MAN THE WEAKLING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4365, 13 January 1922, Page 3

MAN THE WEAKLING.

In proportion to his size man is one of the weakest forms of life, and he is especially weak when compared with insects. There is a certain span ci,es of Crab that can lift 492 times its own weight. This is the equivalent ofl the average size man lifting 73,8001 b. There is a little beetle whicn can pull six matches after it, and that is equal to the average man dragging 330 beams as big as himself. Some years ago (says "Everyday Science’’) a Belgian scientist, Felix Frateau, interested himself in many experiments with insects, testing their strength. He found that the strength of a common house fly, which was able to lift a match, is equivalent to that exerted by a man supporting with his feet a beam 14ft long and 2ft 6in square. He discovered that the muscles of a large oyster will support a weight of 371 b, and that a bee, weight for weight, is thirty times as strong as a horse, which is eight times as strong as a man. Frateau, to measure the strength of insects,, constructed most ingenious and delicate harness attached to a sensitive spring balance. By prodding the insects he made them move along. Then he cautiously piled on the weights until they stopped. Even the butterfly, in proportion to size, is stronger than the average man.