HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1950-05-11, Page 3Nature Was The
First Inventor
11'hen you take a look into a box
of carpenter's or gardener's tools
and observe the incredible variety of
the instruments it contains, do you
ever pause to wonder how they all
cavae to be thought of and de-
signed? One thing is certain, None
of those precision instruments "just
happened."
Who were the inventors and howv
did they get their ideas.-
When
deas?When we look at the world of
Nature around us, we cannot help
wondering if nnen really orginated
those tools. Ali observant eye will
sooty see that Nature was "first ill
the field"; that Nature, in short, sup-
plied the "blue -prints" for mankind
to build on, Evidence is everywhere.
Let ars dip into the gardener's
tool chest and pick the commonest
tool of the lot—tile spade. Did mean
invent that instrument? asks Craven
Hill, F.Z,S., writing in "TitBits."
Picture to yourself it, caveman
of long ago looking at the ground
outside his cave and woudering_.
holy lie can best make a hole big
enough to hide the carcase of a
wild animal he had just killed:
Their Feet are Shovels
What lie wants ,of course, is the
instrument we call .a spade. But
since no one (at the time of which
I am speaking) had yet been clever
enough to invent such a thing, lie
has to do some hard thinking over
his problem. His attention is drawn
to mole burrowing its way into
the soil, and there, in the anole's
shovel -like forefeet, is the solution.
There is his idea for a spade! Nature
has shown him the way. All lie
needs now is a little constructive
ability to fashion for himself a ser-
viceable tool for the job.
'Whether or not that is a true
picture of how the first spade came
into being I do not pretend to know.
But if it is not literall•• accurate,
it cannot be very far from the fact.
Iron Age Models
Let us look into the carpenter's
chest for that almost equally conn-
nion tool, the saw. It canitot have
taken an Iron Age man longto de-
velop this useful instrument, for his
"models" lay all around him—saw-
fishes in tine sea; crocodiles, alliga-
tors, and a hot of other cre,aUkres
on land.
Again, take the caapelter'., chisel.
No doubt someone, at sonic period
of history, laid claim to the "in-
vention" of it. Maybe he did, in a
way. But he had Mother Nature to
guide him, for there were some ex-
cellent chisels in existence long be-
fore Mau canoe on tine scene. Take
a glance inside the nnouth of any
rodent, and you will see them. And
they don't wear out, In, fact, the
more use they get, the sharper they
become.
One fruitful scource of inspira-
tion to our forefathers undoubtedly
lay in the beaks of birds. Not un-
naturally, perhaps, for the bills of
all the birds are little less than tools,
specially designed by Nature for
the work they have to perform.
The long, slender, delicate bills
of the snipe and woodcock are per-
fect natural forceps, enabling their
possessors to extract all mariner of
tiny objects from tine soft soil in
which these species feed. Similarly,
the broad bills of the ducks and
spoonbills make very serviceable !i
scooping instruments, while the
beak of the crow provides an ex-
cellent "blueprint," sureb•, for a
pickaxe.
Heron's Beak—a Spear
Specially useful to the primitive
fisherman must have been the var-
ious waterfowl and fish -eating birds.
What better model could lie have
had for a, spear than the long,
straight beak of the heron? For a
hook he had only to study the crook-
ed beak of the merganser, that now
ratl,cr rare cluck sometimes seen on.
our coasts, whose long hill has at
its tip a, perfectly murderous hook
used by the bird for hooking moll,
uses and Crustacea from their un-
derwater hiding -places, or for pick-
ing up evert the most wriggly eel.
Again, suppose you %vanted to
make a paddle for a canoe you had
built. The idea would have come to
you instantly, oil watching how gulls
and clucks use their webbed feet.
I think the mail who originally
"designed" that useful article of
footwear for humans, snowshoes,
had probably been watching the
wading birds as they ran hither and
thither over the mild -flats. Plenty
of inspiration there!
Examination of fishes must also
have played its part in the develop-
nient of the modern tool -chest, no
less than ill the growth of weapons.
Who first thought of the bow and
arrow is anyone's guess, but it seems
quite feasible that whoever it was
borrowed some useful ideas from
the archer -fish of Alalava, the East
Indies and elsewhere.
This little underwater nnarksman
feeds mainly ora insects, for which it
]Hunts diligently along the banks of
streams. Having seen an insect, the
fish captures it by shooting out a
drop of water from its mouth, and
aims with such unerring accuracy .
that it can Tait its quarry :even' at,
distances of twelve to fifteen feet.
I often wonder wvhether one of
those gallant gentlemen of the Mid-
dle Ages—some resourceful "knight
in armour"— claimed to have in-
vented and perfected that shining
suit of mail. Quite likely he did;
but the credit for the idea really
ought to go to Mother Nature, who
originated the suit of nail long be-
fore the Middle Ages. If you doubt
that, observe the lobster or the
crab! Or—if you do not feel like
dipping into the briny—take a look
at the adnnadillo, that strange -look-
ing South American mannnnal whose
fat, squat body is entirely encased
in a hard, hornlike covering—a ver-
itable "suit of mail."
If we chose to examine the matter
more closely, we could find scones
of other examples showing how
mankind has found in Nature
`.'ideas" for'innplements of all kinds.
The claws of the lobster; the prin-
cers at the business -end of the ear-
vdg;%the long, whiplike tentacles
of tlne octopus (first-rate "lassos,"
those!); even the sting of the wasp—
have all, probably, formed the orig-
inal models from wvhich Modern
Rfaai has evolved his tools and wea-
pons, Think it over—it's worth a
thought or twol
"Good Old Daggs"
''weren't So Hot
The National Industrial Confer-
ence Board, Inc.,. does an outstand-
ing job of presenting statistics oil
a wvide variety of subjects, Their
studies ole personnel policy and
studies on labour statistics have re-
ceived and merited widespread com-
mendation. Recently, the Board
published a booklet entitled, "What
An Hour's Work Would Buy, 1914-
1918", the third in their studies in
labour statistics. While the infor-
mation contained therein is based on
American figures, the pattern which
has been uncovered is equally ap-
plicable to Canada. This study dem-
ontrates that the average manufac-
turing worker inn 1914 worked 51.5
hours a week, receiving 25 cents an
hour or $12.72 a week, required
$16.00 a week to support his family
and, therefore, showed a deficit of
$3.28 a week, requiring some 14
hour.;; of work by other members
of his family to Make ends meet.
:In 1948, the average manufacturing
worker worked 39.7 Hours a week,
received $1.47 an hour or $58,52 a
week, required $49,52 a week to
support his fainily and, as a result,
showed a surplus of $9.00 a week
!Couple Attacked—Ili Los Aiigel.cs, Robert 11Tatdler, 22, consoles
lois girl friend, Carol Ana C o.p also 22, after they were rescued
by 1,ol.icc. They had been attacked' by a thug, wvlto pistol.
wvhi 1)ec1 ,1hiellcr into unconsciousness' and robbed linin, then
1
cri1minally assatilted1l.i." 'Cope, l:Tttellei 'crawvlect td an all-night
radio sthtinti and '101r1 llis story to a disc - Jockey; who ca*d
police.
Modern Homebuilders and What They're. Building
k Today Canada and the United States are in the midst of the greatest home-building booth in all history. Herewith, in chart
and picture form, we publish a revealing look at the different ages and types of these homebuilders, also the various types
of Houses they most favor. All these data are taken from a recent coast-to-coast survey of 2000 new homebuilders conducted
by the magazine Better 'Homes and Gardens; and although the survey wag mostly made soutli of the border, it gives a very
fair idea of Canadian trends and preferences as well,
Cape Cod is'still-the preferred architectural style, but inuving
up fast in popularity are the "ranch -type" houses and contem-
porary designs, Cape Cod is strongest in the East and West
North. Central region's. Ranch and contemporary styles are
very strong in the West and Southwest; but even in the East,
one-fifth of new homes are ranch or contemporary.
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.YF00411
..£�.i, Tui,
r. 9 t89
_" ��,' ��' �, :, ;� � ,,' Most Popular
Price Ranges
.orr' ori for 1'4cW Homes
810,000 to 715,000 is most popular price range.
Most houses are built bis- families in the "over 30" group,
1Where New Homes Are Built...
i
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Trend is away from big cities, to the suburbs and smaller cities.
'l,liese features are gaining in popularitN%
half are two-bedrooni.
Contractors lead.
to be saved or used for improving
of ,.Work would purchase the wveek's
saving levices, the convenience of
Monarchs, whose movements in
the .living standard of his family.
food for the typical wage-earner's
modern refrigeration and the com-
America are still largely a mystery.
We are all familiar with the
family ill 1948. Ill 1914, it took 30
fort of inner -spring mattresses and
Anderson has already discovered
stories of the "good old days" when
hours of work, The big item for a
insulated homes cannot be evaluated
that Monardas fly up to 25 iniflea
eggs were sold for 15 cents a dozen
Sunday dinner, a roasting chicken,
in ternns of hours of work, All these
all hour and move in a direct line
olid a snare felt that. he could sup-
required more than four hours'
things rate consideration, however,
as though ora a radar beam. Many
porta wife when his pay reached
work in 1914. The 1948 wage-earner
when we look at the benefits which
witnter in the southern parts of
the amount of a week. The
required only a little more than two
we can hope to obtain if wve recog-
America. When tine wen herts
reason for the nostalgic regard for
octal
hours' work to buy the same fowl•
nize and appreciate the basic reas-
warier the fl north—soueti nem
the past is that comparisons are
Clothing himself and his family
g' y
ons for our material progress and
p' g'
as far as Canada,
always basest oil the buying power
cost the factory worker one half
do not waste our time yearning for
Anderson is so keen on his self -
of a The
ovalue
the number of hours of work in
the largely fictitious advantages of
"the
appointed thatlast
whatllar.
s of no ever aslaaw norm
1948 than it (lid in 1914. Despite the
good old days"•
bhisy native Minusear .
bydrails to
or standard because it varies con-
fact that housing conditions have
— ---
sota and there traced and brought
tinuously, The Conference.. Board
considerably improved over the
,
EePli1�" � On
home some of the tiny refugees he
recognizes this fact by using, in-
standards prevailing in 1914, the
� �
manufacturing worker in 1948 bad
�
The
hxcl released months before.
stead of th, dollar, the buying power
of one hour's work to compare the
to spend only a little more than 18
,Butexlfhes
factory workers' situation over the
hours a innonth to house lois family
as compared. with the 1914 average
One day in the spring. fifty -
141O8T PEOPLE would rathct
loots bacicwvaru than for;w a,rd, for
past four decades. The results are
startling and informative, Trac study
of more than 35 hours. The 1948
seven-year-old Carl A. Anderson of
texas, will release more than 700
a very simple reason ---it's easier
was based on the average pay for
iuodel low -price car sold for only
954 hours of work despite the fact
orange and brown Monarch butter-
to remember where you've beeia
than where o ' going,
3' u re oinl .
25 manufacturing industries. A
flies which he is now', Veediilg in
consideration to be'borne in nnind
that the price had more than doubled
his backyard. But first 1441l'brand'
is that the wage -tarsier today has
over the 34 years, This nlaeant that
each butterfly ant the vv9aag �vitln a
F11wID A FELLOW who never a(r
a much wider range of goods to
tits 1948 wage-earner could buy a
ser"gal number. •' "
cepted any responsibility, never
choose from than did his predecessor
new car for a little more than one-
hater in the year A.iid'erson wyill '
did constructive. never
of 1914 and lois standard of living
third the number of hours that one
begin to receive every°iveck,scores
,anything
originated or built something'
and the convenience he now enjoys
cost in 1914.
of postcards from nature-loVels
worth while, and we relight be atilt"
are. superior to anything available
'11e intangible gains, such as the
who have traced the Monarch 'in
to point out the perfect cxatnnle
34 years ago...Some of the details
technical iter>rovenaents, the time
various Barts of North America. Ili
of a carping critic who thinka he
of the study are of more than pass-
and physical energy saved in the
this way lie hopes to learn more
laiowvs precisely what's •lw•rong with
ing interest, For example, 12 hour.,
hoine through the use of ,labour-
about the 1111gratoty Ilabits of the
t
all the other folks,