The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1908-09-04
OUR ERRAT|c SENSES
Some Of the Curious Facts Re-
corded by Psychologists.
THE PHENOMENA OF SOUND.

squeais Of Mice and the Lowest Notes
of an Organ. Are inaudible TO Some
Persons--Peeuliarities Of the Deli.
cate Sense Of Smell.
II you shade the eyes, you weaken
your sense of hearing. Cry II with a
watch and the result will surprise you.
II you sip a glass Of cold water. you
will increase for short time your
power of vision. II you ill the mouth
with water, you will greatly strength
en- your sense OF smell. II 1rs" .
Many similar curious facts about the
senses are told by Psychologists.
There Is multitude OF sounds made
In the world every day, for instance.
which we cannot hear, however close
they may be. Every sound must last q
certain time In order to be heard by
the ear. IL 1t Is an extremely feeble
sound 1t must last quite two seconds
or we cannot hear 1t, But. no matter
how long It lasts, we cannot hear II II
1t is a very low or very high note.
Extremely small animals emit such
high notes that we never hear them.
Some people cannot even hear the
squeal OF mice. The lowest notes OF
an organ are mere rumbling noises to
most people, and some cannot hear
them at all. ..~+~sae J. 1 a !
Il Is by means Of the external ear we
Judge the direction from which sound
comes. Stand facing clock. place
your hands In front OF your ears. with
the palms turned back. close your eyes,
you will then think the clock Is behind
you. +s
Why can some animals smell more
acenly than others? II Is q question Of
tie space within the nose capable OF
smelling. In man this space Is very
slnall-less than one-fourth OF q square
inch. In dogs and most mammals II
is very much larger. The porpolse has
20 sense of smell. Then comes man.
and also the monkeys, whales and all
kinds of fowl and birds. with very
feeble smelling power. When peo-
PIE talk OF yultures seeming dead
bodies they make a mistake. Lions.
tigers, wolves. etc. can scent them at
long distances, but vultures depend on
their sense Of sight. .@~..
The sense Of smell Is exceedingly del
late. If one ounce Of musk were Dr.
v!ded into 1900. 100000 parts one Of
these infinitesimal parts would be per-
ccptible by the average persons nose.
On the other hand. many people have
j power to smell some substances.
;uch as mignonette. vanilla, violets and
TussIc acid
Taste is curious In the fact that diff.
fareEt parts Of the tongue appreciate
different favors. At the tip we per
a give sweet tastes best. at the sides
aid tastes and at the back bitter
sites. Substances must BE- dissolved
Ia order to be tasted. and dry morsel
- q dry mouth has no flavor. This IL
Why smokers cannot taste well. Their
mouth glands. which manufacture sa-
Iva. are paralyzed by the tobacco
Very hot or very cold things are scarce
T. tasted ut all. II you want TO get
re best favor from your food 1t must
Ic at some temperature between 10
n.d 05 degrees.
Every one knows how easily the
sense Of sight Is deceived by Optical
puzzles. But n curious deception IL
practiced on us all Throughout our
lives, and no one ever perceives II.
There Is n blind spot In the eve w!,rre
'he optic nerve enters. In everything
Ite look at. therefore. there Is a little
;1p where we see nothing. But no one
aware Of II. because Il has been the
"ase since we first opened our eyes.
IN estimating distance we Judge by
'!e experience we gain IN walking.
The eye itself cannot Judge distances.
4 near hin and a distant mountain
w,ll each form an Image ~ the same
size on the eye. We know the rnngn-
tain Is farther away than the bin be-
"ause there are more intervening Oh.
lrcts. But We can often make nm estI.
nate Of distance. In a curious way by
the muscles Of the eyeball. In order
10 focus a near object we must bulge
the lens. and TO focus a distant Object
we must fatten the lens. The amour,
81 muscular labor used IN doing this
gives rs an idea Of the distance Of the
object.
1 man seems much thinner IN dark
than IN light clothing. An black THINGS.
IN fact. appear smaller than white
things of the same size An image r..
tnains on the eye for some time after
looking at an object. II the thing a
very bright the image remains a long
time. and sometimes n you look direct.
" NJ the sun you will carry the image
" II around with you for days.
Color blind people have q defective
musical sense. They confuse different
notes. and. curlousIy, the confusion of
green blind people differs from the
confusion Of red blind people. Colors
strengthen the sense Of taste. Red ap
pies and tomatoes and strawberries
and green pickles taste better than the
selfsame vegetables and fruit when
they are paler. a@ -. 1884,.
For feeling we have q variety Of