The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-01-17
ROMANS USED SAFETY PINS
OTHER "MODERAN INTENTIONS
 IN ANCIENT HISTORY.
Thimbles Were in Use More Than Two Thousand Years AgO-Fish Hooks From Swiss Lake Dwellings-Latch- key an old Story-AntIque Hand Mirrors and RaZOrs,

!
 Mirrors and Razors.
 Every now and then it is discovered that some exteremely modern in yention is reality exceedingly old. For example, the safety pin, far from be- ing a novelty or even of recent origin Is decidedly aneient-a fact made cer- tain by the finding of a great many such pins, fashioned exactly like those of to-day, in old Roman and Etrusean tombs, dating back to a epriod good deal earlier than the birth of Christ
 1 The safety pin in truth was an arti- cle of common use in Italy long be- fore the Roman Empire attained the height of it's glory Some of them were exactly like those of to-day. utilizing the familiar principle of coiled spring and catch, says the | Scientific American, but the material of which they were made seems al- ways to have been bronze. They took on a development, however, far more remarkable than our modern safety pins many of them, being quite large affairs, ten inches or so in length and hollok, as if designed to be attached to the grown in front and possibly to contain something or other-conceiv- ably flowers. Not infrequently they were ornamented with gems.
 Another ancient invention was the stud. It is true that the ancient Ro- mans did not use buttons to fasten their garments, but for this very req son safety pins were more urgently Irequired; and>the latter seem to have been supplemented by studs of bronze, which were in shape exactly like those o fto-day Of course, people in those times wore no collars; but the little contrivance n question was utilized in other ways. Probably-and indeed the assumption is not rash one-it had in that early epoch the same habit as now Of rolling under a piece of furni- ture on slight provocation for the pur- pose of eluding observation and pur- suit, with the usual perversty of in lanimate objects.
 Of all modern inventions none seems to belong more typically to the pres ent day than the so-called McGill pa per fastener-the small brass contri- vance used to fasten a number of sheets of paper together, Yet, though 1t has been patented, 1t was well known more than two thousand years ago, being used by the soldiers of Rome as an incidental of their cos- tune The belt of thin copper worn by the ancient legionary was fastened to a strip of cloth, for lining, with series of little bronze clamps exactly like the lpaper fastener in question,
 The Smithsonian Institution at Washington has got together a very Iinteresting collection of such ancient Inventions. Among other objects be- longing to the same category are thimbes 2,500 years old. They are of bronze and their outer surface show the familiar fluctuations for engaging the head of the needle. Indeed these thimbles are much like modern ones, barring the fact that they have no tops to cover the end of the finger. For that matter however many thimbes of to-day are topless.
 The women in those days had bronze bodkins, made just like those in use now, and for toilet purposes they em- ployed small tweezers of a pattern that has not been altered in 2,0OD years To hold their hair in place they had not hit upon the notion of bending wire double, but they used for that Ipurpose straight bronze pins made exactly like modern hatpins, with biz spherical heads. It Is from this early type of hairpin, in truth, that the hat pin of to-day is derived. Mayhap the ancient Roman virago, when aroused to rage pluck an iinprovised dagger from his backhair and employed il vigorously.
 In the collection referred to are a number of fish hooks not less than 5000 years old obtained from ancient Swiss like dwellings, They are of bronze and in shape are exactly like the most improved modern fish hooks
 They have the same curves and the same barbs, with a similar expansion at the top of the shank for the at
 tachment of the line. Barring the me
 tai of which they are composed, they might have been made yesterday
 Other curios from the old Etruscar
 tombs are strainers, ladies, spoons
 and knives of bronze. Such articles as we'll as bronze daggers and other weapons and utensils, were cast most commonly in moulds that were carved
 out of hard stone, pair of stones be-
 ing required to produce the object which was afterward polished ant , otherwise elaborated. Among the mos , interesting of the contrIvanees for thr toilet is a fine tooth comb of ivory which in shap is precisely like the f1nt , toothcombs of to-day.
 ) Of course, the gentleman of ancien l Rome was obliged to shave himsel unless he chose to wear beard, anC for this purpose he used razor whicl { must have made the operation decid ) edly severe. It was not at all like mo l dern razors, but Gas shown by speci f men in the Smithsonian collection l was of bronze and somewhat like { : small sickle, very broad in the moor shaped blade and with a handle rigid / ly attached. It is well known that the ancien l Romans know how to plate one meta with another. They made and some O . them Oike Circero) wore false teeth ) The manufacture of glass was entire ly familiar to them and that the, l knew the modern method of mendins broken pots by means of rivets ha . been shown by the discovery of man,