Evening star., 1926-09-13
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKlN.

q. Is it possible to measure film
Of oil?-J. p.
A. Prof. Perrin, the French au.
thority on atoms. has measured a
film of oil on water that was fifty
millionth of an inch in thickness.
@. Are the custodians of the
harems of Eastern potentates always
eunuchs?-D. d.
A. The Nizam of Hyderabad is
said to be the only Indian prince who
prefers to trust the care of his harem
to woman guardians. employing for
the purpose body of Amazons.
@. Are there many homemade
radio sets now in use?-F. w. n.
A. A recent survey made by a
large radio company showed 29.1 per
cent of the sets in 2,21S city homes
were homemade. with the farm per-
centage showing 25 per cent home
made.
@. Who are the Parsees?-A. NJ.
A They are descendants of Fer
sian refugees who settled in India,
mostly at Bombay. during the sew
enth and eighth centuries. They are
adherents of the teachings Of Zorro
aSter, a fire Worshiper. There are
about 100000 in the world today, the
majority well-to.dO or wealthy.
@. Why was the sea battle won by
Lord Nelson known as Trafalgar" p
r. L. w.
A. 1t was so called because It was
fought in the vicinity of Cape Ira
falgar, southern Spain. 1t was one
of the engagements of the Napoleonic
wars ands took place on October 81,
1906.
@. Why isn't thunder always a
sharp crack instead of a long-drawn-
out rumble?-A. C. B.
A. 1t is not believed that thunder
IS caused by the inrush of air into a
vacuum. but by the violent heating
and disintegration of the air along its
path. which produces a sudden and
great expansion of the same nature
as an explosion. However, this does
not explain the relatively long dura-
ton of the thunder; this duration Is
owing mainly to the facts 1) that the
several parts of a streak of lightning
are at different distances from the
observer, and (2) that sound travels
at the rate of about a mile in five
seconds. The duration Is also owing,
in part, to sound reflections, or echoes.
Q. Do as many people walk up the
Washington Monument as ride up In
the elevator?-C. G.
A. On recent record day for Wis.
itors to the Monument. some $500 in
all, almost exactly half of them rode
in the elevator. while eth other half
climbed the stairs.
@. Where does Nell Brinkley live?
C. II.
A. Nell Brinkley is Mrs. Bruce Nc
Rae and she lives at New Rochelle,
n. Y.
@. Has the Sesquicentennlal an ex-
hibition of foreign and domestic post
age stamps?-C. L. G..
A. The Post Office Department says
that there is no official booth at
the Philadelphia exposition showing
stamps of foreign countries. There
has been some talk of establishing
such a booth at the exposition show
ing the stamps of the United States,
but so far there has been no apprO-
priation for it's establishment.
@. What is meant by bogus setting?
w. G.. NJ.
A. The term bogus setting" was one
used in the Olden days Tor a reprint
copy that was made to kill time. For
instance, when workers were through
before IL o'clock, instead of quitting,
they were given this copy to set.
which was afterWard thrown away.
This held the men on for the copy
that came in the afternoon.
O. What is peach blow ware?-
W. II. b.
A. Peach blow ware is the most
valuable of Chinese pottery. 1t be-
longs to the Chinese pOtteries. which
are transmutation glazes embracing
a type of Flambe color. These glazes
differ from red to a delicate pink.
which is peach blow. Peach blow
products have realized prize amounts
in salesrooms, and many of these
nieces are exhibited in museums. They