Evening star., 1935-12-16
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
BY Frederic J. Haskin.

A reader can get the ansper to any
question OF fact by ioritino The Washing
ton Euentng Star Information Bureau,
Frederic J. Hasttn, Director. Washing
ton, d. c. Please incloSe stamp for replu.
@. Are airplanes constructed to resist
catching fire from their enginesp-N A
A. A fire wall is used It is a fire.
resistant transverse bulkhead, so placed
as to isolate the engine compartment
from other parts of the structure.
Q. How soon will the covers" taken
on the China Clipper reach people in
the United States?-B. T.
A. They are expected to reach COL
lectors the last week in December. They
were sent by regular mail-steamship
and train-from Manila, Guam and
Honolulu.
@. What artist painted so realistic a
picture of grapes that the birds pecked
at them2-O. r.
A. This story is told of Zeuxis, a Gre.
clan painter.
9. What State uses the most butter7
w. P.
A. New York consumes more butter
than any other State, 214,0O0.0c0 pounds,
or about II pounds per capita annually.
@. What is meant by the expression
"muckraker"?-J. G.
A. The term was popularized by Theo-
dore Roosevelt in a public address in
1906 as applying to those individuals or
journals that make practice of digging
up and exposing corruption, real or
Imaginary. The term "muckrake" was
originally an allusion to a character in
Bunyans Pilgrims Progress"
O. OF the number Of persons who apply
for chance TO broadcast on Mai. Bowes'
amateur program, how many are chosen?
r. L. G.
A. More than 5000 applications are
received each week. Of these about
600 OF the most promising are auditioned.
Examinations are made until only from
is to 20 are selected for the actual
broadcast.
@. Is sauerkraut served with a turkey
dinner?-T. T.
A. In the South it is often an accom-
paniment Of turkey dinner. It seems
a particularly appetizing vegetable with
this rather heavy meal, and people from
other parts of the country often adopt
the custom, having once become ac-
quainted with it.
Q. What is the Concord Hymn?
L. c.
A. 1t is poem by Ralph Waldo Emer-
son, sung at the completion of the
Bunker Hill Monument in 1886. It con-
tains the much-quoted lines: Here once
the embattled farmers stood, and fired
the shot heard round the world"
@. Is John Mccormack, the famous
tenor, in this country or abroad?-
r. S. G.
A. Mr.. Mccormack is on an extended
concert tour of England, Ireland, Scot
land and Wales.
@. What caused the geysers in YELL
lowStone National Park?-P. G.
A. They were caused by volcanism.
There has been no active volcanic action
OF the explosive type in this region since
the Great Ice Age.
@. Was Nancy Langhorne married once
before she married Viscount Astor?-
A. McC.
A. ViscountesS Astor, who was formerly
Nancy Witcher Langhorne of Mirador,
Va, was married first in 1897 to Robert
Gould Shaw of New York, whom she
divorced in 1908. He died in 1890. In
1906 she married ViScount Astor and has
since made her home in England.
@. Who wrote the play "Kismet" In
which Otis Skinner starred some years
ago?-I. F. W.
A. Edward Knoblauch.
@. How many of our Presidents have
died in of1ce?-M. S. w.
A. Six: William Henry Harrison,
Zachary Taylor. Abraham Lincoln,
James A. Garfield, William Mckinley
and Warren G. Harding.
@. Are walnut hulls used as a dye
material?-E. G.
A. The Forest Products Laboratory
| says that in earlier times stain extracted
from walnut hulls was used to some
extent as a dye material. With the
coming of mineral dyes, however, do
meStic dyes Of vegetable origin have
practically disappeared from the market.
Present-day lists show no dyes made
from walnut hulls.
@. When a family purchases an Eng
| liSh estate, may it use the coat OF arms
of the family which sold the estate?
w. w.
A. The purchase of a property does
not give the purchaser the right to in
| corporate the arms Of the family from
which the property was purchased with
his own, or to adopt its coat of arms.
1t is frequently done, but is entirely
incorrect and would not be upheld by
the College of Heraldry.
@. Which was the largest and which
was the smallest of the ships in which
| Columbus discovered the Americas?
| C. j. S.
A. The Santa Maria was xhe largest.
The length on deck was 86 feet inches,
and tonnage. 252; the Pinta had a
| length on deck of 81 feet inches. ton
mage, 161, while the Nina had a length
on deck of 70 feet and tonnage, I'll,
Tonnage figures are in terms of modern
weight.
@. How long did the Byzantine Empire
laSt?-L. J.
A. This Eastern or Greek Empire
Iocfod from fha Sio,, - %I,n Uoefa-.,