Evening star., 1943-09-16
Hoskin's Answers
To Questions
BY Frederic J. Hasltin.


NTH initials, asking that the an
stDers appear n the nspspaper. Ths
space Is limited and could not &C.
comnod6te traction Of such re-
Quests. Bestdess many OF these 0Ses.
tions are too personal to be OF cen-
erol interest. Send yoGr Questtons
to The EpeninU Star, Information
Bureau. Frederic J. Hashin, Director,
Washington, D. c. Inclose stamp for
return postage.
9. When George washington select-
ed the site for the White House how
much did he pay per acre for the
ground?-R. D. j.
A. The average price Of this land was
about $66 per acre.
Q. What organisation provides Bibles
for prisoners Of war?-K. M. D.
A. Through its ONCE In Geneva,
6witSerland. the American Bible Society
has already provided over 100000 Bibles,
testamsnts and portions, In more than
80 languages, to prisoners Of war In al
countries.
G. What Is the insect that always
walks backward7-F. B. q.
A. The doodlebug. the larva Of the
ant Lion, for some unexplained reason
has the ability to walk backward only.
Q. When did the United states flnal-
" decide against participation Ia the
League Of Nations?--C. B. A.
A vUAa vA3saknA - 49, A-.V
In the Senate upon the treaty Of ver-
sailles, by which the league came legally
Into existence. on March 10. 1870.
g. How are the serial numbers Of sol
diers determined?--U. 8. n.
A. When the first number i either I,
, or ;, the l stands for enlistment. Z In
dicates . member Of the State National
Guard, and , means inducted under the
Selective Service Act. The second Of the
serial numbers indicates the number Of
the service command. Thus II the first
two letters of serial number were 81,
the man In question would be q selectee
in the 7th Service Command Area.
9. Flow many nations are represented
at the vatican?-W. o.
A. Before the present war more than
80 nations had accredited represerita-
tives at the Vatican. This Il the worlds
smallest sovereign state, it, area being
less than that Of many city park. +
q. Where does the largest flower IN
the world grow?-E. T..
A. The largest Is said to be the Raj
fiesta arnold, one Of group Of parasitic
plants which grows only In the tropical
rain forests Of Asia. The seeds are said
to bs carried largely by the feet Of ele-
phants. although birds transport sorre.
Q. Does the Red Gross make any
charge for supplying blood plasma -,
r. N. H.
A. The headquarters Of the American
National Red Cross says that no charge
ID made for the blood plasnna collected
from donors and contributed 10 the
Army and Navy. The plasma bscomes
the property Of the Army ana Navy a.
soon ~ 1t leaves the laboratory.
Q. What was the capacity Of the Ncr-
mandie when 1t was passenger slaipi-,
Z. B. 8. $4,000
A. The carrying capacity Of the former
French liner Normandis fnow the q. q.
3. LAfayette) was as follows: passen-
gers, Alto; officers and crew, 1900.
q. What il the daily cost Of main
tanning . veteran IN Government hos
pital?-D. v. N.
A. The Veterans Administration says
that 1t now has % hospitals and homes
located In all Of the States except two
and In the District Of Columbia. The cost
per day per person In the three types of
hospitals is as follows: General medical,
s5.2s; tuberculosis, $5.o4: neuro-p -psychia-
tric, $2.23.
q. What Is rose window3--J. X. L.
A. The rose window Is . circular win
dow with mullions and tracery generally
radiating from the center, filled with
stained glass Of great beauty. It Is so
named from It's fancied resemblance to
rose. It is q characteristic OF Gothic
architecture In which 1t was developed.
Q. How long does seed remain viable.
that is, retain the power to sprout and
produce sturdy seedlings?-E. M g.
A. There is considerable variation,
Some seeds rarely retain their sermi-
mating power longer than one year;
whereas seed Of celery, cabbage, cucum-
ber and various other vegetables and
flowers may sprout well when 10 years
old or even more.
q. What was Thomas A. Edison's first
tnvention?-C. r. B.
A. j. G. Crowther. in Famous Amer.
lean Men of Science says that Edison
made his first invention at the age of 49,
while employed As telegraph operator.
Night operators were requested to send
hourly signals to show they were awake,
and Edison devised q clock which made
the time signals automatically so that ne
could sleep when he wanted. :
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