The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1888-06-21
QUAINT AND CURIOUS
yiolIns were invented in 1477.

Viollns were invented in l477.
Punctuation was first used il litera-
ture in 1920
The first steam engine on the CONT
nent was brought from England in
1913.
In the Pacific islands end West Indies
lizard eggs are eaten with gusto.
The octopus, or devil fsh, when
boiled and then roasted, is eaten in
Corsica and esteemed luxury.
vclocipedes are supposed to have
been invented by German Baron,
Charles dc Drais, by whom they wcro
introduced iato England in 1918.
The cowboys of the west frequently
dye their dogs different coIors, The
most brilliant specimens of dyed dogs
are colored a supurb tint of sky blue,
Asia signifies between, or in the mid
die, from the fact that the geographers
then placed it between Europe and
Africa
A Chicago dealer recently took over
his counter a half-dollar piece of 1858
without arrows. 1t is said that there is
only one other piece likeit in existence,
and it is worth from $500 to $1,000.
Peter Anderson, a Swede living in
Terre Haute, Ind, is the champion eater
for miles around. Physicians who have
examined him say that he has a double
stomach. On wager, not long ago,
he drank thirty gallons of water in
twenty-four hours.
An inhabitant of China, Me-, has been
utilizing his valuable Newfoundland
watchdog by carding and spinning his
fleece. 1t made four skeins of jet black
yarn, weighing two pounds and quarter,
and spun as easily and well as Sleeps
wool.
Rev. II. L. Nave, of Mt. Sterling,
KY, while standing at the mantle, writ
ing list of names, suddenly lost the
sight of one eye, and in a few minutes
was totally blind in the other. This af-
Fiction is a very rare case, and it is
said to be hemorrhage of the optic
nerve.
A Russian saloon for tea drinking is
an interesting feature of life in Russian
cities. The walters are attired in white
from head to foot, with large purse at
the waist, and are all men. Tea is
drank alone or with lemon, and tho
sugar eaten from the hand. Eleven or
1.teen cups are not too many for an old
tea-drinker.
c. P. Lindley Of Bridgeport, Conn.,,
IS probably the oldest comma rcial trav-
elcr in the United States. lie claims to
have been the first one who ever sold
by sample. He started from Meridcn,
Conn, May g. 1886, with pair of
horses, and he has been on the road
practically ever since, fifty two years.
W. J. Andrews sometimes wears a
coat that his great grandfather used to
wear IN North Carolina and which is 112
years old. 1t is made Of li0cn and cot
ton, which was spun, colorcd and woven
by the wife of its original owner. 1t is
cut in the Continental style, and the
buttons arc round moulds cut from
a gourd and covered with cloth.
On February 20, 1911, Marcby Hill,
near Hereford, England, began to move
bearing with it the cattle, trees and
hedges on its surface. 1t continued in
motion for two days, ovcrthrowing a
chapel that lay in its path, aud leav-
ing, where it formerly stood, chasm
forty feet deep and thirty long. A
similar phenomenon happened in Dorset
shire in 1888.
The largest bell in the world is the
great bell OF Moscow, Russia, which
lies at the foot Of the Kremlin. Its cir
conference at the bottom is nearly
sixty eight feet, and its height more
than twenty one feet. In its stoutest
part it is twenty-three inches thick, and
its weight has been computed to be
/ 443, 772 pounds. 1t has never been
! hung, 1t was cast on the spot where it
! now stands.
I