RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 155, 27 March 1939, Page 8

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights On Current Events

(By Kickshaws). The film entitled, “Youth Marches On,” is stated to stand ou its own feet, but we wonder how many lifts the youths got. “Czech Balances in London.” we note in a recent headline, but it throws no light on which way the Pole jumps. * ♦ * Once we wondered whether morning and evening newspapers were necessary in a civilized world, but now we know they were started to tell us the morning's annexation and the evening's ultimatum.

Seven weeks to build a large Government institute such as the Social Security building is something of a record, concerning which the builders should feel proud. There is a saying more haste less speed, and records of this nature are not made without organization. The greater the building the greater the organization required. For that reason it is not possible to compare the task just done with other pieces of slick work. Nevertheless, those who have worked on the sevenweek wonder may be interested to know that at dawn on March 16, 1913, members of the Methodist Church at Mangapapa began their new church. At sunset they met to return thanks in the completed building. Incidentally, 50 Aberdeen workmen completed two fourroomed, semi-detached houses in 50 working hours. So far as this type of work is concerned, this appears still to be a record. Obviously, it is not possible to make absolute comparisons in fast work of this nature, as size, locality and materials all play a part.

Mention of fast house-building is a reminder of an ancient custom on Dartmoor. There is an old custom that if a man can build himself a house in one day ou common land, he owns it, and the patch of land on which it stands. At Hezwovthy there stood for many years, and may still stand, a house built, well and truly according to this custom. It was built iu oue day between dawn and dark. The house certainly contained only two rooms, with a lean-to outside the kitchen. Nevertbe less, the house was solidly built of granite, roofed, and finished in one day. Another record is claimed by a Welshman named Harries. He began building a two-roomed brick cottage on Wednesday morning. Working with two relays of eight men, he had the walls up and the floors tiled by 11 that evening. Next day the house was finished, including electric light and telephone. On Friday the woodwork was painted.

A task more or less comparable with the erection of the Social Security building in seven weeks was completed a few years ago in London. Two new storeys were added to the Savoy Hotel in eight weeks. Those who have worked on the Social Security building may be interested to know that in this case 300,000 bricks were laid, and 300 tons of cement were used. Three miles of lead and iron piping were fixed, and 4713 separate pieces of steel work went into the job. At the time this was stated to bo the fastest big building job that had been completed anywhere in the world. The task was only completed by shifts working day and night all the time. Moreover, the task was further complicated by the fact that normal work- iu the hotel was only interrupted as briefly as possible. Where the laying of bricks is concerned, the record still stands to the credit of Joseph Raglan, East St. Louis. Illinois, who is credited with laying 3472 bricks an hour for eight hours.

The erection of buildings iu quick time by no means exhausts the list of surprising records that have been created for speedy work. Some years ago an American motor-ear was completely assembled in 11 minutes. Some time later British workmen built a “baby” in three and a half minutes. In 1931 the American wool industry turned out a suit of clothes from the sheep’s back to the client’s shoulders in two and a half hours. This put English firms on their mettle. A firm in Leeds made a complete suit in t wo hours ten miuutes. The wool was shorn, washed, carded, spun, woven, dyed, pulled, dried, cut to measure, and made up into three finished garments. It is understood that this record was set up by Messrs. John Crowther aud Co, and the exact time was 2 hours 9 miuutes 46 seconds. As long ago as ISH Sir John Throckmorton wou a bet for one thousand guineas that he would sit down to dinner at eight iu the evening in a suit made from wool that was on the sheep s back at live o’clock iu the morning. Actually, the suit was on his back at 6.20 p.m.

Practice makes for speed, and there are many jobs that have been doue at a surprising speed considering their intricacy. For example, Mr. Goddard. England, proved that he could make a fancy hairbrush, with 650 holes, in one hour. Another performance of surprising merit is ou record as being performed by David Rankine, of Stirlingshire. He could weigh accurately wagon-loads of coal as the wagons passed over the weighbridge at the rate of three miles an hour, one after the other. A somewhat homely record shows that a pork butcher took a live pig out of'the sty, killed and dressed it ready for the shop in 12 minutes. In 29 minutes the said pig had been converted into sausages frying over the lire in a pan. Another curious record is held by a gentleman by the name of Mr. Jefferson, Leytonstone, London. He made a record by pulling out teeth at the rate of 10 a miuute. In under four minutes he could reduce the biting machine of a normal mau to its component parts. Maybe we have some re-cord-breakers in New Zealand.

“I recently constructed a telescope using two spectacle lenses, one —12.50 and the other +1.75 these being mounted in two mail-order tubes, one to slide smoothly inside the other.’’ says “Telescope.” “This enables ordinary automobile club signposts to be read from 300400 yards. However, it has proved to be not quite powerful enough to read targets on a 25-yard miniature rifle range. I was wondering whether, from your apparently exhaustless sources of information, you might ascertain if there was any other combination of lenses which would give a little more amplification.”

[The average binocular uses a plus six and minus 20 combination. It is suggested that “Telescope” experiment until he obtains the desired result. A first suggestion is to try plus 4 and minus 12.5. Probably the working limit will be reached at plus 10. An increase in the magnification will-re-duce the field and the focal length of the instrument. The lighting of the object viewed playc- an important part as magnifications are increased.!