Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-12-05

This Is special department, devoted
solely to the handling Of queries. This
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The Evening Star Information Bureau.
Frederic j. Haskin, director, Washing
ton, d. G.
@. Is Henri Bergson. who received
the 1927 Nobel Prize in Literature, a
Jew?-P. T.
A. The American Hebrew says that
the French philosopher Bergson Is a
Jew, and is the twelfth Jew to win a
Nobel prize.
Q. How fast do wild ducks and geese
fly?-M. o.
A. The average speed Of wild ducks
and geese in flight is about 40 miles an
hour.
@. What is the truth about Mark
Twains famous jumping Frog" story?
j. H. F.
A. This story caused much discus
sion. Mark Twain related the story as
having happened in CalaveraS County,
Calf, in l849. Prof. Van Dyke of
Princeton pointed to the fact that the
story is told in ancient Greek as having
happened 1000 years ago. Clemens
felt that the California story could not
have been based upon the Greek one.
since the man who told the story as a
fact was a simple, ignorant fellow with
no contact with literature. Clemens
decided that the similarity of the two
tales should be laid to coincidence.
@. Are negro spirituals always of a
religious character?-L. G.
A. They are not. While Southern
negroes are intensely religious, many of
the songs of negro origin do not deal
with religious subjects.
O. When did women's suffrage first
agitate the people of the United States?
F. D.
A. AS early as 184S agitation fol
woman's rights was commenced at Sen
eca Falls, N. Y, by Lucretia Mott and
Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Prior to this
under some colonial governors, women
voted, and at the time of the American
Revolution demanded to be included In
the Government Susan B. Anthony
became leader in 1848, but it was not
until 1879 that she made the test by
voting at the polls. She was arrested
and fined, but was not jailed for refus-
ing to pay her fine, which she did. In
1875 the first woman suffrage amend
1878 by Senator Sargent of Colorado
Several other measures were introduced
later, and an amendment to the Con-
Stitution was passed by the House jan
uary 10, 1918, and by the Senate, 1919
and was ratified by the necessary num-
Der of States in 1929.
@. Which sex of the glow worm gives
light?--L. B.
A. The Department of Agriculture
says that both sexes of the glow worm
give light, and that light is also found
in the larvae of some species.
@. Who was Mother Shipton?-S. A.
A. She is supposed to have been an
English prophecies. The Prophecies
of Mother Shipton" appeared as an
anonymous tract in London in 1641.
Afterward similar chapbooks and tracts
purporting to be her prophecies APP
RCdlCd AACAuSAAt4Js 40 Az "a NV
worthy evidence that such person
actually existed.
O. What is the meaning Of intelli-
gence quotient?-J. F.
A. The intelligence quotient, or II.
O." of a child is determined by multi
plying its mental age by 100 and divid-
ing by the actual age. Thus the in
telligence quotient Of a normal child is
100. A child with an II. O." below 80
is rated as subnormal, while one with
an 81. O." above 100 is rated as gifted.
About five children in 100 will be found
to be 20 below normal and about five
20 above normal.
@. Are poplar, bass and cottonwood
classed as hard or soft woods?-F. N.
A. The Forest Service says that pop
lar, bass and cottonwood are claSsed
as hard woods, although the wood it
self is soft.
@. When did Safety First!" become
a national Slogan?-C. M.
A. The Bureau of Mines says that
the phrase Safety flrst!" became a
national slogan in the year 1911, when
the Bureau of Mines gave a National
Safety First demonstration at Pitts
burgh, Pa. Previous to this, the phrase