Evening star., 1926-09-20

O. What effect has the modern
permanent wave on ordinary hair
d. E. r.
A. Authorities we have consulted
will not injure the hair When per-
formed by skillful operators.
@. Was Benjamin Franklin an
atheist?-N. w. r.
A. Franklin was not an atheist.
According to one authority. for
while during his youth he was a skep-
tic, and he was never an orthodox
Christian. His attitude, however,
when he died was such that today he
would be classed with the liberal
Christians"
@. Who invented the microphone
and to how sensitive a point has 1t
been developed?-R. X.
A The microphOne goes back TO
the first decade of the history OF teleph-
ony. In the form we know it, 1T
was invented by a man named Blake
The study of the microphone has been
carried to such a point that DR.. Phil
lip Thomas, a research engineer OF
the Westinghouse Co, has produced
an instrument so sensitive that 1t is
said to be able to "hear insects talk"
@. understand that recently there
have been found some rails of long
abandoned railroad that were in an
excellent state of preservation. Can
you tell me anything about these!-
S. r. w.
A. Fragments of iron or steel rails
were found in the ruins of the old
city Of st. Joseph, in Florida. These
were along the right of way OF the
old st. Joseph and lola Railroad. The
fact that these pieces of rail were
none the worse for rust, although
they had been lying in the open salt
air for more than So years, aroused
such interest that they have been sent
to laboratories in Philadelphia for in
vestigation. They are smaller than
those made today, but heavier in pro-
portion. An effort will be made to de-
termine just what they are and how
they were made.
O. Was there ever a solar eclipse
referred to as 1.-The diamong ring ?
B. II. H.
A. In 1924 during the total eclipse
of the sun there was a peculiar phe-
nomenon referred to as such. 1t was
the result of an optical Illusion or an
illustration of irradiation. Photo
graphs taken of this give the impress
sion of a ring set with a solitaire.
@. To settle bet. please advise me
what is the age of Jack Dempsey.
Also please tell me how old Gene Tun-
ney isl. ]. X.
A. Jack Dempsey is 81 and Tunney
is %.
@. l am the daughter of a Civil War
veteran and would like to know If L
am entitled to any pension from the
Government.-K. N.
A. Children of Civil War veterans
are eligible for pensions from the
United States Government only where
said child is insane. idiotic or other
wise mentally or physically helpless
and has been in that condition since
before the age of 16 years.
O. Please tell me the proper way
to spell the following word: alright" +"
"allright" or albright. III. l.. B.
A. No one of the three arrange
ments of the two words about which
YOU have inquired is correct as it
appears in your letter. The phrase
should be written ''all right"
@. Please tell me Pola Negri's real
| name. 1 have heard so many varying
reports.-A. V. Z.
A. Miss Negri's real name is Ap-
polonia Chalupez.
@. What is the lowest temperature
that has ever been recorded?-W. o.
A. The record" for low atmos-
pheric temperature seems to be held
by the reading of 1873 degrees below
zero Fahrenheit. This was obtained
with a registering thermometer at
tached to a sounding balloon sent up
from Batavia, Java, in November,
1913 The lowest temperature record
ed at a meteorological station on the
earth was 90 degrees below zero
Fahrenheit at Verkhoyansk, Siberia,
February and Z, 1892.
@. When was solar surgery first
used?-R. II. w.
A. From the earliest times sun
light has been considered an impor-
tant aid in the preservation Of health.
The ancient Greeks and Romans eX-
posed their naked bodies to the sun
in the open air to recruit mental and
physical energies. Exposure to the
suns rays was also adopted by the