Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 December 1898 — CURIOUS FACTS. [ARTICLE]

CURIOUS FACTS.

The longest, largest and Btrongto bone In the human system is the femun eg thigh bone. A dark, gloomy, blue sky is windy, |ut a bright, light-blue sky indicgM fine weather. Generally the vtoci clouds look the less wted (but ptrhapi more rain) may be expected, and th* harder, more “greasy,” rolled, tufted <4 ragged the stronger the coining wind will prove. . Thumb rings are very common in tbs East These are often made of precious -metal, ivory, jet and precious stone*, but generally they are of fine jade. The cavity is not cylindrical, but swells out at the base and middle. This enables the owner to wear it lower down, and also prevents it slipping. A foreign scientific journal fives the results of some recent experiments up> on the vocal cords which will prove interesting to singers. A baritone whs Wished to become a tenor succeeded W taking a course of inhalations, beginning with benzoin, going on to caseins and chloroform, and ending with curacoa; while the voice was deepened by using volatilized Norwegian tar. Watch the sky for what are called hnars* tails.” These appearing after V -ar weather show the track of the bind in the sky. A rosy sunset presets fair weather. A red sky in the ■iming foretells bad weather. A gray ■cy in the morning means fine weather. Ks the first streaks of light at dawn art seen above a bank of clouds look oul fr>r wind; if they are dose to or on the horizon the weather will be fair. In general, soft, delicate colon in the sky, with indefinite forms of clouds, mean fair weather; gaudy, unusual colors and hard-edged clouds mean rain, and probably wind. The warm climate of India often makes the ordinary precautions against the undue expansion of rails in a Milway track quite useless. For instance, it is stated that on a portion of the Rajputana Railway several miles of the permanent way were laid with Belgian rails which were all right in the morning, but exhibited a serious change dur Ing the heat of the day, the rails deflecting in and out fully three inches In X 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 derail ments recently reported may be attrib* ed to the san* tause.