Evening star., 1927-04-27
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. H4SKIN.

Q. How many telephone conversa-
tions are held in a year in the United
States?--N. T. d.
A. In one year q, 500, ,000, 900 conver-
sations were held in the country. We
have the most telephones and use
them the most frequently of all the
people on earth.
2. How long had it been since a
President had moved out Of the White
House while repairs were being made
on the building?-J. II.
A. In the Spring of 1903 President
Roosevelt and his family moved to %
Jackson place when the remodeling
of the White House was begun. Aft
er q summer at Oyster Bay they also
spent the Fall in their temporary
quarters. There has been no other
occasion, since the White House was
rebuilt following its destruction during
the War of 1912, when necessary re-
pairs could not be made without dis
turbing it's occupants. Roofing, paint
ing, etc, have usually been managed
during Summer vacations.
Q. Is 1t a common experience for
one to feel suddenly that he has been
in exactly the same situation before,
with identical surroundings and peo-
ple?-J. &. Il,
A DR.. w. A. White, superintendent
of st. Elizabeth's Hospital. says that
this is a common experience and is
technically known as "paramnesia. -
Briefly explained, the reaction depends
upon a little trick of the mind mani
tested by momentary loss of a sense
of time and space. The individual en-.
ters into an experience or a situation,
obtains a fleeting impression of this
situation, then the attention is momen-
tarily attracted to something else. The
period of time may be almost intini-
tesimal. Then upon the return of the
attention to the original situation this
lapse of time Is lost to the individual
and the period between the two eX-
periences seems occasionally to expand
into a long period, even into the re-
mote past. Another explanation,
which is based on more recent psyche
logical Investigations, holds that ones
unconscious mind sees much more
than the attentive conscious one and
that situation, even to its details,
may be taken in without paying direct
conscious attention to it. Then a
moment later when the faculties of
the conscious mind are at work on the
situation, the experience seems to
have been experienced before. Here
again the lapse of time between the
two impressions may be greatly over
estimated and expanded.
O. How does the amount of lumber
sawed in this country compare with
amounts in other countries?-M. III.
A. Here it amounts to about 300
feet per capita annually, while some
of the nations get along with so feet.
O. How many languages are spoken
in Switzerland?-K. st. j.
A. There are four languages spoken
by the inhabitants in Switzerland
German, French, Italian and Ro.
mansh. The German spoken in Swift
zerland is form of dialect which is
sometimes referred to as the Swiss
language.
Q. Why are refreshments some
times called a collation. o. T.
A. The term was originally con.
fined to the light evening rejection
of monks, and is supposed to have
been named from the Collationes of
Cassianus read in Benedictine monas.
teries before the repast.
Q. Is there a place in some ocean
where fresh water may be found?-
H. p.
A. There are several places in the
different oceans of the world where
fresh water may be found. One of
the best known of these places is be.