Some Good About All Races

1900

"The Bright Side of Humanity," a new book by Dr. Edward Leigh Pell, is said to be the first serious attempt that has ever been made to present the characteristic noble traits of all races. In the preparation of his book Dr. Pell examined one thousand works of travel and although all of them set forth with considerable detail the vices and disagreeable traits of the people which they profess to describe, only two hundred dwelt at any length on their virtues. To supply the compensatory high lights in these dark pictures was a happy thought and must have been a pleasant task.


A Little of Everything

A Chicago tobacconist hands every cigarette purchaser a neighboring undertaker's card.

In the Black forest district of Germany are 1,400 master clockmakers and 6,000 workmen.

A church bell has an empty head and a long tongue, but it is discreet enough not to speak until tolled.

The sultan has forbidden the Turkish war department to use balloons or carrier-pigeons for army purposes.

A French naturalist asserts that nightingales devour the drones of a beehive, and never attack the workers.

A mint is to be established in Canada for the coinage of gold. Heretofore the coining of the metallic currency has been done in England.

An official map of Vesuvius on a scale of one in ten thousand has just been issued, being the first since 1876. A new plan in relief of the cone has also been made.

Frog Jumps Inside Woman's Bathing Suit

1910

Interrupts Lesson, Causes Commotion

New York. — It is written in the philosophy of Capt. James Fitzgerald, instructor at Piasa Pool, that there is always a way — that is, nearly always. But there was no way that he could suggest when a bullfrog jumped inside of a woman's bathing suit.

Captain Fitzgerald was giving a swimming lesson when a bullfrog sat in a crevice at the edge of the pool and watched the proceedings with interest. "One, two, three," chanted Captain Fitzgerald, and just as he said "three," a boy running by on the brink of the pool, startled the frog and he leaped wildly into the pool.

The woman pupil wore a low-cut bathing suit, a trifle loose at the neck. The frog landed inside and both tried to get out. While Fitzgerald hesitated and stammered, another woman swam to the one in need of help, reached inside of her bathing suit and caught the frog and withdrew it and thereby earned the gratitude of the woman — and the frog.


Made Sure of Death

A student of a school in Shinshu, Japan, recently committed suicide by jumping into the crater of Asamayama. The tragedy was not discovered until three days afterward, when some documents left by the suicide near the crater were picked up.

A Humorous Sketch of Pompeii's Troubles with Vesuvius

1886

A Brief Sketch of Pompeii

Pompeii was founded by Pompey II, hence its name. It was built at the foot of Mount Vesuvius to catch the tourist traffic in lemonade, peanuts, palm leaf fans and other articles necessary for those who came to Mount Vesuvius.

One day when this frolicsome mountain was in a state of violent eruption, like a boy taken down with the measles, it became sick at the stomach and threw up such a quantity of ashes that Pompeii with all its pomp was buried quite out of sight. A prohibition candidate in a distillery district could not be more completely snowed under.

Never was there such a tumble in ashes as was observed that day. They were absolutely a drug in the market. Folks wouldn't cart them away as a gift.

And still ashes continued to fall. Everybody was panic stricken. They began to wail and put on sackcloth, but the disparity between the limited amount of sackcloth and the illimitable quantity of ashes was ludicrous in the extreme. People demanded with ashen faces, when is this to end? But it came to an end after a while, and Pompeii too.

You have heard of ashes of roses? Well, nobody ever rose from those ashes.

For nearly eighteen hundred years Pompeii lay asleep, and it would have been an ash-heap to this day had not some scientific explorers come scratching around the base of Mount Vesuvius — for to such base uses do they come at last — and discovered surface indications of the lost city. They continued digging, and it was not long before the Phenix arose from its ashes.

This was the Phenix Hotel, the most popular in Pompeii. The guests were all in their rooms; although many of them had left orders with the porter to be called for the early morning train. Eighteen hundred years waiting to be called! Many hotel porters are that way now.

The head clerk of the Phenix had disappeared, but they found his mammoth diamond pin, by the illumination of which they were enabled to continue their explorations.

They kept on digging and pretty soon they unearthed a theatre with a whole minstrel band seated in a row on the stage. The audience were in their seats, too, entirely petrified — an end man had gotten off a new joke. The stage was thickly covered with chestnuts, all of which were carefully collected and shipped to America, where they were eagerly bought up by the minstrels, who continue to use them, encrusted, as they are, with the ashes of Pompeii.

And still they dug and dug.

A newspaper office was the next thing that came to light. The editor was discovered in the attitude of holding up his right hand before a notary, swearing that his circulation exceeded that of all the other papers combined. "Old Subscriber" was sitting in the editor's chair writing a communication for the wastebasket, too much absorbed in his work to notice the fall in ashes. "Veteran Observer" was at another desk preparing an article on the subject of "Strikes." On the bulletin board in front of the office was an announcement that Susan B. Anthony would speak that evening on the subject of "Woman's Rights."

We hare not space to enumerate all the curious things that were brought to light by the excavations at Pompeii. The spade revealed the ovens where those venerable but athletic pics were baked that now adorn so many of our railroad lunch counters. The genuine have the letter P fly-blown on the crust.

The number of skeletons actually found among the ashes of Pompeii was small when compared with the census of the city, and this was a mystery until posters were found on the dead walls announcing a lecture by "Eli Perkins," when all was explained. It was the day before the fatal tempest of ashes when these posters were discovered, and on reading them thousands of the panic-stricken inhabitants broke for the woods, and in this way their lives were miraculously preserved. — Texas Siftings.

Professor Disputes That Volcanoes Forecast "End of the World"

1922

French Scout Fears of Volcanic Perils

Paris Newspaper Ridicules Idea That Eruptions Forecast "End of the World"

PARIS, Aug. 26 — If all the volcanoes in the world were to become active at the same hour the earth, or any large part of it, would be no nearer being "destroyed" than it is at this moment.

Professor Lacroix, of the French museum, whose field is mineralogy and whose pet subject is volcanoes, made this astonishing statement in reply to the recent prophecy made by Dr. Milton Nobles, of Philadelphia, that volcanic action would wipe out the continent of Europe within a month.

Budapest to Be Center

The center of destruction, according to the prophecy, was to be Budapest. So when, the very next day, reports came from Hungary that tremblings of the earth's surface had been felt, while simultaneously there were small earthquakes in France and in Spain, many good souls of Paris flocked to the churches to await the Last Judgment, and the witty paragraphers of the Paris dailies prepared their best barbs.

L'Intransigeant interviewed M. le Professor Lacroix.

"Pessimists who have already permitted themselves to rejoice at the idea of the approaching end of the world, announced by an American geologist, will find in the words of this volcano authority new cause for lamentation," says that journal and quotes the professor:

"It is true that the region around Budapest is highly volcanic. Of course the volcanoes are old, dating from the tertiary period.

"But supposing they start all at once to spit forth lava, even supposing — you see I am generous with suppositions — that all the volcanoes of the world began to erupt at once. All that would not affect the solidarity of our planet."

M. Lacroix showed his interviewer a map of Europe.

"These red spots indicate the regions where are volcanoes, extinct or active. You see what a small area they cover in comparison with the stable regions of the continent.

Italy Has Active Craters

"The only really active volcanoes in Europe are those of Italy — Vesuvius, Stromboli, Vulcano and Etna, in particular.

"The axiom is: The effects of all volcanic phenomena are essentially local.

"Add to this that the units in most volcanic groups, for example, Etna, Stomboli and Vesuvius, are separated by scores of miles as the crow flies, and the fact that when one of these neighboring craters is in eruption the others are inactive, thus proving that their reservoirs are independent, and the idea of a universal eruption becomes ridiculous.

"Tell your readers they may sleep soundly with both eyes shut."

Newspaper Scouts Idea

Le Temps didn't bother to consult a scientist. It scouted the prophecy and with it all prophecies — except political ones.

"One of those American journalists who know how to 'create events' like Napoleon himself wirelesses over the world that a certain savant announces the approaching eruption in the neighborhood of Budapest of no fewer than 70 craters," ran the account.

"In the year 2000, so close that our children will live to see it, we can measure the progress of humanity by observing the survival of the same panic fears of which the year 1000 leaves us a legend.

"In 10 centuries science has mastered nature, but not the imagination of men."

—The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, August 27, 1922, page 24.

Man Falls Into Mt. Vesuvius; Lightning Bolt Cure Woman

1919

LIVES AFTER FALL INTO MT. VESUVIUS

Rome, Sept. 12. -- While taking motion pictures of Vesuvius, Baron Parisch, director general of the Myriam Films of Rome, slipped off the edge of the crater and plunged headlong into the depths, but struck a protuberance, where he clung desperately to some shrubbery.

He was rescued by means of a rope dropped to him.

--Syracuse Herald, Syracuse, New York, September 12, 1919, page 2.


LIGHTNING BOLT CURES PARALYSIS

Jacksonville, Vt., Sept. 12. -- Mrs. William Paddock of this town recently experienced a remedy that is certain to kill or cure. The results to her were of the happiest nature. Some months ago Mrs. Paddock suffered a stroke of paralysis, and had since been unable to walk. During a severe thunderstorm the other day a bolt of lightning struck near where she was sitting, and she jumped up and ran. Her legs have been all right ever since.

--Syracuse Herald, Syracuse, New York, September 12, 1919, page 2.