Evening star., 1933-07-15
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

appointed to investigate the insurance
scandals?-I. T. o.
A. He was nominated to serve with
the Armstrong Legislative Committee
New York Legislature) August IL.
1905. while he was travelling in Europe.
He returned about August % to act as
attorney to the committee and drew up
set Of insurance laws which were
adopted. and succeeded in checking the
waste and theft discovered
@. How does carbon monoxide smell?
&C. F. B.
A. This gas is very insidious and has
absolutely no odor and can not be seen.
@. How much destruction was caused
by the Chicago fire?-W. H. R.
A. The great fire of Chicago. Octo-
Der. 1871. broke out in a barn in Ue-
Koven street. The flames could not DE-
controlled because they were famed by
gale. consequently the fire ragged for
two days over an area of 2l00 acres.
Seventeen thousand four hundred fifty
buildings were destroyed, causing 200
deaths and rendering more than 10000
homeless. Property to the value OF
Sl9O, 900, 900 was destroyed.
@. How are neon signs hooked up for
use on automobileS?-T. H.
A. By using spark coil a neon lamp
can be used with battery current This
is the method employed for signs on
automobiles.
@. How can mercury be cleaned
]. w. H.
A. The Bureau of Standards SAYS
that simple way to remove dirt from
mercury is to shake the mercury v1gor-
ously with some cane sugar, after wnlcn
the metal is filtered off through a pin
hole in the bottom of a paper cone.
The whole operation may be repeated
if necessary. Instead of filtering
through pinhole the mercury may
be squeezed through several thicknesses
OF cloth.
@ What is the real name for an l.
o. U?-D. j.
A. 1t is a due bill. 1t is a written
acknowledgment of a debt by the
debtor. 1t is not a negotiable instru-
ment, although it is assignable by the
payee.
@. At what point is Manhattan 1slanu
the widest?-G. M. H.
A. At Eighty ninth street.
@. How many words does the average
person read second?-H. o.
A. Such tests as have been made
indicate that there is considerable vari-
alton, depending upon the nature of the
contents that are being read, the type
used, and other factors. Huey found
that adults varied in the rate of read
ing from 2.5 to 98 words per second.
silently at their ordinary rates When
reading as rapidly as possible the rates
varied from 3.5 to 1875 words per sec
ond. Whipple and Curtis found that
the time per word in hundredths Of a
second for normal silent reading. max
lmum silent reading. and skimming was
26, %, and IA, respectively.
@. From what language does the
word ukase come?-A L. S.
A. From the Russian. At first. it
meant a decree of the Cars. taking
effect as law. Now any official decree
is called a ukase.
Q. How tall is penguin?-T. L. OC.
A. TIE height of penguin depends
on the species. The Emperor penguin,
the largest. stands about 81 feet high
and the largest specimen ever recorded
weighed IS pounds. The smallest would
be not more than foot in height.
half-staff over the Argentine embassy
in Washington on Friday, July Z, 1888?
S B.
A. Because of the death Of DR.. Hipo-
Ito Irigoyen, Presiden. of the Argentine
Republic from 1916 to 1922 and from
1923 to 1880. DR.. Irigoyen died on the
night Of July 8, 1888, and the Argentine
government ordered the national flag to
be haf-stafed for period OF 10 days.