Evening star., 1927-05-11
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

pound" The ID stands for the
Latin word "denarius." penny; "s,'
of course, represents the initial letter
| of shilling"
Q. Were any of the signers Of the
! Declaration of independence Catho-
| lics?-F. S. r.
| A. Charles Carroll of Carrollton
was the only Catholic signer Of the
| Declaration of Independence.
Q. How many forest rangers are
employed by the Federal Govern
ment?-B. Z. S.
! A. The Forest Service says there
are at the present time about 200
forest rangers. The field is ovss-
crowded with eligible applicants.
| @. When and where was De Pinedo,
| the Italian flyer, born?-H. NJ. y.
| a. AT Naples, on February IS. 1890.
| Q. Did the screening of Beau
Geste" actually occur in Algeria?-
A. f. w.
| A. This was the original plan, but
| disturbances there caused 1t TO be
abandoned. The picture was filmed
on a stretch of desert east Of Bur
lingame, Calf, and southwest of
ulIld, AGlZ.
@. When a first baby boy Of a Jew
ish family is one month old a Pidyon
Haben is held. What is its signifi-
canoe and how did it originate?-M.
A. NJ.
a. 'Pidyon Haben" is a Hebrew
phrase meaning the Redemption of
the First Born" This custom is in
fulfillment of the biblical command
which provides that every f1rst-born
male creature belongs to the religious
organization through the fact that It
is the possession of God and not it's
parents. A first-born male child is,
therefore, redeemed" on the 3Oth day,
according to the biblical command.
The price of redemption is 20 shekels,
based on the price of Joseph's re-
demption.
Q. What mountain is believed to
have a silver cap?-D. NJ. c..
"A. The higher of the two peaks Of
Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. The ma
tiveS believed it had a solid silver
cap because of the gleam Of the snow
cap in the sun.
@. Who designed Monticello"
Thomas Jefferson's home at sChar-
"A.
A. 1t was designed by Jefferson
himself.
Q. What was the largest diamond
| known before the discovery Of the
Cullinan?-J. G.. f.
A. Until the discovery of the Cul.
Imam diamond the Excelsior held first
place for size. but when after IL years
| no buyer was found for it, it was
divided.
Q. How many dialects are spoken
in India?-J. p
A. India has 220 vernacular lam
guages.
Q. Does water expand when heat
ed?-J. A. T.
A. The action Of water on the ap-
plication Of heat is different from that
of other liquids. The volume of water
decreases while the temperature in
creaSeS from degrees to about 4 de-
grees c., and then it increases as the
temperature continues to increase.
Q. Where was Maj. L'Enfant
buried?-J. A. II.
A. In Arlington Cemetery.
When in doubt-asE Hdskin. He
. offers himself as target for the
questions of our readers. He agrees
to furnish facts for oil 1Cho ask.
This is a large contrdct-one that has
neuer been filled before. IL a0ould
DC possible only in Washington, and
only to one arho has spent lifetime
in locating sources of Information.
HdSkin does not Enol0 all the things
that people ASK him. but he knoaCs
people aCho do knolc. Try him.
State your question briefly, 1crite
plainly, and inclose cents IN
stamps for return postage. Address
Frederic j. HGSkin, director. The
EUenin0 star Information Bureau.
Washington, ID. G.