Device Will Interest Children Fond of Playing Marbles

1905

Science in the Nursery

This is a country of inventors and an age of machinery. Labor-saving devices enter not only into our work, but also our play, and in our nurseries as well as our shops.

The great American game of baseball has now a special piece of apparatus for nearly every player, and the mechanical ball tosser threatens to supplant the human pitcher. Elaborate devices are used in automobile speed contests, for accurate timing and mechanical starters are to be found on every race track.

The craze for mechanics has reached the nursery. One of the latest contrivances is a device for shooting marbles more accurately and with greater force than can be done by the bare knuckles of even the most expert youngster. The device consists of an arrangement of spring wire of a shape adapted to fit the hand and to engage the marble. By means of a thumb trigger the sphere is ejected as desired.

Peg-Legged Hen a Fighter

1905

Side-Wallops Fowl That Make Light of Her Infirmity

Laying five eggs a week in the season when prices are highest is a minor accomplishment of a Ware (Mass.) hen that has a wooden leg. The hen is of Rhode Island red stock, and is owned by Charles F. Wilcox.

The leg was broken last spring, when it was a pullet, by a stone from the hand of a wanton youth. The fractured support was bandaged in splints and the bone apparently knit. But cold weather had a bad effect and a sore developing, Mr. Wilcox decided to end the suffering of the hen.

His little daughters pleaded so strongly for the hen that Mr. Wilcox spared her life and amputated the leg. In tribute to its fortitude the hen was christened Martyr.

"Why can't Martyr have a wooden leg like other people?" inquired one of Mr. Wilcox's daughters. Mr. Wilcox facetiously referred the suggestion to Gilbert Girard, who declared the idea practicable, and after taking measurements of Martyr's right leg, fashioned a leg from hard maple and attached it.

The leg, which was fitted several weeks ago, has never been removed, and the daughters of Mr. Wilcox refuse to be convinced that scales, feathers and toes will not eventually appear on the artificial leg.

When Martyr made her first appearance with the barnyard fowl after acquiring the wooden leg, her former associates united in attacking her. Martyr, however, had learned the value of the leg as a weapon, and with hard side swipes bowled her antagonists over. Her assailants adopted a conciliatory policy thereafter.

A favorite recreation with Martyr is to insert the wooden leg in the snow, and, curling the right leg beneath its feathers, stand for half an hour or more at a time, enjoying the discomfiture of imitators. Once the wooden leg became frozen in the ice, and Martyr had to be rescued.

Fine Home-Made Violin

1905

Kentuckian's Instrument He Wouldn't Trade for a "Strad"

H. H. C. Q. James of Bullitt county, who is an expert performer on the violin, finished making a new violin last Monday, and played on it Tuesday and thinks it has got the best tone of any that he ever heard. The lightest touch of the bow will produce a clear, even and well-sustained sound.

He made the top of cedar and the back and ribs of maple. Two years ago he cut a cedar tree that was known to be seventy-five years old, and sawed from the first cut the piece with which he made the top of the violin, and at the same time he cut the maple, and after thoroughly seasoning he has, with a specially-shaped knife, and a file, made what he considers one of the finest-toned violins he ever heard.

All of his friends are congratulating him on his success and as the violin ages Mr. James expects it to improve in tone. — Salt River (Ky.) Tiger.

2 Plus 2 Plus 3 Plus 6 is 13

1915

They Give Barney Oldfield Badge 2,236, and He Broke Rod

The number thirteen is not popular with drivers of racing cars, and it was noticed that no car at the Astor cup race bore that number. And thirteen did not appear on the official score board.

Barney Oldfield had badge number 2,236 given to him quite by chance. An hour or so before the race W. Bob Holland of the speedway publicity department was talking to Oldfield, and he noticed the badge number.

"You have a hoodoo number, Barney," he laughingly remarked.

"What's the matter with it?" asked

"Add the figures together," said Holland.

Barney turned the badge up. "Two and two are four and three is seven and six is thirteen," he said slowly. He eyed the badge suspiciously for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, and remarked: "Oh, I'm not superstitious; I guess the badge is all right."

An hour or so later Oldfield completed six laps, twelve miles, in the race for $50,000 in prizes. While negotiating the thirteenth mile the connecting rod of his car broke, and he was out of the race.

—Saturday Blade, Chicago, Dec. 18, 1915, p. 8.

Harvard's Got New Physical Giant

1915

All the Harvard college boys crowd around these days at every opportunity to look Albert J. Weatherhead over. Weatherhead's the new strong man of the institution and all the ambitious athletes take off their hats to him. He has just been elected captain of the 1915 Harvard wrestling team and already he's showing great results. His prowess was recognized when he first appeared on the Cambridge campus. As a member of this year's Crimson football squad, he demonstrated time and time again he's got brain as well as brawn. The picture shows Weatherhead wrestling with James B. Brannan, captain of the Harvard 1914 wrestling team and a member of this year's team. Weatherhead is standing up.

—Saturday Blade, Chicago, Dec. 18, 1915, p. 8.

Youngest Cue Shark Shoots Left-Handed

1915

August Kieckhefer, Holder of Three Titles, Makes Fast Rise in Billiard World

Years ago, twelve to be exact, August Kieckhefer strolled over to a cue rack in a billiard hall in Chicago and stood contemplating the polished sticks with their fascinating leather and ivory tips.

He had never handled a cue, but when asked to play he decided it would be a good time to start. He was only 14 and wore short trousers. How he got into a billiard hall at that age history does not tell, but he has been in a lot of them since. He holds three titles.

Goodness only knows why Kieckhefer picked out a cue with his left hand that night twelve years ago, but he did and he played the entire game with his left hand. He has played with the southpaw ever since.

Becomes Pool Shark

Chance must have made him a left-hand cueist, for in everything else, from writing and eating to "mitting" a friend, he is right-handed.

Kieckhefer's first game was pool, called pocket billiards now. That was in 1903. Six years later he was State champion of Wisconsin.

Then he turned to three-cushion billiards and won the championship of Milwaukee, Wis., in 1910. During the next three years he didn't do much except practice, then in 1914 won the interstate title.

Kieckhefer kept practicing and this year, at the age of 26, played for the world's title against Alfred De Oro, the Cuban, who is past 50 and held the pool championship eighteen consecutive years before he became three-cushion king.

Trains Like a Fighter

"Billiard players are born," says Kieckhefer. "It's the stroke that counts and that's born in you, not acquired."

When preparing for a tournament or big match he trains a good deal like a fighter. He walks two hours every morning. He is careful about his food, claiming even a slight attack of indigestion might throw him off form.

Display of Dead Wife's Ashes Angers Former Ballplayer

1915

Mike Donlin Demands Revenge in Court

Mike Donlin, who forsook the New York National League baseball club for the stage, asked Magistrate Simms in a New York court to punish Ray E. Frye for alleged desecration of the ashes of Mabel Hite, Donlin's deceased wife, an actress, who died in 1912.

The former baseball star charged that the employees of Campbell's undertaking establishment were guilty of disorderly conduct by utilizing the urn containing the actress' ashes as a "prop" in a "press agent frame-up" staged one night recently at Murray's restaurant in New York.

According to the testimony of Jack Best, coat room boy at the cafe, Frye came in for supper on the night in question, and left the carefully wrapped urn in his care with the admonition that he "Be careful of it because it may explode." Visions of concealed bombs prompted the boy to tell Patrick Kyne, manager of the restaurant, what Frye had told him. The urn containing the ashes was placed in a bucket of water and the police notified. Detective Egan got it and found it harmless and returned it. In the meantime Frye had left the restaurant without Mabel Hite's ashes.

Magistrate Simms dismissed the defendant after hearing the full testimony. Frye said that he was taking the urn to a new repository where it was to be left until Donlin gave orders for its disposal and that he had forgotten it when he left after his supper. He admitted having told the coat boy that it might explode, but said that he had done so to insure better care of it. Donlin and Kyne nearly came to blows in the corridor of the courthouse after the case had been tried.

Patents Hatchway Device

1915

Invention Slides "Strongbacks" Instead of Removing Them

Capt. R. T. Anderson of San Francisco, Cal., has been granted a patent on a device for sliding the "strongbacks" in a hatch to either one side or the other, instead of lifting them out singly and placing them on deck while the cargo is either taken on or discharged.

Under present building plans each of the "strongbacks" is lifted out and laid on deck after the hatch covers have been taken off. This requires some time. Under the Anderson plan these heavy beams are slid back to either one side or the other and then are pulled to position again and pinned in place after the work in the hatch is completed.


Invents Seat for Motorman

Revolves and Can Be Adjusted at Any Angle

A new motorman's seat invented by a Vermont man is said to have an advantage over the ordinary motorman's seat in that it has both a revolving and stationary top. It can also be adjusted at almost any angle by means of a mechanism.

This seat has been in use on all of the cars of the Burlington Traction Company for several weeks and has been found to be satisfactory. It is specially designed for air controlled cars. The work of their manufacture will be begun on a small scale at first, or until a factory can he built or secured.


Here's World's Smallest Saw

Quarter-Inch Diameter and Made for a Purpose.

Probably the smallest "buzz" saw in the world is one that has just been made by Ambrose Thomas, a violin maker. Thomas made the saw blade by hand and it is only one-fourth inch in diameter. The teeth are constructed the same as those on large saws. The blade is attached to a foot-power dentist drill and will saw the hardest of lumber with ease. Thomas uses it for sawing groves in the edge of violins to insert the variegated wood.

Stone Man Dug Up in Rio Grande Valley

1915

Deep Mystery Still Veils Queer Find

Now in Warehouse to Await Decision of Scientists — Cartridge Shell Found Near Body

El Paso, Texas, is now likely to get some publicity as a result of the discovery of the form of a man in stone in the Rio Grande Valley. The discovery was made by J. K. Mann of Highland Park, who is rather reticent regarding the exact location of his find.

Mr. Mann is taking great care of his find and it is kept in a bonded warehouse in El Paso and is guarded as carefully as would be an equal amount of virgin gold.

Opening a heavy case containing his discovery, Mr. Mann said that what he would show the writer would be in the nature of a surprise. The scribe then put a query, "What is it?"

"That's just the question, What is it?" said Mr. Mann. "I am making absolutely no claim regarding it. I will simply say that it was dug up from the ground and that it is a Texas product. I have my own ideas what it is, but they may not be in line with what learned men will tell us later, and I am anxious to have their opinions."

Has Human Form

Turning back the covering, Mr. Mann disclosed what appeared to be a human form in some sort of bronze. The writer was then given a chance to make a careful inspection and it was seen that the body — for that is the easiest way to refer to the discovery — was not bronze, but apparently stone.

A close inspection revealed lines and pores similar to those in a human skin. Part of the abdomen was missing and the cavity bore the look of a piece of stone broken away. In the left breast was an indention, and Mr. Mann produced an old and much rusted cartridge, which, he declared, was found near the body when it was dug up.

This cartridge was evidently from a large-bore gun and was made in the days when the whole base of the cartridge was a cap, which would be discharged by the hammer of the gun hitting it anywhere, This cap had been discharged by a gun with a strong hammer, for the firing pin had been driven thru the cap.

Right Hand Has Extra Finger

The "body" is in a reclining position, the left arm supporting the head, while the right arm is thrown across the breast and the hand rests in front of the "body." One peculiarity of the "body" is that the right hand has two perfectly formed index fingers — five fingers and a thumb in all. The lips have been slightly worn away and three white teeth are visible. If the "body" is that of a human being turned to stone it must have been that of a young man, probably 18 or 19 years of age, and of a person used to outdoor or a rugged life. The sinews of both arms and legs are quite apparent. The hips are small, but well developed.

Measurements Given

Accurate measurements were rather difficult, owing to the peculiar posture of the "body." However, the following are approximately correct: Height, 5 feet 6 inches; present weight, 350 pounds; approximate estimate of weight of man similarly built, 120 pounds; measurement around chest, 35 inches; between shoulders at back, 18 inches; across chest, 16 inches; from shoulder to wrist, 22½ inches; wrist, 7½ inches; neck, 14½ inches; around head above ears, 23 inches; feet, from heel to toe, 9½ inches; knee to heel, 17½ inches; biceps, 12 inches; around knee, 13½ inches; around hips 36 inches; from instep to crotch, 29 inches; waist, 28 inches.

Questioned closely as to the whereabouts of the discovery, Mr. Mann stated: "I have my own reasons for not being too explicit regarding the exact location of my discovery. I have reason to believe that there are further discoveries to be made in that same location.

"I am in El Paso for my health, and I hope to resume my explorations within a couple of months. Just what I will do with my discovery I cannot say at the present time. I intend to have some experts examine it in the near future, and make a report. Very few people know of it at the present time, but those who do know have been impressed."

—Saturday Blade, Chicago, Dec. 18, 1915, p. 9.

Lamp for Chauffeur's Cap

1915

Will Aid Him in Locating Motor Trouble at Night

The troubles of the chauffeur will be cut out to a great degree by the use of a new lamp which has been patented and which contains the essential features of the miner's lamp in the respect that it is a part of the cap.

Mounted on the head, it is always in the right place to shed its best illumination of the work at hand, and here it also leaves the hands of the chauffeur entirely free to make any repairs or adjustments which may be necessary.

The lamp is mounted directly over the visor and the current is supplied by two batteries of a special shape to fit into the construction of the cap, one being disposed of on either side. The cap is made with a flap which comes down over the visor and completely hides the lamp when there is no demand for its services, but when the illuminating rays are desired the flap is turned back and secured with a clasp button at the top.

—Saturday Blade, Chicago, Dec. 18, 1915, p. 9.

Porch Lamp is New Novelty

1915

Lights Interior as Well as Exterior of House

A novel porch lamp just announced illuminates both the hall or the front room and the porch. The lamp is mounted inside the house, adjacent to the porch. Part of the light is diffused thru the room, while a part of the horizontal rays is transmitted thru a one and a quarter inch tube to a globe outside the wall.


To Make Electric Controller

Evansville to Get Factory for Local Man's Patent

A $10,000 plant will be built in Evansville, Ind., next spring by a New York electrical concern which paid $40,000 for the patent on an electric controller invented by Michael Burns, of Evansville, according to a statement of James O'Toole, agent for the eastern concern. The plant will be used for assembling the controllers.


Non-Fly-Back Crank Arrives

CRYSTAL FALLS, Mich., Dec. 16. — Archie Liberty has invented a ratchet crank for automobiles which cannot fly back and break the arm of the operator. It consists of an ordinary crank with a flange attachment, with notches in its edge, forming a ratchet. On the outer casing, surrounding this ratchet, are six dogs that drop into the teeth of the ratchet and keep the crank from reversing.

Student Designs Gold Ore Machines

1915

Big Saving in Ore Refinement May Be the Result

New equipment for use of the seniors of the University of Washington, which was designed and is being built under the direction of Fred Porter, a senior will soon be installed, and with it the men will perform a series of experiments of great practical and economic value.

Two complete sets of machinery have been designed by Porter for use in fine grinding and concentration of gold ore, some of the equipment being of the same style as has been used in the Alaska, Idaho and Montana gold fields in the last few years for the purpose of experimentation. The experiments to be performed may, besides being the work necessary to constitute the thesis required to gain a degree, result in a large saving in the refinement of ore.

One of the processes to be performed will be that of flotation concentration. the process discovered by Mrs. Everson, described in these columns last week.


Plan to Interest Mechanics

Use Inventor's Tools and Gain Equity in His Patents

William L. Bessola, an experienced mechanic known to practically every one connected with mechanical departments of mines in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and who holds patents for many mechanical devices, is endeavoring to interest capitalists and others in a proposition the success of which is assured.

As a forerunner to the manufacture and of the perfected tools on a large scale it is the plan of Mr. Bessola and his associates to secure the cooperation of every user of tools that they seek to replace with the new inventions, and to this end they have permitted a number of the leading plumbers, master mechanics and men generally connected with things mechanical, to purchase equities in the exploitation company, which not only entitles them to substantial interest in that direction, but also secures for each a proportionate right in the patents which Mr. Bessola has taken out.

—Saturday Blade, Chicago, Dec. 18, 1915, p. 9.

Blue Glass at Spring Startles Ohio Doctor

1915

Fears Vanish When Radium is Found in Water

Benjamin Marshall of Paw Paw, Mich., is spending his leisure time in reading automobile catalogs and pricing Persian rugs.

The reason he engages in this pastime is because radium has been discovered in his back yard, according to a doctor from Ohio, who claims to know something about the stuff that sells for thousands of dollars per amount as big as a pinhead.

Two years ago Marshall and his mother came here and purchased a fruit farm on the outskirts of this village. On the property is a spring of sparkling clear water. Prior to their coming here, Mrs. Marshall was a chronic dyspeptic, subsisting only on the simplest of diets.

Helps Mother's Appetite

They had been here only a short time when Marshall noticed his mother's appetite had increased astonishingly and that she could eat anything with keen relish.

A glass was always left at the spring and always turned a light blue after slight use. One day when the Ohio doctor was visiting the Marshalls he noticed the blue glass and said:

"Marshall, you don't drink this water, do you?"

"Yes, we're really intemperate with it."

"And doesn't it make you sick?"

"I don't look seriously ill, do I?" asked Marshall, with a chuckle, as he exhibited his tongue.

Does a Little Probing

Then the doctor did some investigating and declared that the water contained radium.

"I thought it was cobalt at first," he said, "but if it were cobalt it would make you sick."

The doctor took several samples of the water back with him to test, and Marshall took to reading auto catalogs and pricing Persian rugs.

All Comforts of Home While Hooking Trout

1915

Rancher Invents Fishhouse, in Which Stove and Camp Chairs Help Some in Zero Weather

B. Maynard, a rancher in the mountains near Bozeman, Mont., who is a devotee to the art of fishing, has contrived a unique fishhouse by means of which he and his friends can enjoy all the comforts of home while pulling in the sportive trout in below zero weather.

A good sized tent was boarded up four feet high on the inside, a floor put in it and a trap opening about a yard square was cut in each of the four corners. A stove was set up in the center with the stovepipe running up thru the canvas and several camp chairs were added for furniture. The tenthouse was mounted on wooden runners and tied in a convenient place at the shore of Madison Lake.

On fishing days a horse is hitched to the house and it is taken to any part of the lake desired. Holes are chopped in the ice under the trap-doors, a good fire is built, then each member of the party chooses a corner, seats himself on a camp stool and drops in his line attached to a short length of pole. The trout can be plainly seen at the hook and are easily captured. A number of record catches have been made this winter. A ten-pound steelhead was one of the prizes recently hooked.

—Saturday Blade, Chicago, Dec. 18, 1915, p. 9.