BLONDE PREFERRED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 December 1939, Page 7

BLONDE PREFERRED

HUMAN HAIR AS HUMIDITY INDICATOR GIRL'S GIFT TO BUREAU. USE IN R.A.F. WEATHER STATION. LONDON. December 1. When Anita Loos said "Gentlemen prefer blondes," she started something, writes Mr O. D. Gallagher, Daily Express war reporter in France. My guess is that it was too much of a generalisation to be true. But from here (of all places) .! can maksi a statement along those lines brooking no contradiction whatsoever. It is this —the weather men of the R.A.F. will have nothing to do with any but blondes. And they must be genuine blondes. Having, I hope, aroused your curiosity, let me explain. Somewhere in England there is a girl with the most beautiful, natural yellow hair. It is long and flawless. _ ' Every so often she cuts off strands 12in long and sends them to the R.A.F. meteorological station, who keep some and sent the rest over here by plane to their men in the field. MEASURING AIR HUMIDITY. And here they are used to help read the weather. A strand at a time may go into the hydrograph, an instrument that measures the humidity of the air. One end is suspended from a stationary support. The other is tied to a hook on a small light finger of metal. At the end of this finger is a pen. If the air is dry the hair contracts and lifts the pen. which scores a line on a moving chart. If there is moisture in the air. it slackens, and the pen writes a downward line. The whole machine is enclosed in a glass case, which is in turn protected by a light wooden box that looks rather like a modern beehive. Measuring the humidity of the air is only one of the functions of the R.A.F. weather men in the field. It is important, though. Blonde hair is chosen because it is supposed to be more sensitive than all others. As you can imagine, an artificial blonde, attractive though she may be to look at, is no use to them, because the dye cannot alter the natural resilience of the hair. ARMY WEATHER BUREAU. The R.A.F. run our weather bureau here, and give the weather to the Army. Most of the men in charge are university .men; the young chap who looks after the hair, for instance, got. honours in physics and mathematics. Without them, the R.A.F. do not care to fly. Without them, the artillery cannot be so sure of getting their objectives. Weather affects them all. Wind means special calculations in firing shells. Heat and cold affect the high explosive inside them. I have noticed in the previous wars I have reported how the weather always seemed to favour the best-equip-ped army. I have only just realised that the better-equipped army went into action because they were better equipped to see what weather was coming, and to take advantage of it.