Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-05-13
WORLDS SMALLEST LIGHT.
The Wonderful Calcium Carbide as
Demonstrated BY Street Seller.

The smallest light in the world" the
street man was saying, the wonderful
calcium carbide" And certainly what he
had to offer was a little wonder. the very
latest up to datest thing in street sellers
With the usual crowd of listeners and
lockers around on the sidewalk in front
he stood in the gutter by the curb and
proceeded to demonstrate. Carried in
front of him by a strap around his neck
he had an open satchel filled with small
oblong paper packages each about as
big as Il paper of lacks and each con-
tanning an outfit for generating the small
est light while in an outside coat pocket
where he could get at it handily, he car
ried flat bottle of water.
In each of the little packages there
were five things For one thing there
was little glass tube two inches long
and three eighths of an inch In diameter
like a tiny test tube. except that in this
tube the end usually closed was drawn
out into "a little pipe or nozzle a quarter
of an inch long; this nozzle, in use lit
tie gas burner, being bent over at a right
angle to the tube and having through it
a hole so small that you could introduce
only the point of pin.
Then there was small cork to fit
snugy into the open end of the test tube,
and there was a little piece of small
steel wire coiled to so around the tube,
by which you could hold it. and there
was tiny reflector of the size of q nickel
stamped out of tin and having a hole in
it by which it could be Placed on the wire
holder nd q
tin box of the size of small pill box,
this containing calcium carbine broken
up into little fragments,
The street man shows this light equip
ment held for moment in the palm of
his hand, and then he shows how easily
the smallest light in the world can be
produced with it. He drops his hand to
the bottle in his outside coat pocket and
takes from it a mouthful of water to
show that it contains no chemicals, moth
ing but Just plain water. Then from a
bunch of cotton batting carried in his
Satchel he tears off a tiny pinch, which
he vets by holding it at the mouth of
the bottle,
This bit of wet cotton he places in the
little glass tube. pressing it up near the
tOP' f'it 'iciii VIC httle iii Dbk he taxes
a little portion of the calcium carbide,
which he places in the tube next the wet
cotton, and then he closes the mouth of
the tube with the cork, and now there's
his gas producing, Illuminating outfit all
ready for operation; an outfit in minia-
ture form not unlike that used for auto
mobile lights and for various sorts of
Illuminating plants great and small.
NOW the street man holds up this tiny
gas plant, or maybe by its wire holder he
flAes u III a buttonhoc and then he
scratches a match and touches It to the
tip OF the little bent-over nozzle or burn
err and instantly from it shoots out
slender. tiny Jet of flame. Then by
manipulation of the cork at the bottom
OF The tube he reduces that flame to the
size of the head of a pin and then as
once more he settles the cork into place
out shoots again he slender. steady little
flame
Then he talks about how long this light
VIII burn and what you can use it for
and That sort of thing. and then he be-
gins handing them out to purchasers.
Just nickel for the complete outfit, just
a nickel for the smallest light in the
world.-New York Sun