The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-01-28
STRONG ON FIGURES.
WERE LIGHTNING cALcULAToRs BY A
GIFT or NATURE.
Two Boys whose Peculiar Talents Attract
ed General Attention-some Of the DIM
cult Tests Through which They P.ssed
Successfully.

ed General Attention-some Of the Dina-
cult Tests Through which They r.ssed
Successfully.
George Parker Bidder was born in
1906 at Morton Hampstead. in Devon
shire, where his father carried On %
small business as a stonemason. At the
early age Of be showed a most ex-
traordinary ability for calculation, which
with slight assistance from an elder
brother assumed quite phenomenal pro-
portions. His peculiar talents soon at
tracted general attention. and his father
found IL much more profitable employ
ment 10 carry his SON about the country
and exhibit him as the Calculating
Phenomenon" than following his trade.
In this way young Bidder visited many
parts Of England. astonishing the differ
emit people who came TO question him
by the wonderful rapidity with which
he was able to answer. without external
aid Of any description, the most difficult
questions. OF these the following are
few OF the most extraordinary examples:
II a flea spring feet and inches
in every hop, how many hops must 10
take 10 60 around the world, the circum-
ference being $1,000 miles. and how
long would it be performing the journey
allowing 1t to take 60 hops every minute
without intermission? Answer, 5s,7l3,-
coo hops and year. Si4 days. IS hours
and 20 minutes
The following question was solved by
him in 40 seconds: Suppose the ball at
the top Of ST. Paul's cathedral 70 be 9
feet in diameter. what did the gliding
cost at 3 I'D. per square inch? Answer.
e237 los. Id.
The following in minute and 20
seconds: Suppose city to be illuminat-
ed with 9,e99 lamps, each lamp to con.
sumo one pint Of oil every four hours
in succession, how many gallons would
they consume in 40 years? Answer,
100, 4S9, $50 gallons.
Another curious question was: Sup
pose the earth to consist of OIL. 900, 900
inhabitants and suppose they die in 80 |
years and months, how many have re-
turned to dust since the time Of Adam,
computing it to be $3.50 years? Multi
ply the answer by 90.
During one Of his exhibition tours,
fortunately for the lad, his performances
attracted the attention Of eminent schol- |
airs, who after making inquiries subse-
quently undertook his education. He |
was attached TO the ordnance survey /
for short time and afterward was as
ISOLATED with Stephenson, the great en-.
gineer.
Some years after, he entered parlia-
ment, and numerous stories are extant /
OF his wonderful skill in detecting a
flaw in some elaborate sets Of calcula-
tons, whereby he was often enabled to
upset an opponents case. Or, at other
lines, he would establish his own case
~ arguments based upon mathematical
iata, possibly only at the moment
placed before him. 1t is said that on
me occasion an opposing counsel asked
hat he might not be allowed to remain
D the committee room ON the ground
hat mature had endowed him with
Qualities that did not place his oppo-
ents on fair footing"
After taking leading part in many
important engineering works. he died at
Sept. 90, 1878.
Another of these extraordinary chill.
rem, between whom and Bidder honors
'ere almost equally divided, was
erah Colburn, born at Cabot, Vt,
ept. J, 1904. Signs of his wonder
IL power appeared at a very tender
ge. The discovery was accidentally
lade by his father, who was much sur.
rised one day to hear him repeating
re product Of several numbers, al
iough at the time he had received no
her instruction than such as could be
otained at small country school
hose curriculum did not include writ
e or ciphering. He thereupon proposed
variety OF arithmetical questions to
IS son. all Of which the child answered
18th remarkable facility and correct.
ess. AT the age Of s the boy was able
solve most difficult questions by the
ere opera, ION. Of his mind. Many Der. 9
ms OF the first eminence for their
lowledge in mathematics made point
seeing and conyersiDg with him, and
ey proposed TO him great variety Of
sstions to test his marvellous powers.
mong them were the following:
Give the square root of 900, 999. Aft.
hesitating little he replied 900, &c.,.
'O'OOl and observed that he produced
rs result by multiplying the square Of
'O57 by the square Of 81. He was
en- asked to multiply the answer twice
AZ and once by 25, q task which he
complished successfully, though the
swer consists Of IL figures. /
Name the cube root of 418,993, 34S..
z. To this he gave the correct answer
five seconds. How many times would
coach wheel l2 feet in circumference
IN round in 256 miles, and how many
nutes in AS years. To the first he re-
led IN two seconds liz, $40, and to the
'ond, before the question could be
'itten down, 1928. 500, and added
az the number Of seconds in the same
Rod was l,518,72s. What are the fac.
8 OF 247, 1882 To this he replied Gal
d 263, which are the only factors.
rand Magazine.
Curious Chinese Playing Cards. III
A 4