The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-08-02
A MINUTES WORK.
Some of the Things That Can Be Done In
Sixty Seconds.

Sixty Seconds.
.'Well, well, don't fret: I'll be there
in minute
But, my friend, a minute means a
good deal, Notwithstanding you effect
to hold it of no consequence. Did you
ever stop to think what may happen
in minute? No. Well, while you
are numbering a minute for yourself
and one for me, before you get ready
to sit down to the business we have in
hand, l will amuse you by telling you
things that may happen meantime.
In a minute we shall be whirled
around on the outside of the earth by
its diurnal motion, a distance of thir-
teen miles. At the same time we shall
have gone along with the earth, in its
grand journey around the sun, 1850
miles. Pretty quick travelling you say?
Why, that is slow work compared with
the rate of travel of that ray of light
which just now reflected from that
mirror made you wink. A minute ago
that ray was IL 100000 miles away.
In minute, over all the world, about
eighty newborn infants have each
raised a wall of protest at the fates for
| thrusting existence upon them, while
as many more human beings, weary
with the struggle of life, have opened
| their lips to utter their last sigh.
In minute the lowest sound your
ear can catch has been made by 990
vibrations, while the highest tone
reached you after making 2,228,00
vibrations.
In minute an express train goes a
mile, and Il Cleveland street car 81
rods; the fastest trotting horse, 147 9-13
rods, and an average pedestrian of the
genus homo has got over 16 rods.
In each minute in the United States.
night and day, all the year round,
twenty-four barrels of beer have to go
down 1906 throats, and 1880 bushels
of grain have come to bin.
If there were box kept at the city
hall in the city of Cleveland into which
interest on the city debt had to be
dropped, the sum SO dropped each
minute of the whole year would be
eighty-seven cents.
How about the National fnances?
Well, sir, in the same way, each min
ute, night and day, by the official re-
ports for the year 1886, the United
States collected $639 and spent $461.
$178 more than necessary. The interest
on the public debt was 500 minute, or
just exactly equal to the amount OF
silver mined in that time.
Now, in the residue of figures / give,
you will remember that they represent
SO much for every minute in the year.
All the preceding figures should be so
considered. And remember, also, that
we are all the time, hereafter, talking
about facts connected with the whole
United States.
The telephone is used 595 times, the
telegraph 1856 times. Of tobacco, 92j
pounds is raised, and part of it has
been used in making 6,673 cigars, and
some more of it has gone up in the
smoke of 1892 cigarettes.
But am afraid that you will forget
that we are talking about minute
sixty seconds of time. Mop Well, then
every minute 600 pounds of wool grow
in this country, and we have to dig
, sixty-one tons of anthracite coal an(
200 tons of bituminous coal, while o
, pig-iron we turn out twelve tons an(
, of steel rails three tons.
In this minute you have kept MI
t waiting fifteen kegs of nails have beer
made, twelve bales of cotton should
have come from the fields and thirty
{ six bushels of grain gone into 149 gal
: Ions of spirits, while 500 in gold shoulc
| have been dug out of the earth. In tn
same time the United States Min
turned out gold and silver coin to tn
value of 1921, and forty-two acres o
the public domain have been sold o
given away Cleveland Press.