ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1922, Page 10

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

FROM THE WORLD'S PRESS. No Jew may purchase land in Russia. A Russian does not come of age until he is 26. The Belgians are the greatest potatoeaters in the world, and the Irish come second. Weak tea, with milk and sugar, is considered an excellent restorative for tired horses. Railways use over two million tons of steel a year, almost half the world’s product. There are twenty-eight pounds of blood in the body of the average grownup person. The costliest fur is that of the sea otter. A single skin of this animal will fetch as much as £2OO. Mexico has a tribo of Indians whose language is limited to about 300 words, and who cannot count more than ten. In a bog near Fribourg, Switzerland, the horns, s|f>. wide, of a prehistoric giant stag, have been found. As a result of the slump in English live stock, young horses are being freely bought for slaughter qn the Continent. > The Swiss franc is at present the world’s best currency, even the American dollar being depreciated in Switzerland. Although blind, a Canadian ex-soldier recently passed the civil service examination for employment as a shorthand clerk. The beautiful patterns which are used foi cashmere shawls are frequently copied from the leaf of the begonia. About 50 members of the Christchurch Y.M.C.A. Walking Club have set out to tramp from Arthur’s Pass to Lake Ranieri. Westland. Lightning does most damage in level, open country. A town or civy, with its numerous projections and wires, is comparatively exempt. The Chinese pen is a brush made of soft hair, which is best adapted for painting the curiously formed letters of the Chinese alphabet. Damascus is undoubtedly the oldest existing city in the world; Benares and Constantinople, exclusive of Chinese towns, come next in point of age. Tall persons usually live longer than short ones, while those born in the spring have sounder constitutions than Vlioso born during other seasons. .