Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-14

| adorned with lights and gifts. the lat
ter in commemoration of the gifts
brought to the Christ Child by the
wise men. There is a diversity Of
| opinion as TO where the Christmas
tree custom original Ted. it being cred
tied to both Italy and Germany.
Q. What is balsa wood used for?-
NJ. j. G.
A. Balsa Is employed as a substi
| tute for cork. both for stopping bot
| ties and for floats of fishing nets. II
has served only to a very limited
extent for such purposes, however
since the high elasticity, impermeabil
| ity and resistance to decay so char
| acteristic Of true cork are not pos
sessed by this wood. The very buoy
ant RATS or balsas OF the tropics are
made of this wood. 1t was at one
| time considered very desirable. for
| making pontoOns for dry docks. the
wood has been experimental with for
| life preserverS and lifeboats. but was
found of little value In it's natural
| state, because il absorbed moisture
to high degree and soon rotted; It
also warped and checked In working.
These disadvantages have been largely
overcome. however, by treating the
wood with a paraffin bath. The treat
| ed balsa wood Is used extensively by
some firms In the manufacture of life
preservers, tenders and nfeboats. and
| for structures requiring insulation
from heat, as In the refrigerating com
partments Of vessels and in ice boxes.
FOR which ii is said to be we'll adapted.
Q. Please explain the colored moon
which we were supposed to see on
December IS. Clouds prevented our
seeing i'm. NJ. r.
| A. The Naval Observatory saws
that the phenomenon on the night of
December 1919 was lunar appulse-
that is to say, the sun, earth and
| moon being nearly in a straight line.
| the light OF the sun was partly cut
off from the moon by the earth, but
not entirely cut off from any part of
the moon. If it had been entirely cut
| on from any part, the phenomenon
would have been called an eclipse.
This particular appulse was remark
able in that it came very near to being
an eclipse. Otherwise it would have
attracted little notice.
Q. What was the occupation Of
Charles Carroll. signer of the Declare
ton OF 1ndependence?-S n.
A. He was a lawyer, as were %
of the other signers.
| ~' 0O VIC AlItpOIt IIluCH CdUuY -
A. r. B.
A. During the fiscal year ended
June 80. 1926, imports of candy and
confectionery were valued at $13,-
982,315. This does not include $7O4.-
74S OF maple sugar and strip.
Q. Is it safer to stand up or to lie
down In thunderstorm?-R. J. G..
A. r. w. Peek, jr., consulting engi-
neer Of the General Electric CO., states
that a person directly under a thun.
dercloud during an electrical storm is
In Is times as much danger of being
struck II he Is standing as he is if
lying fiat on the ground
Q. Is there any place in the North
ern Hemisphere colder than the North
Pole?-J F. d.
A. Theoretically IL can never get
much colder than so degrees below
zero at the North Pole, which lies in
deep ocean. The cold pole of the
Northern Hemisphere, far from coin.
Gliding with the North Pole, is be-
ieved to be on the continent of Asia
north Of Irkutsk. where the tempera-
ture is said occasionally to fall to 80
degrees below zero F.
Government statistics bring out the
fact that the uneducuted man has
oniv chance In 500 to attain distinc-
tton. There is no reason tCstu anr
one should lire under such q hundi-
cop in these days of free schools and
free Information. This paper sup
ports in Washington, ID. c., the
largest free Information bureau in or
tstence. 1t tCiH procure for pou the
dnStoer to any question you man ask.
ArdH yourself of its facilities for your
lin proUentcnt. Inclose q 2-cent
stamp for return postage Address
The Evening Star Information Blu
redu. Frederic j. Haskin. director.
Washington, d. C..