Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-03-14
Amusing Tricks and Experiments.

| A surprising trick is one performed with
handicapped and candle, The. per-
former, taking the handkerchief, asks if
| 1t will burn, and the owner answers. natn
| tally enough, that there is no doubt but
That it will. Suppose we try?" queries
the performer, and taking the handker-
three or four times obliquely across the
flame of Il lighted candle The handker-
Chief IS not injured in the slightest There
IS really no mystery about this experiment,
aitnonSh to those VINO nave never lIle.l
II, 1t appears very surprising and the
spectators are convinced that you have
substituted for the borrowed article a
handkerchief of your own which has
been prepared to resist fire by some chem
ical process. The performer has-only to
take care not to allow the handkerchief tn
resi- motionless while in contact with the
flame. since the contact, in the act of
craving the handkerchief through the
flame is So momentary that the cloth is
barely warmed in its passage.
During the middle ages ordeal by fire
was one OF the methods employed for as
certalning whether person accused OF n
grave crime was innocent or guilty If
such person was able to walk unscathei
over hot poughshares or through n bloz
ing hre he was adJudged innocent; if the
neat lett any marks on his flesh he was
considered guilty. But you may handle
i've II. Goals II you take proper precautions
IN performing this trick the person who is
hnlding the Goals feels no pain, simply
because he has covered his hands with -
mixture OF gum, starch and the yolk of
an egg. His hands are encased m i'm
pehetrable armor. and, consequently he
can toy with the hot Goals as safely as
he could with marbles. -.
20 You know how to make the magic
PHI box: No? Well, this is the way:
take SMALL round pill box and a coin
that exactly fits into it, Cover one side
OF the coin with paper of exactly the
color OF the inside of the box Show the
coin to the audience being careful to ex-
pose only the face that is not covered.
Now drop it into the box with the covered
lace up. Put the cover on the box and
q, thlk m ny then open the box and
show the audience that the coin has disap-
peared. Pnt the lid on the box again.
make a few passes, open the box and let
the coin fall out into your hand, with its
uncovered face up When you show IL to
the audience they will be mysthed
An interesting experiment may be per-
formed with straw, a walnut and two
a tha nuts. Part of the broad end of
removed. Near the pointed end two
holes are bored of the diameter of the
straw In each of the two hazelnuts
Two holes are bored and the contents of
the nuts are carefully removed with
the help of the nut-picker. Both hazel
nuts are connected with the walnut by
TWO pieces of straw of even length tabou.)
three inches), as shown in illustration In
the side holes of the hazelnuts two pieces
o. straw of one inch length are stuck
Place the walnut with its pointed end on
the cork OF a bottle whereby the whole
system will be balanced. Pour a thin
stream of water in the walnut; the water
will run through the long piece of straw
and the hazenuts, coming out of the two
small pieces of straw. Hereby the whole
apparatus Will come to turning motion,
as the water exercises a pressure on the
size of the hazelnut lying opposite the
2pening of the small pieces of straw The
holes in the nuts are best bored with the
heip OF red hot piece of wire, to avoid
the walls of the nuts
You would hardly think you could melt
coin in a nutshell would you? Place the
com in half walnut shell and fill the
shell with mixture of three paris of dry,
powdered nitre, one part of flour of sul,
pnhr and little sawdust, well sifted
Light 1t, and when the mixture is melted
I VIII be seen that the coin is also melted.
me smell not having sustained any injury.