Evening star., 1938-03-11
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

A reader can get the ansuer to any
question OF fact by. writino The Epenino
Star Information Bureau, Frederic J.
Hasktn, Director, Washington, d. c.
Please tnclose stamp for reply.
@. Where are the two psndas brought
PACK from an expedition by Mrs. Will
liam II. Harkness, jr.?-J. l.. K.
A. Ihey are both in the Brookfeld
Geological Gardens at Chicago.
O. How many golf links are there in
the United States?-G. w.
A. There are more than 5000 links,
representing an investment Of more than
billion dollars. Two-thirds Of the
worlds golf links are In this country.
Q. Is 1t still against the law to print
pictures OF United States postage
stamps?-H. w. r.
A. The Treasury Department has re-
Gently authorized newspapers and other
puollcatlons to print pictures Of United
States postage stamps for the first time
In history. Formerly prohibited because
OF possible aid to counterfeiters the pic
eoASo "SAS AAdOC POooAOlC NY Oil dCL Ol
Congress sponsored by stamp collectors.
Only black-and-white reproductions are
permitted.
O. How many doctors in the United
States are classified as specialists?-J c.
A. There are $4,000 specialists in this
country.
@. Who takes the part Of the mad
Russian on Eddie Cantor's program?
&C. L.
A. 1t is played by Bert Gordon.
@. What has become Of Singing Top,
the race horse?-E. w.
A. Singing Top, first offspring Of Top
Flight, has been retired to the Whitney
farm at Lexington, KY. She is only
years old, but an injury in her Sec
ond race caused her disability.
Q. How much money is spent on mu-
sical education in this country?-C. H. G.
A. The Etude says: 1t has been esti-
mated that S100,000,0O0 is expended every
year for music tuition In this country,
and this takes no account of the Incl
dental items such as musical instruments
and accessories, published music and
otner corollaries of musical education,
q. What percentage of airplane
crashes are caused by mechanical fall
ure?-G. L.
A. Less than five per cent can be
attributed to mechanical failure.
A. Do any of the special trains have
movies?-H. M.
"A. Moving picture shows are feature
OF the recreation car on the Florida
Special of the Atlantic Coast Line.
Q. Is Billy Watson of the Beef Trust
burlesque show living?-W. L.
A. He is now past 10 and recently
revived his Beef Trust girls show on a
burlesque circuit
Q. What does the slang expression
s. O. L. mean?-P. S.
A. S. o. L. is American soldier slang
meaning Soldier out OF luck" or Short
of luck"
Q. What is the origin of whist?-P. K.
A. The origin of whist, like many card
games is obscure, but under the name
OF triumph" it had become so well known
that when Bishop Latimer preached
the Christmas sermon at Cambridge
IN 1929 he had no doubt that his hearers
could follow his allegories based upon
1t. Its first serious study and the for
nation of set rules regarding play re-
suited from frequent meetings of a party
OF whist players at the Crown Coffee
House in Bedford Row, London, of whom
Edmond Hoyle was one.
O. How many women in the United
States make their living on farms?-
S. E. A.
A. The number of women who make
their living on farms. according to the
last agricultural census, was eOe,939.
Q. When was the telephone first used
IN covering news story?-W H.
A. On February II, 1877 Alexander
Graham Bell delivered a lecture at
Salem. A Boston Globe reporter assigned
to the story dictated his dispatch from
transmitter on the Lyceum Hall plat
form to another reporter. The story
appeared under an editors note saying:
This special dispatch of the Globe has
been transmitted by telephone in the
presence of 20 people. who have thus
peen WITNESSES 10 feat never before
attempted-the sending of news over
the space Of 16 miles by the human voice.
Q. Does lightning always look zig
zag?-B. F.
A. Charles Fitzhugh Talman in his
book. The Realm Of the Air" says that
down to the middle of the 10Th century
people did not even know what light
ming looked like For ages artists had
been drawing and painting it in zig
gag streaks with sharp angles. To this
day it Is always thus shown in con-
ventlonal designs. In 1856 James
Nasmyth, the famous Scottish engineer,
expressed doubts about the existence of
such lightning. Shortly afterward light
ming began to be photographed, and it
was thus found never to be angular,
but always more or less sinuous, like a
meandering river, often with many
branches