Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-09-10
UNIQUE DISPLAY
FOR STATE FAIR
State Health Department IN
dertakes Educational
Movement.
OBJECT LESSONS ARE GIVEN
Breathing Dolls Show Effect OF Sleep
ing in Room With Win
dows Closed.

Visitors at the Illinois state fair this
year are to be afforded the opportunity
of seeing the most unique and highly
instructive health exhibit yet shown
/ in this country. 1t will be entirely
! different from any former health ex-
hibit wherein it is to be demonstra-
! ton of health facts by means of me-
| chanical models, cartoons, and other
| ingenious devices. rather than dis
play of cold statistical facts and Pa
cards setting forth more or less I'M
welcome advice. The character of this
! years exhibit will be such that every
man, woman and child attending the
| fair will want TO see it: none will see
/ it without profiting thereby.
! Seven large booths will be occupied
| by this exhibit in the balcony of the
! Exposition building. and among the
more interesting features will be the
| following:
! The Breathing Dolls.
! AS an effective method of calling
public attention to the Importance of
[ proper ventilation of living rooms,
nothing has yet been devised that
/ equals the socalled breathing dolls.
a mechanical device of great attrac-
| tiveness and wonderful teaching force.
! The public looking into a miniature
house, set in the midst of a pictur
esque garden, see the interior of two
sleeping rooms. one room with doors
and windows open, the other with
doors and windows closed. In each
room. two sleeping figures are shown
in bed and at the ordinary breathing
intervals the eXhaled breath is seen
as il leaves the nostrils. Just as we see
our breath on a frosty morninc. In the
room with closed windows and doors,
the unventilated room, the air soon
becomes so thick and foul that the
figures in bed can hardly be seen,
whereas in the room with open win
! dows, the air keeps clear and fresh.
The contrast in the air conditions of
the closed and the open room is so
striking as to leave a lasting impress
sion upon the mind of the observer.
The remedy-the open windows-is
apparent 10 all.
The public health authorities of the
state realizing that there is no health
issue paramount to that of promoting
proper ventilation of all buildings and
encouraging more of the outdoor life
are devoting two booths TO eXhi bits
designed to impress this fact upon the
public mind. Immediately adjoining
the booth containing the breathing
dolls is another in which numerous in
genious devices, cartoons and dis
plays of outdoor apparatus will be
found and demonstrated.
When one stops to consider that i'm
~
chiefly responsible for the develop
ment of the two diseases-tuberculo
is and pneumonia-which kill upwards
of 10000 citizens of this state every
year, the need of popular instruction
along these lines is at once apparent.
To Save the Babies.
In the Child Hygiene and Infant Wei
fare sections of the state health de
partment's exhibit there will be much
of great popular interest. First of
all, there will be a mechanical device
demonstrating the extremely high
death rate prevailing among infants in
this state AS an endless procession
of dolls pass in review. one out of
every five is struck down by death"
and passes from sight. This repre-
sents the actual death rate of babies;
1t may be considered by some as grew
some; it must be admitted by all that
the machine is not nearly as grewsome
as is the fact.
Having impressed the needlessly
high baby death rate upon the mind.
the department hen proceeds to show
parents. especially mothers, how this
awful slaughter can be avoided. Dem
onstratiOns in baby feeding. bathing.
dressing and sleeping will be given by
nurses especially trained in baby care.
Visitors are invited to seek advice.
The Deadly Fly in Action.
In an effort to teach the people of
Illinois how to avoid the contagious
diseases. the methods of their spread /
l.: Will be shown in a very simple. yet
forceful way.
Prominent among the mechani,-. J
devices employed for this purpose is
one showing the filthy fly in action
its passage through the air from
sources of filth and infection to the
food on the dining room table Another |
attractive working model shows how
shallow dug wells are polluted.
In this section also will be found mi
croscopic demonstrations of germ life /
the typhoid bacillus being shown in /!
action.
For the Farm and Small Town.
In the section devoted to matters .
of rural hygiene. the Illinois state wat ,
er survey in cooperation with the state .
board of health, will show some prac- I
tical solutions of farm and small com
munity sanitation problems. Models
OF simple. inexpensive and efec ave .
water publication and sewage disposal .
installations will be shown. approved .