Facts and Fancies

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 771, 18 September 1929, Page 8

Facts and Fancies

Popular Theories Analysed

Several popular fancies. with their scientific explanations , are dealt with in the following article, which has beeji written for THE SUN by Hr. Maurice Ecc, B.A.

“Oh, I assure you, it’s a fact! You can’t crush an egg lengthwise. You try it!” I thought I would; and I did. X | locked my fingers grimly round a perfectly helpless egg, and I squeeezd. I think the egg did its best, but it was really no match for me. With a low, albuminous gurgle it collapsed. | When I had removed the debris from my eye I searched about with diligence for my informant. Then I sat down and wondered how many other curious ideas I have met with in my travels in New Zealand would stand the test better than that egg. A farmer’s family with whom I was staying some time ago maintained passionately that, no matter what time of the day an eel was caught, it didn’t die till sunset. Well, I could put au eel through the mincer, in which case I would confidently guarantee it as defunct. But some time ago I saw a Maori catch an eel, cook it and eat it, all within the space of an hour or so. If that eel didn’t die till sunset an interesting situation arises—either the Maori comes under the heading of an aquarium, or the case should be reported to the S.P.C.A. EVERY SEVENTH WAVE I suppose few people now would believe the eel fable; yet other equally doubtful theories are more generally accepted. Is every seventh wave a larger one? Does oil calm troubled waters? As for the first—no. It is just one of many superstitions which are still held about the number seven—-or sometimes it is nine. But oil does calm troubled waters; it is largely a matter of surface tension, which' is affected by the viscous oil. Of many superstitions regarding sun, moon and stars, the most prevalent probably is the idea that it is bad to sleep in the moonlight. Perhaps this is a legacy from the days when the moonlight was supposed to cause madness. To any one who still believes the moonlight is evil, I would suggest three considerations—that moonlight is reflected sunlight; that, being inestimably weaker than sunlight, it cannot produce even what harm the sun can work; and finally, that thousands of animals sleep in moonlight whenever it shines. And now a few more ideas in regard to animals. Does an ostrich hide its head in the sand ? An experienced traveller tells me that it does not, but that the bird often crouches down, its neck flattened out along the ground, so that the creature resembles the hummocks of its habitat. I have often read of frogs being found alive in rocks or in pieces of coal where they have been imprisoned since the rock was formed. I don’t believe it. First, the formation of stone or coal involves not thousands but millions of years. Secondly, a frog, even under normal circumstances, given air and food, would not exist for a thousand years, or any-

| thing approaching it. Hibernation is j a different matter altogether. And, | speaking of frogs, I once read of nuxu- : bers of them falling in a shower of I rain. I have read elsewhere of a similar deluge of fishes. Either event seems possible, and a shower of fishes definitely has occurred, the creatures being sucked up in a whirlwind. As for the frogs it seems less certain, though still possible. It is rather more likely that numbers of them are brought out of their hiding places by the rain. Does a drowning person rise three times before liis final disappearance? 1 don’t believe he does (though I have never seen a person drown) and I can find nothing in science to suggest that he does. A drowning person will continue to approach the surface until he has so much water in lungs and stomach that he is no longer buoyant. How long this takes and how many times lie rises during the process, depends upon the chance struggles of his arms and legs and on the rate at which he takes in water. As one admirable book points out, a swimmer in London was winded by his dive and sank inert to the bottom. Had his rescuer waited for him to rise even once, the man must have been drowned, but fortunately a fellow swimmer dived at once and rescued him. RED RAG TO A BULL Does red irritate a bull? I don't know’; and, remembering my experience with the egg, I am not inclined to try. But a bull is easily irritated, and red is definitely known to be exciting to men and animals. Very likely, if a bull were irritated by anything at all, a flash of red would be most effective; but I do not think the bull would respond invariably. When we feel cold, is our blood cold, and is it warmed by exercise? Most certainly not. A variation of only a few degrees in the temperature of our blood means serious illness. W’hat does happen when we feel cold is that the blood is withdrawn from the skin which then feels cold. The heat from a fire, o-r the acceleration of the heart through exercise, will send the blood surging back again into the capillaries of the skin, and we feel warm again in consequence. Is a clever man’s brain bigger than that of a dullard? The answer—no, not necessarily. Unusual smallness or size may both mean idiocy. But in normal men a large brain guarantees no greater mental brilliance than a smaller one. I conclude with a proposition for the reader. How many times among summer picnickers on beach and in field have you seen the cook place carefully across the open bilb’ on the fire a single thin, green stick? If you should ask the reason for this peculiar ritual, you will be gravely informed that that stick w’ill keep the water for the tea from getting smoked. What do you know about that?