Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1906-01-27
MARYELS AT FIGURES
LIGHTNING CALCULATIONS WHO WERE
GIFTED sY NATURE,
Two Boys Whose Peculiar Taients
Attracted General AtteHtion--5Gu c
of the Difficult Tests Through which
They Passed SuccessrunS.

Attracted General e.tion-jGu nae
of the Difficult Tests Through which
They Passed Successfuny.
George Parker Bidder was born Ia
lSuC ut Morton Hampstead, in Devon.
shire, where his father carried OH a
small business as u stonomason. At the
early age Of four he showed most ex-
trno"dinary ability for calculation
Which with slight assistance from an
elder brother assumed quite phenom-
enal proportions. His peculiar talents
soon attracted general attention, and
his father found it II much more prof
liable employment TO carry his son
about the country and exhibit him rs
the "calculu,inS phenomenon" than fol,
towing his trade. In This way young
Bidder visited many parts of England,
astonishing the different people who
came to question him 10y the wonder.
fui rnpidity with which lie WAS able
10 answer. without external aid of any
description, Tie most difficult cues.
Tons. or these the following are few
OF The most extraordinary examples:
If II flea spring two feet and three
must ii take 10 go around the world.
Tie circumference being 2I.020 miles.
and how long would it he performing
The journey, allowing ii Ia take sixty
hops every minute without interInis.
sion? Answer, rs. $4,000 hops and
year. 3lt days, IL hours and 20 min.
uteS.
The following question was solved
by him i'll forty seconds: Suppose the
bnll ut the top of ST. paul's cathedral
to he six feet in diameter, what did
tie gliding cost at 81 pence per square
lncu! Answer. 1927 lbs. Id.
The following i'll one minute ana
twenty seconds: Suppose Il city to be Il
Illuminated with 9.99J lamps. each LAMP
TO consume one pint Of oil every four
hours In succession, how many gal
Ions would they consume in forty
years: Answer. l09.4S9.050 gallons.
Another curious question was: Sup.
pose the earth To consist OF 9I7,OOO, OOr
inhabitants and suppose they die
thirty years and four months. how
many have returped 10 dust since tn.
time of Adam, computing it to be $3.50
years: Multiply tie answer by 90.
During one OF his exhibition tours
fortunately for the lad. his perform.
ahceS attracted the attention of emf.
nent scholars. who after making in.
quiries. subsequently undertook his
EDUCATION. He was attached to the
ordnance survey for short time and
hlterWard WINS associated with Ste
phenSon. the great engineer.
some years after he entered parlIn
ment. and numerous stories are extant
or his wonderful skill In detecting q
nav In some elaborate sets of calcuIa,
lions. whereby he was often enabled +,
upset an opponents case. or ut other
times he would establish his own cas.
DS arguments based upon mathemat.
ical data, possibly only at the moment
paced before him. 1t Is said that on
one occasion an opposing counsel asked
mat lie might not be allowed to remain
III the committee room OH the ground
that nature had endowed him with
qualities that did not plnce his oppo.
nents on fair footing"
After taking leading part in MANY
important engineering works he died nj
Dartmouth Sept 20. 1873.
Another of these extraordinary chill.
drrn. between whom and Bidder hon
0rs were almost equally divided. was
Zereh Colburn. born at Cabot. VT. Sent
l. 1904. Signs OF his wonderful mower
appeared at very tender age. The
discovery WIS accidentally made bv
his father, who was much SURPRISED
one day tn hear him repeating the prod
net OF several numbers. although at the
Time lie had received no other instruc-
non man such ms could he obtained Mt
small country school whose curricu-
lum did not include writing or cipher.
ing. He thereupon proposed n variety
or arithmetical questions to his son. all
or which the child answered with re-
markable facility and correctness. At
the age OF eight the boy was able TO
solve most difficult questions by the
mere operation of his mind. MANY
persons OF the first eminence for their
knowledge In mathematics made a
point Of seeing and conversing with
him. and they proposed to him u great
variety OF questions to test his mar
vicious powers. Among them were the
following:
Give the square root Of 999.999. Aft
or hesitnting little he replied 990. 999.-
00o.O0l and observed that he produced
this result by multiplying the square of
3i.O31 by the square OF -. He was
then asked to multiply the answer
twice by 40 and once by 25, task
which he accomplished successfully,
though the answer consists OF seven
teen figures.
Name the cube root OF 413,993, 34S.
81. TO this he gave the correct an
swer In five seconds. How many times
would coach wheel twelve feet i'm