The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-08-31
Walter Willclle1l
On Br0adzcuy
THINGS I NEVER KNEW TIL
NOW ABOUT BABIES
Grade Mark Registered, copyreh Daily Mirror Inc

THINGS I NEVER KNEW TIL
NOW ABOUT BABIES
but which Papa Dionne probably
knew all along)
A boy baby inherits more defects
from his mother than from his
father. Il told you he took after
YOU'D Babies born in January
and February are doomed to have
low intelligence quotients when they
grow up, according to Prof. Els
worth Huntington Of Yale -. Babies
(aged 6 to IA days. who worked In
Warmers "A Child Is Born" had TO
have social security numbers-and
the government made old age pen
sion and unemployment insurance
deductions from their checks -.
There Is bell in the Census Blu
reau at Washington which rings
every 10 seconds, indicating the rate
babies are being born in the U. s.
American babies born In
March are destined to live almost
four years longer than those born
at any other time In China,
it's the custom to hang a pair OF
the fathers trousers up in the room
where mother is giving birth to a
baby. (The idea being that any evil
spirits lurking around will enter
Papa's pants instead Of the babyo
II a mother is color-blind, the
odds are that all her boy babies will
be color blind. (But her girl babies
won't be, unless the father is also
color-blind) When an Eskimo
baby dies, a live dog is buried with
it. (The belief being that the dog
will show it the way to heaven)
When woman gives birth to a
baby, it usually makes her skin turn
darker +. The cornerstone of the
nations Treasury Building contains
a lock of baby's hair. when An
drew Jackson was asked for some-
thing precious to be placed in the
cornerstone, he sent a lock Of his
grandchild's hair)
A baby's sex is fixed the minute
papa and mama make date with
the stork-and the father Is the one
who determines whether 1t Is to be
a boy or girl. not the mother
More boys are born than girls
(About 105 boys are born for every
100 girls) A baby girls pulse
is almost always a few beats more
rapid than a baby boys. CIT must
be loveD After baby was bap-
tized, New Zealanders forced it to
swallow pebbles, so that its heart
would become hard and incapable
of pity. (And in Germany, for the
same reason, they force babies tc
swallow lies) . In ancient Garth
age a special committee examined
all two-month-o babies, and II
they didn't bear any resemblance to
their father, they were killed.
sinngNOWcarthagen
As babies, midgets are perfectly
normal, just like other infants. (But
when they're about five they simply
stop growing) >. Older women are
more likely to have twins than
younger women. (Women who are
infanticipating between the ages Of
35 and 40 average more twins than
mothers between Is and 20 years.
The largest baby ever born
according to medical records, was
one which weighed Is pounds al
at birth-it was born in the U. s
in 1915. (The average infants weigh;
at birth is a little over z pounds)
In Africa and Australia there
is a custom (called La Couvade)
which requires the father to get into
bed when a baby is born, as though
he. not the mother were being
blessed-evented. when the child is
born, the mother goes right back
to work, and the father rests up
for a couple of weeksD
A popuar fallacy is that premature
babies are handicapped throughout