Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 May 1895 — SIMPLE REASONS. [ARTICLE]

SIMPLE REASONS.

A burning gas jet to unhealthy In a bed ehamber, because one gas-light gives out as much carbonic acid as two sleepers. The bodies of moths are covered with a thick down because these insects fly by night and need protection from the dampness. The eyeball Is white because the blood vessels that feed its substance are so small that they do not admit the reu corpuscles. Iron bedsteads are safe during a thunderstorm, because, being good conductors* they keep the electricity from the body. Swallows fly low before a rain because the Insects they pursue are then near the ground td escape the moisture of the upper air. The flesh under the nails looks red because the naUs are almost transparent, and thus the color of the tissue beneath Is visible. Lightning is so destructive because of its enormous power. A flash of lightning has been calcluated to equal 12,000 horse power. It Is harder to blow out a candle with a cotton than with a flax wick, because the porous cotton absorbs so much more of the tallow. Spontaneous combustion occurs in many substances because during fermentation heat Is evolved and inflammable gases are engendered. Sea shells murmur because the vibrations of the air, not otherwise observable, are collected In the shell and by its shape are brought to a focus. The bones of the skull are arched because In that form the greatest strength Is combined with the least weight and quantity of material. A spoon in a glass filled with hot water prevents the breaking of the glass because the metal readily absorbs a large part of the heat of the water.