The herald., 1896-12-28
CURIOUS FACTS

Whales are never seen in the gulf
stream.
The smallest humming bird weighs but
twenty grains.
Camphor and gun cotton are the chief
constituents of celluloid goods.
The French minister of war lately Of
fered a prize for the swiftest bird in a
flight from Perigueux to Paris, 80 miles.
There were 2746 entries, and the winner
did the distance in seven hours and
thirty-four minutes.
Sawdust is turned into transportable
fuel in some parts of Scotland by very
simple process. 1t is heated under high
steam pressure until the resinous ingre-
dients become sticky, when it is pressed
into bricks. One man with a two-horse
power machine can turn out rine thous-
and bricks day.
In Paris, where pneumatic tires have
come into use on some of the public cabs
it has been found that, owing to the re-
duced shock to the vehivles, the cost of
repairs has been lessened fifty per cent,
to say nothing of the saving to the
nerves of passengers and others and to
the muscles of horses Anything that
diminishes the noises of the city is a
distinct gain to the comfort and health
of the inhabitants.
Some careful experiments which have
been made in England prove that the
dred thousand train miles" In other
words, that a locomotive of the latest
approved pattern will run five hundred
thousand miles before wearing out so
as to be useless. In making this run Of
half million miles the fire box will have
to be renewed three times, the wheel
tires five to six times. and the crank
sxles from three to five times.
For those who believe in the fatality
of the number thirteen, the American
quarter-dollar is about the most un-
lucky article that they can carry on
their persons. On the said coin there
are thirteen stars, thirteen letters in
the scroll which the eagle holds in his
claws. thirteen feathers composing its
wings, thirteen feathers are in it's tail,
there are thirteen parallel lines on the
shield, thirteen horizontal stripes, thir-
teen arrow heads and thirteen letters in
the words quarter dollar"
| The first public library was established
! in New York in 100. The first stationary
| steam engine was put up in Philadelphia
| in 1913. The first paper mill was put in
operation in Roxborough, Pa, in 1890
| The first straw paper manufactured in
the country was made in 1928. The first
| gold pens were made by hand in New
York City in 1910. Philadelphia was the
| first city to issue directory, doing sc
| first in 1885. The first postof1ice in the
| country was that of New York, estab.
! lshed by act of parliament in 1710. The
first railroad was laid in 1928 from the
granite quarries of Quincy, Mass, to the
Neponet river, three miles. The first
| telephone wire was stretched from Bos-
ton to Somerville, three miles, in 1877.
A Southern California baby burrow.
| ing owl, five weeks old, eats half 1t!
| weight in raw beef at a single meal, ant
does not suffer in the slightest degree
from dyspepsia. 1t takes three square
meals of this size daily, and even ther
appears to be hungry at bedtime. Al
observing physician believes that valu
able digestive aids for the human stom
ach can be extracted from these owl.
of large appetite, which will be more eff
cacious probably than are the pepsil
preparations now secured from the in
ternals of pigs. Should this belief b.
confirmed the market for California owl
ought to be considerable. and the de
mand for the birds might warrant tn
establishment of owl ranches.
Some time ago the editor Of the Stree
Railway Journal of New York began t,
gather information as to the longest ride
given for five cent fare in the cities O
this country containing over $4,000 in
habitants. The result of his labor ap
pears in the July number of the Journal
The list contains twenty-five cities, be
SiuHiIe Will NEW 1ork, Win nearly z,
100000 inhabitants and ending with In
dianapolis, with over 100, 900 inhabitants
The longest ride for five cent car far
is as follows: New York, 121s; Chicago
Is; Philadelphia, 11%; Brooklyn. 1S; 81
Louis, IS; Boston, 10; Jersey City, 81
San Francisco, 12; Minneapolis. 10; Gin
cinnati, 1872; Cleveland, 10 Buffalo, 13%
Lynn, 6; New Orleans, Z; Washington
91s; Detroit, 10 Milwaukee, 9; Kansa
City, II; Louisville. 81 Rochester, 8
Denver, liz; Indianapolis, H.