Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-06-16
GLASS-EATING.
Men who Pretend to to Chew
and Swallow Glass.
A Probable Explanation Of the Manner in
which it is Done.

No matter how absurd anything is,
the great majority of people are willing,
if they cannot understand it, to accept
any explanation offered and be satisfied
with it. This has been especially true of
the alleged glass-cating, which has now
become regular profession" with q
number of mcn--a woman has never yet
tried it. The feat originated in Phila-
delphia, where, it seems, negro appear
ed to develop a 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
amazcmcnt, and still continues to dupc
crcdulous people into the belief that he
consumes "fuscd sand" His pose as the
"original and only" glass-cater 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-swalowcrs and
eaters Of fire, who were at one time the
standard ''wonder" at circuscs and mu.
seums. The sword-swallower is obliged
to educate his throat so as to allow for
cign substance to remain in it for an in
definite period, That this is 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
toughcns his mouth with astringcnt
washes, and then uses for fire volatile
substances, which produce great deal
Of flame with but little heat But how
does this glass-catcr dispose of his tlinty
lunch, which, if taken into his stomach
would produce the same effect as q score
of lanccts or dose Of cyanide Of potas-
sium-a most agonizing dcath2 Pow
dcred glass has long been used as a SOW
ereign but cruel remedy for superhuous
cats, dogs, &c. Now, if the stomach of
dog or cat, which so easily digcsts
bones and other hard substances, cannot
dispose of a little powdered glass, now,
then, do the interior organs Of the
colorcd 'profcssor' at a neighboring
dime museum stand the strain of dozen,
more or less, meals Of this kind q day2
The most obvious answer to this is that
the eater OF glass never cats glass, in fact,
although those who witness the cdifying
spectacle and arc afforded the opportu-
nifty of exploring the dark rccesscs of the
Ethiopian's guIet, 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 disposcs of his dyspeptic load
is ludicrous in the extreme when one be-
gins to think of the absurdity Of it. He
says: "From Il personal examination of
the mans stomach, have found that the
gastric juices and alkalics 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 a bare faced romance. In fact,
about the only acid that will dissolve
Observation-Disclosures so powerful that
should it get into this pretcntious indi-
vdua's interior it would cat its way out,
in less time than it takes to record the
fact. But the man really docs take
glass-not bites out of tumblers, but thin
glass such as lamp chlmncys arc 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, chcws 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 everyday 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 a clever imitation, manufactured out
of gclatinc, clarified and made brittle to |
represent the real article. The gelatine
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 calouS that the glass would not |
cut it on it, passage to the stomach; but |
this does not cXylAn how it is digcsted. |
From all this, knowing that the glass
does not stay in his mouth, and being !
equally certain that it cannot go into the
stomach, there is but one conclusion to |
be drawn. that the glass is intercepted |
before reaching its destination. But how
can this be donc2 Very easily. The
sword.swallowcr educatcs his throat to
allow the presence of the sword; the
glass-catcr prepares his to receive tube
of some description, which probably has
n straincr in the end to allow the water
which he drinks to filter through, but
retains the glass until such time as he
can dispose of it without being observed.
That silver tubes can be worn in the
throat we all know from the numerous
instances in which they have been used
in surgical operations. Meanwhile glas'-
eating is becoming one of the crowded
professions, and it bchoovcs the mana
Gers of dime museums to be on the hunt
for some new dctctical curiosity. Glass.
eating is already "chestnut. Boston
transcript.
Colorado offers premium of 80 per