From Many Lands

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 940, 5 April 1930, Page 19

From Many Lands

TABLOID READING FOR THE WEEK-END. - j

"BRANDY OF SWITZERLAND” j and a wager of death | After drinking nearly two pints ot j liirsch for a wager, a 19-year-old wood- j (Utter toppled over and died at Bar j ie-Duc. in Paris. He had been dared j to do it by a group of companions. Kirsch is an alcohol distilled from ! the fermented juice of the small black j cherry, it is known as the “brandy of | Switzerland.” i "WILLED” TO DIE I NATIVE WIZARDS ARGUE A remarkable incident is reported from Basutoland, where two witch doctors (native “wizards”), one old ;;nd the other young, heatedly argued as to their respective powers in the presence of a big crowd of natives. Then the older man declared that he could “will” the other to die. The challenge being accepted, he said. “You will die!” The younger man staggered, fell, and died. The older man was arrested, but | was released when it was found that ! death was due to heart failure. The natives are nevertheless awed by the affair. A RUN OF LUCK LONDONER WINS £5,000 ! One of the most extraordinary runs ; on simple chances ever known took j place at Monte Carlo recently, when. J at one of the “trente et quarante” i lables. 17 blacks and 17 colours turned up in succession. It is not unusual for runs of 17 or more to occur on one simple chance; but for it to occur on two simple ! chances at the same table has never ( been known before. A Londoner, who often acts as host lo Prince George of Russia, was play- ! ing at the table. When he started he had £BO on black and £BO on colours, and at every winning coup he increased his stake by £BO. At the end of the 18th spin he had won £5,000. EUROPE’S FIRST SMOKER IMPRISONED FOR YEARS The youngster who is sent straight to bed when discovered “enjoying” his first smoke may find comfort in the fact that the jnan who first smoked tobacco in Europe w r as arrested and imprisoned for many years! This is recalled by the proposal to erect a memorial to Rodrigo de Heretz, who it is claimed, was Europe’s first tobacco smoker. Rodrigo accompanied Columbus when he discovered America, and i brought back leaves of tobacco which i he smoked. His family were horrified, I and his wife, a good Catholic, de-1 nounced him to the Holy Inquisition ; ss a man who “swallows fire, exhales I smoke, and is surely possessed by the j devil.” LUMINOUS FOUNTAINS 200 FEET IN THE AIR Luminous fountains, with all the colours of the rainbow playing on torrents of water, are to be an attraction at tho International Exhibition to be opened in May at Liege in celebration of Belgium's centenary of independence. One, which will throw its jets of water 82 feet into the air, will be in front of the Palais de l’Electricite. Another, in the centre of the River Meuse, will have jets of nearly 200 ft, and they will be Illuminated by 140 powerful projectors. Three such fountains are being installed in the town itself by the civic authorities. LOVE CRIME ANTIDOTE LASH FOR A WOMAN Mme. Borugsch, convicted of mur- j dering Mile. Lowinall, in Temesvar, | Rumania, was given 60 lashes on her j naked back, and sentenced to six j years' hard labour. Since the floggiDg law became | effective, love crimes have almost 1 disappeared in Rumania, it is ' declared. "PENNY DREADFULmystery SOLVED BY ACCOUNTANT An eminent London accountant, who deals with more than £5,000,000 every week found himself a penny short recently. He went in search of it. Had he added up a stray fly’s leg in a column of figures? Was it an error of simple addition? Was there a hole in the petty cash drawer? Had some one used a penny stamp and forgotten about it? No. For two days and one night j the staff battled with those millions, \ then the accountant said that a badly- i written figure “2” had been mistaken , for "3.” [ •‘KING OF CAT-BURGLARS’’ SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS The “king of Continental catburglars,” an Austrian named Jean Ebner, aged 25, was sentenced at Nancy to 20 years* imprisonment for a large number of burglaries at wellknown French resorts. Ebner confessed to having stolen Jewels worth £300,000, but said he bad always been badly treated by receivers. He has an almost uncanny skill in breaking prison. Once ho was arrested twice in one day, but did not stay more than two hours in gaol on fcach occasion. He attributed his success to the fact | that he was an athlete. “I can do anything with a rope, and j I can shin up a drainpipe to the third floor with ease,** he told the judge. When the list of hotels and villas he had robbed was read, Ebner was annoyed. “What have the police been doing?” be asked. “Why, that is not half what * bave done!’* and he gave a list of I other burglaries he had committed. ,

AN OWNERLESS LEG j FOUND ON RUNNING-BOARD Miss Margaret Luckin, of Chelms- , ford, England, was terrified to see a man’s leg on the running-board of her j motor-car after a collision. It proved j be an artificial limb belonging to , a cyclist, who was pedal-cycling with a companion, when their machines and i the car collided. RUST ON STEEL COSTS £500,000,000 ANNUALLY The effects of rust on steel are said to cost the world no less than £500,000,000 a year. To prevent corrosion by rust it is necessary to paint all exposed steel-work and to keep it painted. In the case of a structure like the Forth Bridge, the task is a never-ending one, and Sydney (N.S.W.), is just beginning to realise her responsibilities in regard to her wonderful North Shore bridge. Unfortunately it is not enough to ; paint steel-work periodically. It must I be inspected at frequent intervals and ! a further coating of paint applied j whenever necessary. A COOL CUSTOMER ASLEEP IN DOCK While counsel was arguing at Berk--1 shire Assizes, England, a man charged j with forging a dog licence went to j sleep, and had to be wakened by a j warder to hear the judge instruct the j jury to return a verdict of not guilty. DANGERS OF A KISS TRANSFERS 40,000 GERMS “Think before you kiss; every kiss transfers 40,000 germs.” This is the inscription on postcards bearing the Lenin stamp. It is part of an official campaign that is being waged in Soviet Russia to impress upon the public the perils that lurk in the kiss. Possibly (says the “Central European Observer” a Czecho-Slovakian publication) there is some justification for a campaign, for the Russian is somewhat indiscriminate in these matters, bestowing chaste salutes in plenty upon male and female acquaintances alike. In Kansas, U.S.A., a set of rules for the guidance of kissers was issued by the health authorities. If you really found you murt indulge, said the rules, you should gargle and take a mustard bath immediately afterward! BURIED BY BOTTLES i AN UNUSUAL ACCIDENT j While carrying out repair work on j a drain at the United Glass Bottle Manufacturers’ works at St. Helens, I London, a labourer was involved in j an extraordinary accident. | He was using a sledge hammer to ! break up concrete in the flooring when a huge pile of bottles became disturbed and an avalanche of them fell, completely burying him. It required 30 minutes’ work to rescue the man, who was, however, still alive. He was taken to hospital. WEARING RED DISC PROTECTING THE PEDESTRIAN The woman 'who invented “tail lights for pedestrians”—that is how Mrs. J. S. Brown, of* Portslade, England, will go down to iosterity. Mrs. Brows walks through the busy Brighton traffic. She seems to bear a charmed l^e— but the secret of her charm is sirffple. Around he* waist is a white band, holding a rea reflector in the small of her back. f | She said Jhat the red glow from j the reflector is visible 70 yards away I to a motorist -with his headlights on. I “I am confident that the disc would I save a large number of lives if every- ! one adopted it,” she added. AN ARTFUL SNAKE HIS LITTLE RUSE Tongue-wagging can be put to a useful purpose—so, at least, the Emerald tree snake at the London Zoo has dis covered. It lies among a clump of bamboo in its case, almost unnoticeable because its long thin body resembles the stems, and its pointed head, on a very slender neck, looks like a young bamboo leaf. Then it flicks its vivid red tongue in and out of the notch of its snout. For what purpose? This: there are lizards about and these, thinkin * the red thing is some tempting insect, go near to investigate, j At a flash, they are snapped up and j devoured. FASHION PROBLEM | STANDARDISED SIZES | Efforts are at last being made to j standardise the sizes of women's I dresses. “A committee of the London Employers’ Association has been established to investigate the whole problem,” said a leading London draper. “At present every maker has his own range of sizes, and classifies them as he pleases. Every foreign country has still further ideas on the matter. “Women are consequently in a dilemma whenever they wish to buy a dress or a coat. If size 44 is a per- ! feet fit ou one occasion, another dresS j of the same size in a different shop—i or even in the same shop—may be too I large or too small. “The committee is trying to forinuI late a scheme that will standardise the sizes of gowns, coats, skirts and three-piece costumes. “One comprehensive schedule of sizes to cover all classes of garments is being sought, but, though several schemes have been considered, none i has yet been devised that will give satisfaction to all parties.