OBSERVATORY.

Putaruru Press, Volume VI, Issue 223, 9 February 1928, Page 1

OBSERVATORY.

A Bank’s Defences. s > Part of the defences of the Bank of England have been revealed by the re-building work no'w in progress. Two long horizontal slits have appeared almost at the top of the wall at the Threadneedle street and Bartholomew street corner. They are loopholes designed for rifle fire in the event of an attack on or siege of the Bank oof England. Four riflemen could stand at these slits and dominate the many important thoroughfares leading into the vast square known as “ the Bank.” With two machine guns posted at these positions approach to the Bank’s main entrance would be almost impossible. The slits are waist high, and have been filled with cunningly devised stones which appear from outside to be tiny panels. Spelling Match.

Boys in 142 preparatory schools all over England have recently been engaged in a match for the honour of being the “ best spellers ” in England. Each school picks an “ eleven ” of their best spellers, and to these 100 difficult words are dictated. The competition was won by Winchester House School with a total of 922 out of a possible 1100. Though the test words are not long they are tricky. There is the question of how many’ t’s there are in “ Witticism,” how many s’s in “ assassinated.” Other words included were: Gymkhana, sapphire, privileged, cruellest, illicit and enamelled. There is keen interest in the game and one entry received was from a school in Chile and another from Switzerland. A “ Spoonerism.” Heard in a London Police Court: The clerk, to a woman witness: Does your husband carry on the “ Nosy Cook ” teahouse. The wife (indignantly): Excuse me, Cosy Cook. Men’s Danger Age. Is 50 the dangerous age for men? Discussion has been aroused by Dean Inge’s statement that depreciation of character and a loss of inclination to fight against weakness sets in at that age. A Harley street psychologist agrees with Dean Inge, but Mr. H. Roper Barrett, the tennis player and sportsman, says Dean Inge is wrong. The psychologist maintains that about 57 is the really dangerous age. At that period in a man’s life there are changes, both physiological and pyschological. The sex temptations are stronger and there is a general disturbance of character. The force of character that has held a man up to that age begins to weaken. Moreover, if a man has been successful the success begins to sour. All the ambitions begin to flicker out, and there is less power to fight against weakness.

Touching Toes. Judging by' a controversy now raging in some English newspapers, the feat of touching one’s toes appears to be almost a sacred morning rite with thousands of Britishers of both sexes. Old ladies of 80, who confess to being both short and stout, aver that regularly every morning before breakfast they touch their toes with their .fingers without bending their knees with comparative ease. On the other hand many men are equally candid, but state that they have not been able to perform this athletic feat for years. Lord Derby, who is 62, is one of these, and admits he has not been able to touch his toes for 50 years. Another gentleman, who is obviously rotund, stated that far from touching his toes, he has hardly seen them for that period! These latter gentlemen, who now fail to accomplish one of the first exercises in physical jerks may be consoled by the statement of a noted doctor who holds that there is little to worry about in not being able to perform this feat.

£6,000,000 Liner. The Cunard Line has decided on plans for the construction of the world’s biggest, most luxurious, and fastest liner. It is to be more than 60,000 tons, will cost £6,000,000, and will take 21 years to build. Only yards on the Clyde and Tyne can handle such a large vessel. The largest of the Cunard fleet is the JBerengaria (52,226 tons), formerly the German liner Imperator. The new

vessel will be considerably more than 1000 feet long, and will surpass in other dimensions the White Star liner Majestic (56,551 tons, and 915 feet long), formerly the German liner Bismark, the present largest ship in the world. The new ship will carry between five and six thousand people. The White Star Line is also credited with having under consideration the construction of a giant liner.

Searching for an Echo. By means of a chattering searchlight the famous echo of the Royal Albert Hall, London, has been traced to its lair. This echo has grievously troubled people seated in certain sections of the arena, and with a view to improving the acoustics of the hall the test was decided on. The experiment was carried out by the research department of the Gramophone Co., Ltd., and the apparatus used was a silvered copper bowl which not only threw out a strong beam of light in the gloom of the hall, but at the same time produced a beam of sound caused by a rapid interruption of the spark of the electric arc. The beams are directed all round the hall, and when the portions of the building which produce the echoes are played on a muttering noise results, 'and the accompanying beam of light enables the operators to locate the exact position of each “ echo.” With all positions thus plotted, sheets of felt and pulped sugar cane, both of v’hich absorb sound, are placed in position and the lairs of the echoes are thus demolished. British Noah’s Ark.

A Mi's. Grove-Grady, of Hyde Park, London, who died sometime ago, left property valued at £600,000 to found the Beaumont Animals Benevolent Society, whose sole duty was to provide a refuge for all animals, birds or other creatures not human. In her instructions to her executors she stated that she desired an island to be purchased on which there should be at least one of every sort of British native animal—a kind of British Noah’s Ark—-living unmolested. The trustees, however, have found some difficulty in administering the estate, presumably in devising. a scheme whereby the various animals would live together without molesting one mother, and as a result have decided to seek the view of the Court of Chancery. Some Plough. A giant rotary plough has recently been produced by John Fowler and Co., of Leeds, England, for work in the Cuban plantations. The plough weighs 20 tons and has an engine capacity up to 220 horse-po.ver. It is capable of ploughing a breadth of 10 feet at a speed of threequarters of a mile an hour, and can break ar.d pulverise soil to a depth of two feet. It can also ridge and plough in one process. “ Captain Kettle.” Mr. Cutcliffe Hyne, the creator of the famous fiction character with torpedo beard and ready pistol, stated in an address to the Leeds Luncheon Club that “ there never was an original Captain Kettle.” Unlike Sherlock Holmes, which character was created by Conon Doyle, from the personality of Professor Bull, of Edinburgh University, “ Kettle ” originated entirely in Hyne’s brain. “The fact was,” he explained, “ I wanted to get married and thought 1 might make enough to buy some furniture. That was the real genesis of Captain Kettle.”