Omaha daily bee., 1914-11-12

lhaL were none OF our business,
And we've accepted it all as gospel
truth, and let men convince us that we
had more curiosity than they had,
whereas the truth is that women have
no curiosity at all compared to men.
Take, for example, such common
everyday occurrence as the hosting of a
safe by means of pulleys and ropes up
to a third or fourth story window In
every city in the world that's done every
day. There's nothing new or startling
about 1t. Probably there isn't city man
living who hasn't seen it done dozens OF
times, yet every time the act Is per-
formed such big crowd will gather
around It that It will stop traffic in the
street
And among this throng of idly curious
people there will not be one curious
woman. Every one of them will be men.
''oT. taken another illustration Of
mans curiosity that never fails to fill
me with wonder and surprise when be-
hold II. It is the familiar operation Of a
man putting a fresh tube in an auto
mobile tire. That is about as common a
sight as you can well imagine, but just
get a puncture in your automobile tire
and start to repair it, and in less than
ten minutes you will be surrounded by
curious crowd OF men watching you
do 1t.
Half the men that pass along the
street will stop and stand looking on at
your efforts, but not single woman has
enough curiosity to even turn her head
to look.
And look at the crowds, thousands
of them. that stand banked up before the
scores. They are made up of men, all
men. Women can restrain their curiosity
enough to wait and read about who Won
in the newspapers that come out every
hour, but not men. It's significant of
how much more curious men are than
women that no event, no matter how
interested women are in It, has ever been
of sufficient Importance to make them
stand for hours in a crowd waiting to
hear about It, yet men. do that every
day.
'of course men arc always deriding
women for their curiosity about their
neighbors' affairs, but every married
woman will bear me out when say
that our husbands never stop us from
telling all of the gossip we have heard
until we have impaired the last scan
dalous detail.
Also man is always consumed with
curiosity to know everything that has
happened at home during his absence.
he wants to know where his wife has
been; who has been to see her; whom
she has talked with. and what they said
to her, and she said TO them, and what
she paid for each article that she has
bought. This is not because he is jeal-
ous' or suspicious, or begrudges her the
money she spent. It's because of his
inordinate curiosity that clamors to be
gratlfied.
Yet that man couldn't say enough in
criticising his wife If she betrayed any
curiosity about his affairs. and called
for detailed account of how he had
spent his day. and what he had done
and said, snd whom he had met.
And final proof that men are more
curious than women is found in the fact
that men have been the great discover
ers' 1t was the curiosity TO know what
laid beyond the horizon that sent Co.
lumbus out to discover America. and
Petary to find the North Pole and Stan
ley into the heart OF Darkest Africa.
Most women have so little curiosity that
they stay PUT and are content never to
"AnVe' oute'ue OK theiF own little circle.
Women are satisfied 10 know that
certain things do certain things without
knowing why, but that eternal way
piaues mans curiosity until he finds
out But he doesn't call It curiosity. He
calls II original research.
Now, I'm an admirer OF curiosity. It's
sign OF intelligence and of mind
That Is alive and alert It's also an lndi-
cation OF humanity. It's only fools and
people who are case hardenly selfish
who have no interest in the things and
people about them. Curiosity is a virtue
and not vice, and men are our superiors
IN possessing it. Men constitute the
curious sex. Just watch them and see