel
which he drinks to filter through, bu
retains the glass until such time as hi
can dispose of it without being observed
That silver tubes can be worn in tn,
throat we all know from the numerou
instances in which they have been uset
in surgical operations. Meanwhile glas
eating is becoming one of the crowded
professions, and it bchooves the mana
gers of dime museums to be on the hun
for some new dietetical curiosity. Glass
eating is already chestnut. .n-B0sto'
Transcript.