Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-28
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS

| -Cosmetics cost American women $751;.
! 600, 900 year.
/ in China cats meat /, remedy for
| lung diseases.
The mines of New Zealand have turned
out $3.50, 600, 900 Of gold.
Over 5000 murderers are believed to be
at large in Great Britain.
The best parchment used for banjos /,
made out of the skin of the wolf.
A 11O-ton gun can fire two shots Q
minute, each discharge costing 1885.
The only free labor bureau in England
is maintained by the Salvation Army.
The average life of the baseball playe,
on the field is estimated at ten years.
The plumes in the helmets of the
French dragons are made of human hair
Victor Hugo, the famous French poet,
had as pet cat of unusually vicious temper
In England the city of Chicago is
called ''the food dispensary of the uni
verse;"
"A man in Maine, "a years old, shot fou
foxes in one day making total of 40 for the
season.
Georgia has a mocking bird which car
not only talk, but whistle almost any tune II
hears
In 100 years $500 worth of pennies
would be worth only $3.50, so quickly does
copper money wear away.
of the 32S, 900 divorces granted in tn.
United States the past 20 years, $4,000 were
granted at the request of wives.
February is the month in which the
greatest number of births occur; June the
month in which occur the fewest.
,e N H. hoI
arm disIocated at the shoulder 80 times and
his leg dislocated at the hip eight times.
The deepest hole in the world is bored
at Schladebacb, Germany. 1t is 5,735 feet in
depth and is for geological research only.
Some very odd single names can be found
in the Registrars office in London as
Righteous" Happy" Hopeful" "Obedt
ence," winding up with triplet of "Faith,r
Hope" and Charity"
in Switzerland the walters not only dc
not receive any wages, but must pay the
hotel keepers for permission to work. They
make their living exclusively from the tips
they receive from the guests.
"A resident of Columbus, Ind, has
game cock which was recently attacked by
a bull, but in very few minutes the bull was
minus an eve. About year ago he killed
in one day geese, IL turkeys and roosters.
Worlds Fair have Incorporated a stock
company under the title of the Women's
Dormitory Association. Shares are issued
at $40 each and the estimated cost Is $50, 900.
The Scandinavian races think that spir-
its can be driven away and witches Kept at
bay by q knife stuck in the house or nails
driven up. These races have held from time
! immemorial the idea that 1t was lucky to
find piece of iron.
"A Pottstown lady is in search of an
owner for a silver thimble which she de.
clares she found imbedded in the center
of a ham which she was slicing. She would
also like to have some explanation of how
the thfmble got there
Harvard University is spreading her net
over a very wide extent of territory this
year. 1t is announced that examinations
for admission to that institution are to be
held simultaneously in no less than q
places, including England, Germany and
Japan.
-Four cities in Europe stand wholly or
in part on islands. Venice Is the best known
on account of its historical past; next comes
st. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, and
the two last are the cities of Ghent and Am
sterdam. situated respectively in Belgium
and Holland.
"A Frenchman recently brought 500 par.
rots from Brazil to dispose of in Paris. An
epidemic broke out among the birds, from
which all but two died. The contagion thep
spread to the persons who kept them. erht
several have succumbed to an infectious
pneumonia.
The ancients believed that iron, as
metal. had great secret powers, and they
drove nails into their walls as protection
against pestilen ce. The Arabs, when over
taken by severe storms in the desert cry
out '1ron, iron," which they think will pro-
pitiate the evil spirits. who have raised the
storm. 80 - -
The calcium light man in Cincinnati
theater tumbled out of the gallery and fell
into the audience. He was reprimanded for
his unprofessional conduct in trying to
draw attention to himself to the detriment
of the stage peri orInance, but after promis-
ing not to do it any more he was allowed to
go to work again.
I'm parts of Massachusetts it is thought
that if girl puts piece of Southern wood
down her back the first boy she meets will
be her husband. In Boston, if mar.
riageable woman puts a bit of southern
wood under her pillow on retiring. the first
man she sees in the morning will, SO says
the superstition, be the one whom she is to
marry.
"A curious book, in which the text Is
neither written nor printed, but woven, has
lately been published ut Lyons. 1t is made
of silk, and was published in 25 parts. Each
part consists of two leaves. so that the entire
volume contains only 80 leaves, inscribed
with the service of the mass and several
prayers. Both the letters and the border
are in black silk on white background.
In the Middle Ages every family who
could afford the luxury kept dwarf, whose
principle duties were to look as ugly as pos
sible and to receive with equal manifesto
tions of gratitude the chidings of his mis-
rress and the kicks of her guests. No royal
court was considered complete without q
dwarf, who as court Jester, amused by his
wit, or more commonly, served as butt for
the wit of others.
The umbrella is of high antiquity, ap-
pearing in various forms upon the sculptured
monuments of Egypt, Assyria, Greece and
Rome, and in hot countries it has been used
since the dawn of history as a sunshade-a
use signified by its name derived from the
Latin umbra, meaning shade. In the
Orient the umbrella has been u symbol OF
power and royalty, and in manv countries it
has become part of religious as well as q
royal symbolism.
Friday people who were in the vicinity
of the Union depot were surprised to find
the ground literally covered with crawfsh,
and it is the general supposition that they
fell with the rain last night, which came
down very heavy for awhile. says the Cam
eron, Mo-. Observer. Their appearance can
not be explained on the ground that they
come up out of the earth, because for soma
distance south Of the depot the ground Is
bedded with rock and GOV cred with cinders.
SMILES IN SEASON.