The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-04-25
CURIOUS FACTS.

The world takes one ton of pills every
week. =,
Muskets were invented and first used
in England in 1881. 49,.
Darius, of Persia, at the battle of the
Granicus, had 600, 900 men.
It takes eight hundred full blown roses
to make tablespoonful of perfume.
A man in Missouri claims that he can
tell what person is thinking about by
the way the person wiuks.
George R. Cowherd, of Greensburg,
Kentucky, has dog that crows for day
in company with the roosters.
Two well-known firms in Kingston,
New York, recently had lawsuit over
forty-6ve cents, and both engaged law
yers. --~ I
The English call an elevator lift"
and the French call it "help," while,
the Scotch put in their oar by referring
to it as drop" :.
The word biscuit is French for "twice
baked, because originally that was the
mode of entirely depriving it of moisture
to insure its keeping.
"Johnny-c cake" was originally called
"journey cake" from the facility with
which it could be made, and its value as
a ration in travelling. ,,,-.-,
A philanthrop:st in London has estab-
lished spectacle mission, where poor
printers. tailors, shoemakers and seam
stresses have their eyes tried, and OBJ
tain spectacles for little or nothing.
One of the most enterprising of the
newspapers of Buenos Ayres is edited by
Winslow, the Boston forger. Since he
became citizen of the Argentine Re-
public he is said to have amassed for
tune of 100000 -. :.
The smallest mite of humanity ever
born in Pennsylvania was given birth to
by Mrs. Robbins. of Throop, Lscka-
wanna county, recently. 1t is female
child, and, it is said that a. finger ring
could easily be slipped over its head.
In the city of Mexico, not long since,
they tried a mans courage by shutting
him up in a room with six rattlesnskes.
At the end of six hours they opened the
door and he was standing on a window
sill. and the snakes had fought and
killed each other.
A schoolboy of Insterburg. Germany,
recently wrote to the Emperor of China
asking for some Chinese postage stamps
for his collection. A few days ago the
Chinese Embassy in Berlin forwarded to
nim letter from the Emperor enclosing
the stamps which he desired. ~
A Chicago street-car conductor with
tast for gardening ekes out his modest
salary by raising mushrooms in the eel
lar of his house. So far this mouth the
beds have yielded an average of four
pounds of mushrooms to every nine
square feet, and there is ready sale for
them in them in the market.
Mr.. John s. Wilson. an old st. Louis
locomotive engineer, has in his posses
sion silver dime of the coinage of 1897
which was presented to him as token
of friendship by Andrew Jackson just
before his Inauguration as President. 1t
has the name Of the donor, the date of
the presentation and the name of the re-
cipient engraved upon it. -
Printed matter is measured by SENS"
the letter ':m" being the unit. The
following compilation is by Professor
A. P. Lyon: The Bible contains $780,
900 "ems, Webster's Dictionary 20, 000,-
900, Chambers's Encyclop rdia 5S,000,-
600, Johnson's Cyclopadia So, 900, OO9,
Appleton's Cyclop rdia 10000, 900 and
Encyclopedia Britannia 10000, 900
"ems.n e. &
The common people of Hamburg
rarely eat meat, it is 80 dear. Soups
are made in great variety, including one
from beer. The poorer kinds of fish
only are cheap. Economy is not con-
fined to the poorer people. Servant girls
are generally allowed for the week their
I. loaf of bread aud quarter or half.pound
of butter or lard, and are only permitted
to use certain quantity at each meal,
the rest being locked up with the family
provisions till the next meal.