Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-15
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

The Japanese have excelled all other
peoples in the manipulation of iron.
king George IL, of England, was the
sponsor for the Southern State of Georgia
-America is big country. 1t contains
land enough to give every person in 1t a farm
| OF 100 acres.
| "A clock 25 feet square and 40 feet high
| will be one of the Australian exhibits at the
! Worlds Fair.
The Carlton Club, of London, which
has 1000 members, is unquestionably the
/ richest in the world.
| 1t is seriously proposed to purify the
| Thames by importing a school Of crocodiles
i to act as river scavengers-
An ice yacht has travelled a mile in
LILO. a running horse in 1854, torpedo boat
| in E5O, a steam yacht in 2:l2.
The Sault Ste Marie (Mich.) canal did
| business for 1850 boats in July, more than
| any other canal in the world
AT the poles, where all meridians con-
| verge. there can be no natural standard
| time. for IL Is every hour Of the day at once.
Illinois is derived from the Delaware
Indian word "IIlin," or "Leni," meaning
''real men, and the soft French termination
The biggest university in the world is
at Cairo, Egypt-a country which is not men,
toned at all in the statistics-and it has H.
600 students.
Some tinsniiths use leaden- headed nails
for roofing purposes. The last strokes fiat
ten the head over the hole made in the tin,
and leaking Is thus prevented.
AT five years of aye horse has 40
teeth-24 molar or jaw teeth, II incisor or
front teeth, and four tusks or canine teeth
between the molars and incisors.
The Governor General of Russian
Turkestan is to be empowered to expel all
foreigners whose presence he may consider
likely to injure the interests of Russia
The Gulf Stream flows at an average
speed Of three miles hour. At some
places, notably in the Straits of Bemini. the
CURRENT attains velocity of "a miles an
hour.
AT the end of 1891 the total length of
railways in operation in France was "a, AS
kilometres Qs9O 33,6O4): the total receipts in
the year were 1853, ,093, ,965 francs CS90 1,l2T,-
497, ,964 francs.)
-Cross-eyed men and women are the
special aversion of gamblers. Negro touts
at race tracks always spit in their hats when
they see man whose eyes squint- They say
it kills the hoodoo.
From the South comes curious remedy
for chills and fever. Take the skin from the
inside of an eggshel1. go to young persim-
mon tree three days in succession, and tie q
knot in the skin each day.
The smallest churchyard in England is
to be found in the Scotch town of Galashiels.
1t lies between Bridge street and High
street. and measures only 2211x4I feet. It
has been unused for many years.
AS long ago as 1888 Japan adopted for
its standard time that of the ninth hour in
terval from Greenwich (l35o east), so that
the clocks which regulate the movements OF
the Japanese are set nine hours in advance
Of ours.
India furnishes market for large num-
bers of white diamonds, as well as for yellow
or colored diamonds, or stones with flaws or
specks in them The natives invest their
savings in them and other precious gems, as
we do in stocks and shares
Professor Black tells of singular
superstition existing in England, which
insists that if the youngest daughter OF a
family marries first her sisters must dance
at the wedding without shoes, oas to insure
hush ands for themselves.
According to DR.. Lauder Brunton, cold
water is q valuable stimulant to many, if not
all people. Its action on the heart is more
stimulating than brandy. His own expert
ence is that slipping half a wineglass of cold
water will raise his pulse from IS to over 100.
The reported invention of Carl Herring,
the electrician, OF device to prevent cater
pillars from crawling up trees is timely.
The scheme is simply to run alternate
wires Of copper and zinc around the trunk
of the tree at a distance of about half an
inch.
1t is stated that long first joint of the
thumb shows will power; a long second joint
indicates strong logical or reasoning power;
a thick wide thumb indicates q person of
marked individuality, while a broad knob
at the end of the thumb is sure indication
Of obstinacy.
residents of Alsace-Lorraine to become
Germans has been discovered by the Volk,
the organ of Herr Stoecker. This journal
proposes that the State shall give a dowry
to every native Of Alsace-Lorraine who
marrieS German,
Mail carriers in Morocco are said to
avoid the risk of losing their places by over
sleeping by tying a string to one foot and
setting the end of it on fire before going to
sleep. The string, they know from expert
ence, will burn so long, and when the fire
reaches their foot it is time for them to get
up.
-Woman's paradise is in the interior of
Su matra. A law exists under which a mans
cannot be Inherited by his chill
dren, but must go to his parents, while that
belonging to his wife descends to the Off
spring. OF course the men evade that law
by putting all the wealth into the hands of
the women.
In many parts of England, in Germany
and in the North of Europe there are nulner-
Gus superstitions concerning the cuckoo. all
of which, however. unite in ascribing to it
oracular powers. In the Maritime Highlands
and Hebrides, If the cuckoo is first heard by
one who has not broken his fast, some mis-.
fortune, it is believed, may be expected.
The longest cataleptic sleep known to
medical science has been attracting at
;ention in Germany. The latest report states
that the mana miner at Silesia-has been
unconscious for four and q half months,
with no unnatural appearance except abso-
ute rigidity of the limbs. During this time
he patients hair has grown, but his beard
,as remained stationary.
There has been in England an interest
ng discussion as to the moral superiority
If spinsters over matrons, from which it is
,hown that women who have achieved real
greatness in history and shown greatest
7alor have been as q rule unmarried, the
most illustrious examples given being Queen
Elizabeth. Charlotte Corday, Joan Of Arc,
Florence Nightingale and Sister Rose Ger