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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1958-11-06, Page 2env Round. World Blindfolded! John W. Guth, a 41 -year-old Californian whose sight is per- /ectly normal, has; circled the globe in seven clays without see- ing a single place at which his plane arrived. He was blindfolded in accord- ance with a forfeit he agreed to pay when taking part in a recent TV program and could only take off his mask when asleep, when blowing his nose and once when he wrote a letter to his wife. He has one or two memories of Paris, however, At Orly airport he actually smelled a bottle of French per- fume, touched a can -can dancer doll and had a drink. But he did not see a thing, Strangely enough, he isn't the first man to deprive himself of his sight temporarily. In 1822, James Hawkins Pack, of Missouri, U.S.A., was appoint- ed judge in the city of St. Louis, and, although he sat on the bench for 14 years, never saw any pee - son he tried. Whenever he sat in court he wore a white bandage over his eves until the session ended so that he could never be influ- enced by people's appearance, All documents intended for him were read aloud by the clerk of the court, and ne even remained blindfolded as he mov- ed about the court in case he saw someone connected with the proceedings, An attendant guided him wherever he moved. Perhaps the nearest approach to that was attained by Heinrich Laufer, of Dusseldorf, Germany, a few years ago. When he was found guilty of spying on a friend's house and wife' he was at first sentenced to a term of imprisonment. Then a priest Intervened and he was ordered to go about ter three months with his Peeping Tom eyes tightly shut, The ag- grieved husband kept careful watch over Laufer for the perio'l of his one -eye blindness. No less remarkable was the case of Chretien LTrhan, who for 'J0 years was leader and solo violinist in the Paris Opera or- chestra. He was deeply religious end, though not a priest, always dressed like one and objected to theatrical performances. Because of his talents he teas table to insist on a clause in his agreement with the Opera al- lowing him to sit with his back to the stage so that he should not see the godless peuple 'or whom he played. It was said that he took part in more than 10,000 perform- ences in this theatre and that he never saw a single show! Where Every Mother Has Twins Doctors in many parts of France are puzzled by the birth of so many bonny twins in the tittle village of Escures, at the foot of the Pyrenees. Only five of the babies born there during the past quarter of a century have not been twins. There are fewer than 30 houses In the village. The mothers have for a long time had a communal twin cot and a twin pram which is passed from family to family r. twins arrive. Since 1933 no fewer than 12 sets of twins have been born in the village. Said the mayor when, at the beginning of August he performed a double marriage ceremony for his 21 -year-old twin nieces: "This twin business is beyond rne. There are no twins in any other near -by vil- lage. Some people say our soil must be radio -active. The melons end pumpkins we grow in our gardens are often twice as big CE those of neighboring villages." The world average is about one pair of twins in every 93 ... rising to the bait ... after the bath Sermons in Stones . • . Poems in the Trees... Shakespeare spoke of tongues in trees, tongues that speak not to the ear but to the eye. Nature often sculptures fantastic figures with her tools of time and weather, as these gnarled wood figures from a Colorado forest testify. A marlin leaping from the waves .. a forest nymph .. a gaping ogre or an owl , a barking dog. What does your imagination see? ... watching and waiting .. his master's guardian WLFMN FRONT kueraissett Within a year the world's first full-scale water research labora- tory will be in operation along a country road at the southeast corner of Phoenix, Problems of seepage, evaporation, transpor- tation, erosion and water trans- portation can then be attacked with adequate scientific equip- ment and ample facilities for practical testing of laboratory results on farms, irrigating sys- tems, and ranges, a :k • "The opportunities are simply unlimited and we're going to have tools at the disposal of no other researchers," says the di- rector, Lloyd Myers, as he ob- serves progress of a $374,000 group of six buildings close by the University of Arizona's Cot- ton Research Center, The site was donated by the university as part of its eampaign to get the Southwestern Water Conser- vation Laboratory located in Arizona. a a By "we" he means himself and a staff of 15 to 20 other natu- births. It is calculated that the chances are 20 to one against a mother bearing twins twice. CROSSWORD PUZZLE 1. :Veep S :^ 7: l i•v;cr -4 171a:.1721 t.'.I: 1 le ,c 1 .r: flay ^117e ^. ALctrli,ute 0.::Y. cargo frnnl 7.4”13,-,1 frnrr 1I erg t 1. Not at hrAne • Fine ,eft it‘,tnan bronze • .LID •trlcaI unit 2 ala odorous 54 t.egeredery nonrter 4^. .7 r 4Y. 7?i�.h trapt4 41 r.tt rns 44 itracl Ian ' net 47. PLO? 4333 weerS2 4q Arti tidal harrier 67 9nund K Brink i related oh tale tmotlter's side 118 - - <•:tt1- t.rlt ne 6^. Av,r ;hist e . Ilindu <�rinr.,es h ,.1^F.7 -tent °OWN 1 No Q41 9. Seize 10. Tear 17. Still - a22. u. Ciril ir1",v 20 C ncr rr,,:.e Dry S} ,il,,cn 2. Self 24. Plunge in 3. rag a Ilquid together 25. Open ihn 4. Ilaint r w � 'el nt „te :.. Like 29. Inartivt e. Indian 29 Flits. •.with. 7. Flesh of medicine ralve8 :12. Sea (lurk &. Eccentric 2 wander 3134,2:. sh• ::,?:1 t..y 7 e pr,,, ,'er 17.1 21.,,70:1,4(1 \ 3 n11.444:1m.tilt Irolia4 b• r 7 .l:int � •ar. 4; 4 qn7--.Iit)• 4'1, 1 11,7,er free ,. H'1:1 -,an rs4.e ,. A5,,' - ,,.nal . R •rt -45 :tin prr,n:o11„ 1 2 3 '4 6 6 7 8 ?iYq 70 I1 12 �. r • 3 �: L4 8 i6 ai7 l8 %}:�>tAiG.'. ' j t , 21r ' %•: 24 26 29.: 4.4 rpm. .662 (answer elsewhere on this page, ral scientists from the Agricul- tural Research Service, Depart- ment of Agriculture, So far the only ones assign- ed are the director, an irrigation engineer sent from Fort Collins, Colo,; Dr, Cornelius Van Bavell, soil physicist transferred from Raleigh, N. C,; and Marvin Jen- sen, agricultural engineer due to arrive in December from Bush - land, Texas. b * a To this trio has been dele- gated the task of planning the institution's initial activities, which they expect to see under way by July 1, 1959. Mr. Myers admits that his ap- pointment was no accident. "I deliberately applied for this post because I think it affords the greatest opportunities yet open- ed for achievement in the field of water conservation," he says. "I helped to plan the laboratory, and the further the plans de- veloped the more enthusiastic I became." The building and equipment planning was done at the West- ern Soil and Water Management Branch of the Agriculture Re- search Service in Fort Collins, where Mr. Myers was a section head under Dr. Omer Kelly. d a „ "We had dreamed that some- thing like this would come along but hardly dared to hope that it would become a reality," he recalls. "Why, there isn't any- thing in the whole world like this is to be. I won't say that It is giving us everything we lack, but almost. Why, I can remem- ber when I was sent out on a Nevada assignment with practi- cally no equipment except orange crates and chicken wire." • :, a The Southwestern Water La- boratory is designed especially to serve Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico, and all its experi- ments will be conducted in these states, "But it will be our fault if we don't come up with findings valuable to all the 17 reclamation states and possibly to all the arid regions," asserts the enthusiastic director while Dr. Van Bevel' nods assent. Congress appropriated $450,- 000 for construction and pre- opening expenses, Another $100,- 000 Is pledged for furniture and equipment, which will probably be In the deficiency appropria- tion bill Congress is expected to pass In January, If it is, the la- boratory can be ready to go by the first clay of fiscal 1960. • * * Mr. Myers announces that he intends to carry an much re- search personally, "and not spend all my time on. adminis- tration." His specialty is to be seepage and water conveyance - the flow of water from well or stream or reservoir to the farm with minimum loss. This involves the lining or treatment of ditches to seal them against seepage and tunneling gophers, possibly by means less expen- sive than concrete, ♦ 8 ,} Dr. Van Bavell is widely reco 'sized as an authority on wate? use by plants, and efforts Of moisture deficiency on their physiological processes, This, of course, will be his line of in- vestigation here. 4 a 1 Mr. Jensen is to work on eva- poration and seepage from bodies of still water especially from stock ponds on cattle ranges. It is in this department, Mr. Myers says, that the first definite findings may be made. a 4' a Hexadecanol will be of course be tried the alcohol that forms a film over water and reduces evaporation 20 to 30 per cent. But a still greater sav- ing can be effected, it is be- lieved, by actually covering wit ter with a sheet of thin plastic on the polyethylene order. "We've actually done it and with encouraging results," My- ers says, "By covering only a portion of the surface we can save as much water as with hexadecanol. New it remains to work out practical techniques." Tapped Insults ' To His Neighbor As he listened to the "tap, tap, tap" from the radiator in his flat, the old man's . face went red with anger. A former French Army officer, he could decode Morse and realized that his neighbor was tapping out rude messages on the central -heating system. Finally, he complained to the -police and the messages were stopped. It had all started, ap- parently, when the old soldiex and his neighbor quarrelled cues politics. When people are really an- noyed, they often think up novel ways of expressing their irri- tation. A Parisian taxi-driver once decided to punish the lawyer who had won a rent case against him. So, in two years, he made 900 telephone calls to his enemy -but never said a word. All the lawyer could hear was heavy breathing. In the end, the taxi-driver was charged with impeding the free flow of telephonic.communi- eations, but he went unpunished, The court decided that the law didn't cover such a case. Tempera often rise On a bueet road when one motorist decides that another has been driving atrociously. One man recently fitted an illuminated sign on his ear's rear window so that he could flash the word "SWINE" at any driver who aggravated him. It might be unwise to emulate hien, however. He was fined for u ng insulting language. An Austrian archduke once spent a small fortune on a special one-man band, so that he could play it to annoy his court. Called the "Panomonico", it incorporat- ed hundreds of instruments, in- cluding three large drums, History doesn't relate how the court retaliated! But noise - haters often take drastic meas- ures when goaded beyond en- durance. A Florida resident complained about being kept awake at night by the barking of a neighbor's clog. Nothing was done to stop it, but the sleepless man got his revenge by howling like a dog himself and banging a dust- bin lid outside his neighbor's house. Eventually, police had to arrest him. Traffic noise once made life a misery for a Viennese poet. He simply couldn't concentrate. In the end he charged out into the street with a heavy axe and attacked the cars. His last victim was a police car, however, and the occupants arrested him. !: SON By Rev, 18, Isarelay Warren B.A., B.D. Becoming Fishers of hien Mark 1:14.22 Memory Selection: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God Is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark 1:15. In the second chapter of John we have the account of the first meeting of Andrew, Simon and John with Jesus. This was in Judea where John was preach» ing and baptizing. After John the Baptist was put_ in prison Jesus came into Galilee preach- ing the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. One day as he walked by the Sea of Galilee he came upon the two pairs of brother's as they were fishing and said, "Come ye after me, and I' will make you to become fishers Of men." And immediately they forsook their nets, end followed him. It is interesting that one-third of those whom Jesus chose to be with him and who later be- came apostles, were fishermen, Certain qualities developed by fishermen are as asset for those who become fishers of men. We are thinking, of course, not of those who fish for sport but those who fish for a living. For example, fishermen require pa- tience. Think of them toiling all night and taking nothing. John 21:3. The Sport wouldn't do it but when one has a family to feed as Simon Peter did. one must toil on in patience. So it is, in fishing for men, Some mis- sionaries, as Adoniram Judson, laboured for years with no ap- parent success. Then finally, the Gospel won its way into the hearts of the heathen. One rule for fishermen is, "Keep out of sight." So in catch- ing men, we must present Jesus, not ourselves. People are still saying as did the Greeks to Philip, "Sir, we would see Jes- us." John 12:21. If we are proud we will hinder the people from seeing Jesus. Fishing calls for hope and faith. Even the most amateur fisherman wouldn't bother go- ing fishing if he had absolutely no hope of catching fish, Hope spurs him on. So in catching men for Jesus Christ, The Chris- tian is an optimist. He will keep tolling through the night that he may catch some for Jesus Christ. Q. How can I banish he odor when cooking smelly vegetables, to keep it from going through the house? A. Place a small pan of vine- gar on the back of the stove. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking YOUNG RAILROADER, OLD ENGINE - Young Bryan Pavicic uses a bit of spit and shine on the headlight of this model of an 1865 steam locomotive. Model was exhibited in Pittsburgh. Push-button railroading equipment abounded bui Bryan pass- ed it all up for the old -tinter, Exhibit was sponsored 'by a local unit • of the Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference.