Questions for Young People

Radio Record, Volume VI, Issue 22, 9 December 1932, Unnumbered Page

Questions for Young People

(Continued from inside front cover.) 5. What is the meaning of P.T.O., G.P.0., and N.0.0.? 6. What is a centipede, a centenarjan, and centimetre? 7. Who was Ali Baba? . 8. In what years did the Great War begin and end? 7 Crossetie. ‘ARRANGE in the form of a circle ten smaller circles (Say, coins or counters). Starting from any circle you please, and calling each circle 1, \ the next 2, and so on, strike out the fourth. Then start again from any circle you’ please, count 1, 2, 3, 4, and strike out the fourth. Proceed as above: until all but one have been struck out. You may count either backwards or forwards. Circles already struck out are to be reckoned in counting, but the four must in each case fall upon a circle not already struck out. " Card. Puzzles. (1) Take the. four "fives" from a pacl¥of cards and arrange them, face upwixds, in such a manner that oniy four pips of each shall be visible. ..(2) Remove the aces and court cards from the pack, and arrange them in four rows in such a manner that neither horizontally nor perpendicularly shall there be two of the same rank or the same suit in any one row. ©The Weary Ploughman." Give eleven other different ways of rendering the following line :- The .weary ploughman . plods his homewérd. way. 3 ‘

‘Answers to Last Week’s Problems 41. Watchmen were appointed, but did their work badly. Sir Robert Peel put ‘an end: to the inefficient system of watchmen; and substituted in 1829 a police force of which we are all proud. 2: So that the rain-water runs off quickly, otherwise the rain would soak in and ‘rot the poles. 3. Superstitions people think harm may-come to them if they walk. under ‘a ladder. It is an unwise. thing to do, not Hecause of the bad luck which may result, but because the man on the ladder may drop paint or-even a brick on you. *. ar 4,:Tt is.to prevent rain-water running into. the pillar-box ‘and damaging the’ letters placed in it. ° 5. Ft is‘a relic of the days when chem- | ists were more often quacks than quali- — fied..men. They had. to do something to impress their customers, and: the most favoured plan’ was to fill large glass bottles with highly-coloured — fluids, which, of course, had no healing properties. After a time these coloured fluids became the accepted sign for chemists, ond are still retained. 6. At one time barbers combined the arg of: bleeding. with that of hair-cut-ting. . A person while being bled grip- / ped a pole Which was placed outside the door, with a soiled bandage wrapped round it, when not being used. The red stripe on the pote denoted a bandage. discoloured with blood. 7. A hundred and fifty years ago every shop and every trade had its own _ particular sign by which it could be recognised, To-(lay, there are probably . no more thin three kinds of shops which display them, 'The pawnbroker is

one of them. He hangs out three brass balls to show that he lends money on the security of goods, The Lombards were the first money-lenders in Dngland, and they introduced the sign. 8. It is provided with blinkers to block out the view'of everything except what is ahead, 9. To-day it is merely a polite custom, but years ago, when the habit arose, a gentleman walked on the outside in order to protect the lady from

the: splashes of mud caused by passing vehicles. 10. If the wheels were smooth they’ would revolve on slippery ‘surfaces without gripping. The slanting grooves afford a good hold of the road and en‘able the engine to pull its load. AUTHORS AND POETS. 1 Bacon, 2 Mrs. Henry Wood, 3 Bunyan, 4 Dickens, Howitt Burns, 5 Marie Corelli, 6 Longfellow, 7 Swan, & Homer.