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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1954-03-25, Page 6Dropped Two Miles. Yet Survived As the pilot of a Sabre jet came roaring out of cloud at 450 miles an hour, he was horrified to see a training 'plane stooging leisurely along just" ahead of him; With only a split second to avoid the trainer, the jet pilot flicked his fighter into a vicious- ly steep turn. But his swishing wingtip slic- ed through part of the trainer's fuselage near the tail. Its pilot felt a bump and his rudder con- trol almost jammed. He thought he'd merely hit an air pocket. And it was without knowing that bis 'plane .was damaged that he made a safe landing at a north of England airport. And the jet? That also was Only slightly damaged and the pilot landed safely at the same airport. Hardly a day passes but some- body or other cheats death. There are hundreds of people alive today whose hair-raising escapes have bordered on the miraculous. Take the airman flying over France recently who used his ejector seat just as his aircraft hit a power cable. He was shot out and fell into a haystack — the only one for miles around. After falling 70 storeys from the roof of a New York sky- scraper, a man got up and mere- ly complained that he had "a slight headache." He had fallen head -first into a truck loaded with mattresses. A funeral saved another man from what would have been cer- tain death. Strolling across his farm at Northfleet, Kent, England, he saw a funeral passing along the roadway nearby. He stopped and respectfully raised his hat. As he did so, the earth caved in in front of him, leaving a crater 45 feet deep. Said he: "That funeral saved my life. If I had not stopped for it I should have fallen to the bottom of the crater and been buried alive." One of the most extraordinary escapes on record was that of a steeplejack, F. S. Sutherland. He was nearing the top of a 240 - feet high Chicago waterworks when a stone gave way and he made a headlong plunge of 175 feet. Forty feet above the street he struck telegraph wires and bounced off, falling straight into a heap ofslushy snow, six feet deep, at the• edge of- the pave- menti=After day m hospital're- covering from the shock of his 'fall he was back at work. In a United States concert hall an enormous chandelier slipped from the ceiling and crashed down—on to the only group of vacant seats in the hall. Until five minutes before the seats had been occupied by a party of 20 people, who had had to leave the concert before it ended to catch a train home. Having a pair of tongs run into his groin for a distance of nine inches without injury to any internal organ was the re- markable experience of a Mid- land factory worker. The accid- ent happened when he was hold- ing the tongs under a falling hammer, which had a., striking force of 200 tons. Whenthe ham- mer fell the tongs were jerked Into him. "Such an escape from injury would not happen once in ten thousand times," commented the surgeon who extracted the tongs. The heel of her shoe prevent- ed a London woman from drowning during a seaside holi- day. She slipped on the pier landing stage, and as she fell her heel caught in some decora- tive ironwork. P'or five minutes she hung suspended head downwards. Then she managed to seize an iron stay and struggle into an upright position, Her screams were heard and she was rescued. Charles Hunt, a Portsmouth man, owed his life to a sudden noise. He was working in an old building when he heard the noise of cracking girders and ran into the street. He was just in time to escape being crushed to death by the _collapse of the side wall of the structure. To be blown out of his aircraft at a height of over 17,000 feet without a parachute—and sur- vive—was the experience of Flight -Lieutenant Joe Herman, of Hughenden, North Queens- land, during the last war. He dropped two miles and then fell on to a man who had a parachute! the pair completed the trip to earth together. Fantastically lucky, too, was a 67 -year-old blacksmith, who ac- cidentally stepped off a bank Of the River Ouse and collapsed after struggling through thick mud for a short distance. For 15 hours he was impris- oned in mud. Then a search - party found him, unconscious, with only his head. showing. He appeared dead, but later recov- ered completely from his ter- rible ordeal. .A doctor who treated him said the man's life was undoubtedly saved by the thick coating of Miter Queen -- Queenie, a'.beagle, set the canine world on its ear when she gave birth to these nine pups. Not only was If rare for a beagle of her type to bear so many pups, but she sup- posedly set a world's record by delivering in only 50 days. A doctor who helped deliver the dogs says the lowest previous record was 55 days. mud which covered the body. It kept him warm and allowed the blood to circulate. While rock climbing in the Lake District, a young man was saved from death by his lunch. Losing his balance, he fell 90 feet. Luckily, he landed on his back with his haversack, which conained a loaf, under him. The loaf was crushed to the thick- ness of a crust. "But it saved 'me from breaking my neck," said the fortunate climber. "TABLE TALKS tradertri' ►1 �a ndce s. rt+` From far -away Sweden comes this recipe for Cornucopias — a favorite with young and old over there. Over here, too, with those lucky enough to have en- joyed them. Cornucopias are easily made from a simple, inexpensive bat- ter. You can bake a large batch to keep on hand for those times when you want a dessert in a hurry. Just store the cones in - a tightly -covered cookie jar. They'll stay fresh for weeks. The fillings are no trouble to fix, either — just whipped cream , flavored with fresh or frozen fruit; jam, chocolate, or cocoa. Fresh peach ice cream makes a delicious filling;M:too,. Be careful, though, not to make the filling too sweet, because the cornucopias are rather sweet in themselves. Add the filling just before serving time, so that the cones will be crisp and crunchy. * * * CORNUCOPIAS 2 eggs, slightly beaten efi e. sugar !� e. sifted flour 1 tsp. grated lemon rind 2 tblsp. melted butter Add sugar to eggs gradually. Beat well, about 3 minutes (with electric mixer, at medium speed.) Blend in lemon rind and flour. Stir in butter; mix well. Trace 6 -inch circles (use saucer or small plate as a guide) on well - g r e a se d, floured cookie sheets, Place about 2 tblsp. of batter in center of each circle, and spread thinly to edge of circle with spatula. Bake in moderate (350°) oven 4 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove circles, one at a time, and shape into cones immedi- ately. Work quickly. If circles become brittle, warm in oven to soften. Stack them in a glass Come into My Parlor -- No, Japanese actor Masaya Fu ima isn't beckoning you into his parlor. He's merely practicing his part as Tschigurmo, the spirit of the spider. Fujima is a member of the Japanese AMuma Kabuki team currently performing in America. so . they wont unroll. Makes,. cones. ' FILLINGS + ( Strawberry Filling:.. 1 e. heavy cream ,f ars; 1 c. fresh or frozen berries Whip cream and fold in bear ries. (If frozen berries are use4, drain them. If' berries are flesh, mash them and all a little sugar Fills 8 cones. * Chocolate Filling I: 1 c. heavy cream 1 tblsp. cocoa, sifted 1 oz. semi -sweet chocolat'. grated 1 tsp. vanilla 2 tblsp. sugar Whip cream; fold in ret. ingredients. Fills 8 cones. Chocolate Filling II: ee pkg. prepared chocolate pudding Ma c. heavy cream, whippe Prepare pudding according directions on package. Fold whipped cream into cool pud- ding. Fills 8 cones. :, * a Fruit Filling: • 34 c. sugar 1 tsp. grated orange rind 1/4 c. orange juice 2 eggs k' 1 c. finely diced apples 1/2 c, heavy cream, whipped'. 1 tblsp. lemon juice Combine all ingredients ex- cept cream and lemon juicer Cook in top of double boiler, stirring constantly until smooth and thick — about 5 minutes. Cool. Fold in whipped cream and lemon juice. Fills 8 cones. "Drained cubed or crushed pineapple may also be used in- stead of diced apple. City Street is Heated By Gas Walk up, walk up, and see what is claimed to be the world's first centrally -heated street! .' In Bremen this'winter an idea has been tried out by the local authoritites which sets- a pre- sedent for lighting and harming shopping thoroughfares' -by gas fires. Pedestrians, whether business people, shoppers, or shop gazers, appreciate the comfort of an artificially created warm tem•- perature in an open street, Bremen's famous Soegestrasse. for its whole length has been provided with a heating systeni. consisting of gas fires mounted above the shop windows. On both sides of the thoroughfare are mounted infra -red reflecting mirrors at a height of about ten feet. The heat from the gas fires strikes these mirrors and is reflected downwards and across the street. The idea, say the authorities, is not merely to attract visitors and thereby more custom to the shops in the street, but also to keep,. the Soegestrasse free from snow and , sleet in bad weather. They estimate that the consider- able cost of installing the heat- ing system is already being rap- idly recovered in other-ways. Riches have wings; the trick is to get them winging tott-a'rci your bank account. GREW TIIUB . , Gordon Sk t h The Center Piece The lawn is perhaps the most important feature in any gar- den layout and yet it is often the most neglected. For some reason or other a lot of people seem to think that grass will take care of itself. It is not real- ly difficult or expensive to create a really good lawn: Here are the major points . to keep in mind: It is much easier to get the ground level and the top soil fine before the lawn is seeded than afterwards, and level and fine it should be for best results in the usual location. On hillsides, slopes should be made as gradu- al as possible and instead of one long sharp one, two or three levels with terraces, rock gar- dens or shrubbery and steps in. between are advisable. Use , the best seed. Except for very . special purposes like put- ting or bowling greens, the best seed consists of mixtures of sev- eral fine grasses. Some of these come quickly, some do best late in the season, some have richer color and so on. These are blended together to produce uniformity of texture and color throltghout the season and for carious regions of Canada. Seed- ing should be done early, before the hot weather, or after it in the ' fall. Lawns should be fed, like any other plant. One good ap- plication of fertilizer, rich in nitrogen, is advisable every year or so. Permanent Plantings In choosing shrubbery and trees for planting around the home one should keep in mind the height of buildings and fences nearby. With the modern bungalow or the low ranch house it would be a great mis- take to surround with tall things, though one or two fair sized trees, 50 or 100 feet away may add interest. It is also well tb note the mature size of every shrub and tree and to allow for full development. Far too many people make the mistake of planting -shrubbery right up against the house wall and then wonder why it graws scraggly, if at all. These things must have room to develop. They should be at least half as far away from any fence or wall' as they will be high at maturity. That means at least two to four feet for most shrubs in the aver- age Canadian climate. Another thing to avoid is planting un- der a low overhanging roof. It will keep out too much sun and rain. In any planting of this kind it -is a good plan to mix in some evergreens principally because they will add . beauty and shel- ter in the winter months when other things are bare. .Shrubs, trees and vines need most attention in early spring. They should be cultivated then and given a feeding of manure or other plant food. Spring is also the time for pruning which mainly consists of thinning, shaping, letting in the light and removing weakened or dead branches, can be carried on safe- ly from February to early June There are a few particular points to remember. Early flow- ering shrubs like the forsythia and spirea are best pruned af- ter blooming not before, and somefruit trees, grapes and such which "bleed" excessively should be pruned very early in February or March. With orna- mental shrubbery and trees one is advised to encourage the nat- ural form rather than shape :drastically. If you have nothing else to be thankful` fir, just look around and , be glad you're not a canni- bal, Like To Buy An island, Cheap? No early rising to go to work. No rush-hour crowds to battle against... No .noise. No income tax. No. smog. Only blue seas and soft'`golden sands to lie on. That's -the -sort of vision con- jured kape en : advertisement that an island is for sale. And though the vision may be somewhat tempered by the fact that the island, Papa Stronsay, happens to be in the Orkneys, it's still a grand prospect—to be king of one's own domain. Papa Stronsay, recently ad- vertised for sale, covers 156 acres and has a population of six. Its present owner is Edward Seator. In the daya.of the Norse- men it boasted a monastery which gave it the distinguished name of Papa, and even as recently as 1871 Papa had' thirty-two • inhabitants and a prosperous fishing port. A few weeks ago Graemsay, a sister island, was sold to a doc- tor from Warwickshire. Simultaneously, new s comes that Michael Neale, "Prince" of the Saltee Islands off the Wex- ford coast, plans to make an air- field on his island kingdom and later to have himself crowned in a: coronation chair costing £800; Don't imagine even in these times of ` mass production and regimentation that one can't be- come king of one's own island. Round the coast of Britain there are some 500 islands, most of them habitable and going for a song. -They lack eierpetual b 1 u e skies, of course, and the trans- lucent seas that make an island so desirable to the prospective lotus-eater. But there are also islands to be had ,cheaply under the blue skies. In 1937, Mr. Gordon Selfridge, Jr., went to Yugoslavia and, as a guest of Col. Radovitch, one of the air staff, visited Hvar. From t h at ' Dalmatian seaside resort they took a trip to a de- serted island off the coast, which enchanted Selfridge. "Why not buy it?" suggested Rado- vitch, But there we r e not enough t r e es for Selfridge's liking. So they brought over a for- estry expert, who said . that trees would flourish in the soil. Then pa architect w a ss summoned. When Mr. Selfridge's wants were explained he took a piece of charcoal and sketched the design oe a house -:on a flat, white rock. "Yes," said Selfridge, well sat- isfied. "I'll buy it. •What's the price?" Back came the .answer that the cost of the island would be the equivalent Of twopence-half- penny! People still buy islands and live on them in perfect happi- ness. In 1937, Miss Mona Allan, heiress of the Glasgow and Bel- fast shipping magnate, Charles. Allan, married Robert Suther- land. The pair abandoned society and retired to the lonely island of Shuna In the Hebrides, * sanctuary for birds and wild life. "Shona," said Mrs. Suther- land, "is the most marvellous place In the 'world and I ask nothing better t h an to be allowed to spend the rest of my life there, making all the things that we have planned come true." There used to be a popular music hall song that ran, "Put Me Upon An Island," A great many people have an urge to live alone, or with their wives (Or the wives of, other men) on an island. Ana,„ English paper that carried • t acrtrrtisement, "Wanted: an islend,. urnished or unfurnished," diedoesedit 300 let- ters from people', wifs0: islands to sell, and twice tirrt number from others wanting -to know if there were any islands going. In 1938 there were five islands off the coast of Brittany for sale. These were situated in the De- partment of Cote du Nord, two miles from the mainland at Paimpol. The estate, which con- sisted of 110 acres, included the islands Beniguet, Raguenes, Crouzen, Guiermgore, and Ro- losquet. The s c en ex y is magnificent and the isles contain an abund- ance of sub -tropical plants such as are found in the South of France. On the main island wore a number of furnished villas equipped with electric light and central heating. There are many "kings" who own islands, apart from well- known people like Mrs. Hath- away, Dame of Sark. Some, like Louis Rice Wasey, own well - populated islands. Wasey's Island, Cat Cay, in the West Indies, belonged to the younger brother of Field -Marshal Earl Haig, who was a bachelor and lived there for twenty-three years before his death. The island, together with the o •igi- nal deed issued .and signed by Queen Victoria, passed to Wasey for a nominal sum. But that isn't the sort of island that most people want. They hanker for some small, isolated place like Dunk Island off the coast of Queensland, on which Mr. Banfield, naturalist and author, lived with his wife for twenty-five years. Dunk is less than three square miles in area. The Banfields spent their days watching birds, beasts, reptiles and fish, and became so attached -to some of their "subjects" that they would not even keep bees because they did not like the thought of them being devoured by bee -eating birds. They lived a simple, happy life and left behind them a record of activity that will be useful to others for centuries to come. Out Of The Past -- This volume, believed to be the oldest typo- graphic book known, probably turned out by Johann Gutenberg more than 500 years ago, is now in Pierpont Morgan Library. It's a 3715 -page book containing all the major masses and was printed for the Roman Catholic diocese of Constance, Germany. Frederick B. Adams, Jr., director of the library, holds the Cons- tance onntance missal above a case containinga Gutenberg Bible. Adam* says It is the Most important printed book ever acquired by an American library. Previously the famed Gutenberg Bible had been considered the first book printed from movable type.