Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-08-17
ADDENDA TO "SCHOOLBOY HOWLERS"
More Examples of Young Ideas That Missed Fire Evidence
That Sometimes the Boy Is Humorous Rather Than Help
less - Skepticism Concerning the Cherry Tree Tale
BY ROBERT HILDRETH

THERE'S no doubt about it, "Howlers,"
i especially schooboy "howlers," exercise
wondrous fascination upon the general
mind The fact is proved by the far jour
neyings of the collections of schoolboy
"howlers' recently published in these coll
umns and by the epistolary response which
their publication has evoked.
It's like telling stories-the other fellow is
always ready to tell another perhaps
better than your own. Unquestonably
the supply of schoolboy "howlers" is mex
haustible, and every teacher who keeps a
diary of humor possesses a store of fun
rrovocators hard to beat. l embrace the
opportunity of passing on a few bits of
delightful misinformatlon reported to me by
readers of the previous articles.
From the director of the School of Fine
Arts of a Western university comes letter
containing n welcome contribution to the
gay subject of examination answers. The
question, What was a saga?" in the course
on the History of Music" brought forth
widely differing views. One answer read as
fellows:
"A saga was pitlless warrior but a kind
and loving husband" AS the director re-
marks, "This embryo Carreno evidently
thought of Viking"
Another response ran thus:
- saga was made of wood and brass,
held on the left knee and played with the
right hand"
OF such stuff is made the criticism of un-
preparedness for college.
Why Are the Feet?
In . public school this spring the follow
ing question was presented to the pupils for
consideration:
what do you know about the care of the
feet?"
Teacher is said to have been somewhat
suspicious, thinking that perhaps a misprint
had occurred in the list of questions Caro-
OF the feet" seemed almost vulgar. Verifica-
tion was obtained over the telephone, how
ever, and the youngsters tackled their job
One pupil wrote eXhaustvely;
1.-THE feet are the extreme end of the body
opposite the he'd Of which there are two. The
feet are tender. Some have oorns and some
have aches and whatever you do don't think
that the feet are an unimportant part of the |
body What could we do without feet? We
couldn't walk. The dog is a guadroped but
the man is a bpede, Feet consist of ten
toes. and heal. Walking is such a good |
working order that II is not good to have
the feet so sore that we cannot walk"
A little girl. in this crisis, drew upon her
of mythology:
"The feet are SO necessary that Achilles
was weak in the ankel and that was the
only place that they could kill him in If
he had strong feet he would not have been
nurt"
While we're on the subject of ,,b,,s,o,o,...
and hygiene a reminder OF its relation to
is appropriate:
flight clothing is not only unartistic ana l
rot stylish but 1t is bad for growing boys
md girls. My mother bought me a dress
yhen I was eight years old and before
vas nine 1t didn't ht. 1t is therefore good
hat close should be large enough 40 that
irowing children don't have to have ney
lresses too often. 1t is also important that
We should eat nourlshing food Peanuts are
Tot only unholesome but useless to the gas
ric juice
We should miss something II we over
ooked the information youchsafed by other
members OF the physiology class:
'rhe digestive system consists OF the ar
llery canal"
auty"
A Humorist Of Conservation
Conservation, subject Of which We an
card much q few years ago. is revived by !
Don't make whistles out OF the manlas
.atafs intended that only the vfind sbo,,la
low through them. Don't sit on the linton
4 ana weakest branch It Is unheslfb., -.
= 3ss ana not al~aya the best thing for