A MANUFACTURED COINCIDENCE.

Westport Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1218, 9 October 1874, Page 4

A MANUFACTURED COINCIDENCE.

Quoth " Timon" in his hebdomadal contribution of satire enlivening the columns of the Mercury :—" Some industrious individual, of the asinine sect, has been foisting on a too credulous press certain alleged coincidences between a pack of cards and the measurement of time. There are 52 cards and 52 weeks four suits and four seasons, &c, &c. The most astounding intelligence is, that if the four spots are " carefully " counted it will be found that they amount to 365 —the number of days in the year ; and " strange to say" adds the longeared imposter, " this number multiplied by 24 and GO will give the number of hours and minutes in the year." Well, as I was once at school where simple multiplication was taught, I don't see anything strange about the latter statement. I have a notion that 2-1 times 305 will come to the same thing within a few cyphers, whether your call it " hours" or " spots." There is nothing in the name of that arithmetical result, I fancy. But what does seem strange to me—yea, passing strange — is that none of the scissor-wielders and paste-daubers, who have fished out this " par," have taken the trouble to verify its accuracy. I should like to see a pack of cards with 365 spots. I would present it to the Museum as an unnatural curiosity. G-entlemen of the Press, you have been sold. That's all, dear boys."