INTERESTING ITEMS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 514, 2 November 1912, Page 3

INTERESTING ITEMS.

An inch of rainfall represents 100 :ons of water to an acre.

A man should weigh twenty-six pounds for every foot of his height.

The river Rhine flows three times as fast as the Thames.

The Bank of England contains silver ingots which have lain in its vaults since 1696.

More than a million lives have been lost by earthquake in the last century.

South American ants have been known to construct a tunnel three miles in length.

Diamonds are found in every colour and shade, from the purest whj.te to jet black.

. The cultivation of the pear is said to have been introduced into England by the Romans.

Every tiny protuberance on a branch of coral represents a living animal, which grows from it like a plant.

Bartolommeo CristofeU, of Padna, italy, invented the piano about 1711. The upright piano was introli ced by a French firm.

Of all the European countries, in inly Austria and Great Britain is it •.he rule of the road for all travellers to keep to the left.

The dukedom of Norfolk was created in 1483, and is the only title in jsistence ~ that was granted by Richard 111.

The fish-hooks of thirty centuries back were similar to those of tolay, except that the metal employed was then bronze. According to careful estimates, three hours of close study wear out r.he body more than a whole d'ay of aard physical exertion. The largest book in the world is in the British Museum. It is an atlas, measuring sft. lOin. by 3ft. 2in., and weighing close upon 2 cwt. The expression -'"Fourth Estate " ivas first used by Thomas Carlyle, and was applied to the editors dur.ng the period of the French Revolution. In Holland it is customary, when there is infectious disease in a aouss, to notify the fact to intending visitors and the public generally ly tying a piece of white rag round :he bell-handle. The Japanese language is said to :ontain 60,000 words. It is quite impossible for one man to learn the jntire language, and a well-educated Japanese is familiar with only about 10,000 words.