Evening star., 1913-04-06

cigars. The Edisons devised an iron cigar;
a cigar box that, when opened, would ex-
plode; cigar that, when reached for by the
"sponger," would give him a smart clip on
his forefnger through spring trap con-
cealed on the cigar; and cigar that would
slide up the giver's sleeve via a rubber cord
when the borrower put out his hand to
take it.
Cigarettes are borrowed too. Hence, a
cigarette box the cigarettes in which were
secreted under piece of thin glass. You
reached for cigarette in plain view, and
were cured of the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
habit by encountering glass
Pencils arc borrowed. Hence, to cure the
promiscuous borrower, the inventors OF
hoaxers produced iron pencils, pencils that
jumped out of the hand when one tried to
write with them, pencils whose points were
made of rubber instead of lead, pencils with
tin cap over the points that could not be
removed, and pencils whose points slid in.
lone of the supreme general bores is the
~ fellow who always sees piece of lint
| or thread on your coat and affectlonately
removes it for you. To cure him, there was
devised "a small bobbin. The bobbin is
pinned under the lapel of your coat with
piece of thread left sticking through the but
| tonhole. When the bore sees the thread, he
pounces on it, the thread starts to unravel
and, after the bore has tugged at it for
awhile and still does not get to the end of it,
he is either cured or beyond curing.
There are imitation cigar butts, apparent
| ly lighted, and imitation cigarette butts, also
apparently still burning, to cure the over
particular housewife.
| These may be laid on a mahogany table
with excellent result. Of similar nature,
| 4 fadN hIy nf ha
Little Edisons small, irregular piece of
black tin and an ink bottle. The bottle is
turned over on its side, the tin inkspot
placed with its end to the neck of the bottle,
and the whole placed on a white table
cover.
Tacks made of rubber, purses that prick
with secreted needle the wife who tries to
go through her husbands pockets at night,
and purses that, when opened, unravel for
yards, are other inventions to cure certain
species of individuals of their certain species
of weaknesses.
| From the Partisan sources comes series
of six metal disks of different sounds. These
| disks dropped on the floor sound like the
falling of tray of dishes, and are directed
toward the cure of housewives who are too
nervous about their servants.
| For use against the camera hend there has
been evolved a camera that, when touched,
emits a papier-mache snake six feet long;
and for use against the person who is always
on the lookout for sympathy, bleeding
finger, consisting of linen bandage smeared
with red ink, which may be placed over the
finger with an acutely realistic effect.
IN the sphere of the manufacture of the
ten-cent smile, puzzles and hoaxers or
cures are not alone. The Little Edisons
have busted themselves with inventing pock-
ct tricks that puzzle quite as effectively as
the vastly more intricate devices shown to
the public by professional prestidigitators.
The Little Edisons here set themselves
pretty problem; for they had to figure out
ways and means that would permit the anna
teur to fool persons. Realizing that the
amateurs hand was not quicker than the
eye, the inventors had to make up for this
deficiency by making their own brains quick
er than the amateurs S hand or the onlooker's
eye; quicker, indeed, than both of them
put together. A couple of illustrations will
serve to indicate the truly thorough ingenui-
| ty of these Little Edisons.
| A small paddle with small playing card
| (say, the ace of spades) fastened to it is
shown. The paddle is turned over, and an
other ace of spades is revealed on the other
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