Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 January 1897 — CURIOUS FACTS. [ARTICLE]

CURIOUS FACTS.

The longest, largest and strongest hone in the human system is the femur, or thigh bone. A dark, gloomy, blue sky U windy, fcuf a bright, light-blue sky indlcatel fine weather. Generally, the -softei clouds look the less wind (but perhapt more raln> may be expected, and thi harder, more “greasy,” rolled, tufted of ragged the stronger the coming wind Will prove. Thumb rings are very common In the East. These are often made of precious metal, Ivory, Jet and preclona stonea, but generally they are of fine Jade. The cavity is not cylindrical, but sweUs out at the base and middle. This enables the owner to wear It lower down, and also prevents it slipping. A foreign scientific Journal gives the results or some recent experiments up or. the vocal cords which will prove interesting to singers. A baritone whs wished to become a tenor succeeded bj taking a course of inhalations, beginning with benzoin, going on to cafelns and chloroform, and ending with curacoa; while the voice was deepened by nslng volatilized Norwegian tar. Watch the sky for what are called “mars’ tails.” These appearing after clear weather show the track of the wind In the sky. A roay sunset predicts fair weather. A red sky In the morning foretells bad weather. A gray sky In the morning means fine weather. If the first streaks of light at dawn are seen above a bank of clouds look on! 'or wind; if they are close to or on the horizon the weather will be fair. In general, soft, delicate colon In the sky, with Indefinite forms of clouds, mean fulr weather; gaudy, unusual color* and hard-edged clbude mean rain, and probably wind. The warm climate of India often makes the ordinary precautions against the undue expansion of rails in a railway track quite useless. For instance, It Is stated that on a portion of the Rajputami Railway several miles of the permanent way were laid with Belgian rails which were all right In the morning, but exhibited a sorlous change during the heat of the day, the rulls deflecting in and out fully three Inches In k length of twenty feet; yet the expansion plates used had been Increased from one-fourth to one-half and even three-fourths of an Inch, but to ao purpose. Perhaps the numerous derailments recently reported may be attriba ed to thesairt e&use.