ACKERMANN, Alfred Seabold Eli
POPULAR FALLACIES EXPLAINED & CORRECTED

Notes on Ackermann and his book
• Seems to have been first published in 1907 by Cassell in England; then by J. B. Lippincott of Philadelphia in 1908. My copy gives English 2nd edition 1908, 3rd edition 1923, 4th edition 1950, which suggests post-war revisions. But Ackermann is listed with a degree in engineering, and there's little evidence of interest in wars.
      The author lived in Hampstead Garden Suburb, in north-west London, perhaps for all that time. His name, dates, publisher, and location suggest a Jewish writer, and there is some material on Moses, Jesus, and other things which non-Jews think are Christian. So it doesn't seem to me to be a Jewish supremacist work; very probably it was too early for that.

Similar Predecessor Books
• Ackermann's book, like Brewer's Phrase and Fable, relied on news sources, and could hardly have existed many centuries ago.
      Bacon's four idols and Sir Thomas Browne's Vulgar Errors aimed at reason, but couldn't point to printed sources. Mackay's Extraordinary Popular Delusions (1841) is more alarmist and abstract than Ackermann.
      Much later we find C E Clark The Mistakes We Make (1897) and More Mistakes We Make (1901) listed by Ackermann, not as guides to style. 40 years later, Bergen Evans (the link includes him and others) did a book on errors, mainly to do with promoting Jewish post-WW2 material on races. It has much material summarised and plagiarised from Ackermann; who is mentioned once, though without his book's title; Evans lists about twenty people, all with American and/or Jewish names, plus 'my students'.

Ackermann’s Methodology
      Ackermann used press cuttings and book references. He had 'many' friends and correspondents. And someone called Donald Gunn who did 'painstaking and voluminous work'. It's hard to tell how much is simple plagiarism. In most articles the date is clear enough - Ackerman carefully records most newspaper and articles's dates - 'copious references to authorities'. Fascinating to see a mixture - Thomas Huxley for example, Buckle, Oman, H J Mackinder, Silvanus Thompson, John Drinkwater, Trotter, Malinowski, Florian Cajori, Singer the science historian, Partington the chemist, Marie Stopes, et al.
• Ackermann himself researched somewhat into the physical properties of clay [one article is on bricks and straw - Ackermann thinks straw in water gives tannin, which would improve bricks - not bits of feeble chopped straw. Another is on wet sand as opposed to dry - 682. Another on cleavage planes in slate 705, where he says clay laminates perpendicular to the pressure]. He also made some violins himself; cp later work on this which I looked into. He includes items on supposedly lost arts - flint working, glass painting, copper hardening [as in bronze age axes], violin varnish - and isn't impressed. He seems to dispute relativity, perhaps through contact with Dingle, though he doesn't quite go so far as to say so.
• Some repetition; the same items sometimes appear several times under slightly different headings. A few contradict each other.

Subjects
• Interesting material on science and discoveries, for example on curiosity as a motive, and on multiple discoveries. p 559 Rutherford on science as a process of demolishing well-established theories is a mistake. P 701 science is not the same as mechanical invention. 654 '.. impression that the conclusions arrived at by men of science are of the nature of beliefs... Nothing could be farther from the truth. ..' 683 'some of the greatest astronomers scarcely looked through a telescope'. 641 You can say to a scientist 'Discover this or that for me' is a mistake.
      He says [page v] '.. new fallacies having arisen since the last edition.. owing.. to the advance in our knowledge and occupations: e.g. the science and art of flying and "wireless" have given birth to new errors." And diving and 'the bends'. And electricity, e.g. 'line of least resistance'. Modern road building - France was ahead, but no more (672). And new elements - eg titanium is common (296), radium incredibly expensive, many new elements more expensive than gold (295). And motor cars - see 'running in' below (though this may not be his phrase); and p 643 on 10 ton and 40 ton trucks [where these turn out to carry 6 ton and 18 respectively, and also have different numbers of wheels - relevant in being towed].
      I was interested to see several pieces on gas fires - are they damaging to health? At a time when coal fires were usual. (Some fires were - 7ff has accounts of deaths by CO2 and/or CO). Several pieces deal with gas combustion - air burning in hydrogen (689), gasholders or airships not exploding, the stupidity of searching for a gas leak with a naked light, priority of Humphrey Davy and the safety lamp. Similarly with electric light - dangerous to eyes? And food - white bread or brown? 31 ff. Babies' artificial milk? Pasteurisation? Frozen food about 1885 in Punch. 1913 piece on food supply and Kropotkin - in fact it's more difficult than enthusiasts imply; Crookes 1898 quoted, and also 'electrical production of fixed nitrogen' which hasn't been much - I presume this was written before the Haber process.
      'Roughage' removal a craze, a mistake perhaps based on chemical isolation of non-inert chemicals 22-23. And some building things [as I'm at present involved with this] - e.g. damp walls and ivy - it seems ivy keep walls dry! And cast iron drains - 622. Does the sun shining on a fire put it out? [!!] 4-5. How much air is needed for ventilation? What is coalite? Can air be disinfected? Are stuffy rooms made that way by CO2? [No, says 18; heat loss, 639; electric fan is useful, 695].
      Interesting also on old wives tales - people who believe contraception is the same as abortion. Or (343) sterilisation is castration. Lot of medical ones including materia medica as once containing eg powdered skulls (134). The section 'ourselves' has lots of these (e.g. if you sleep in moonlight you go mad, blind, or deformed). So has 'Domestic Fallacies' - 'poker pointing up the chimney draws up a fire' for example; putting disinfectant in WC harmful (693).
      Plenty of persistent myths, the equivalent of old builders or old teachers or old men's tales; eg thickness of insulation gets several mentions (eg 697, 640 on wall thickness), and painting a stove black gets several too. Does damp fuel generate more heat? 704 says not. Poison and its antidote grow together (285). And local things like Raleigh and a Grays Inn tree, the supposed Cheshire Cheese, and yeomen of the guards, 'Scots' kilts, Raleigh and tobacco etc.
      Some fallacies dependent on old technology; there are some on flue gases and steam boilers. 620-1 steam engine energy. 656 on quality of coal in power stations. 660 on weights on rims of locomotives. Pumping engine in a deep mine 670. James Watt didn't invent the sun and planet gear. Metallurgical ones eg 616, 620. 631 on cooling magic lanterns with a water bath containing some ferrous sulphate. 633 on lagging cylinders with exhaust steam.
      Some are dependent on maths: eg page 623 has a dynamics thing - when a body with mass and velocity are known strikes another, the blow is easily calculated - Ackermann gives examples, such as a car hitting a masonry wall, where it's tricky - how is the duration of the impact to be measured? Or the distance? 624 has a similar example. A sloping beam evenly loaded appears 631.
      Similar interest on things so out of fashion they're virtually unknown, such as 'porpoise footwear', or meat salted in 35% salt, or 'osprey feathers', or public feeding of reptiles once a week on live animals (274), evening at Maskelyne's (685), Germany as advanced and hence eg depreciation of British achievements. 297 mentions 'brass mines', apparently from some biblical source. 320 - 'the offspring of an animal is affected by a previous impregnation' - at least, I hope this is out of fashion. 643 'dazzle painting'. 809 has a presumably once famous tale about a man swallowed by a whale.
      And things important but suppressed, for example war and damaging a nation (321), with Rome as a possible example, a common theme with Jews. There's a lot on emigration and birth rates - 727 on emigration 'increasing the birthrate', 'four children being required per couple', 726 on population density in China [he was surprised, as was I], 721 'National Efficiency is promoted by early death', 720 Canada should have a high birth rate because they are calling out for men [apparently for temporary work], 717 'that the declining birth rate means depopulation', 'that France is a dying nation', 718 'That Australasia is in danger of race suicide', 709 'three women to every man'. Marie Stopes wrote a good short piece on 'birth rate'; and there's an algebraic piece about India on death rates - at this time I suppose death rates were 'unmodernised'.
      Some small part of the less attractive side of science creeps in: 639 shrapnel; 639 high explosives [don't contain huge amounts of energy]; 641 not all explosions are accompanied by a loud noise; 643 resistance of submarines on the surface and submerged.
      Also of course things now, not known then: bus drivers and heart disease? Filipino magic healers? Cholesterol? Bermuda Triangle?
      And in moral judgements: is gossiping harmless? Is black magic harmless? - no, there have been a few suicides. Women can like sex (340; 342; and 815 and elsewhere).
      Another interest is to see the way some ideas where you feel there's a big name attached - ESP and Rhine, or life after death and F W H Myers say - there are predecessors who often fall (or are pushed) into oblivion.
      Some deal with quite common mistakes; eg how many times does the earth rotate in one year? - Answer 366 1/4. What does the earth look like from the moon? - More or less static but rotating (links is a 35-sec video). Does the sun rise earliest on the longest day? - Apparently not! Though here the evidence comes from tables rather than reasoning.

      Fascinating to speculate on omissions - Royalty? Wars? Wealth? Columbus, Egypt, Augustine, Joan of Arc, Ethelred, Wellington, Charles I, William Tell, Savonarola, Pilgrim fathers, Horatius on the bridge, Scaevola, Black Prince.. first steamers to cross the Atlantic. He has some biblical material but seems nowhere to speculate on whether 'Jesus' existed. He has little on the 'Great' War though the Angel of Mons is in here.
      There are also omissions due to his special interest - surely vitamins and trace elements were at least a bit suspected -- I was amazed his goitre piece, interesting he didn't know about iodine. Good on e.g. supposed effects of melted snow, and considered the belief that hot liquids may cool faster then cool ones. He's OK on malaria. He seems weak on immunisation perhaps through fear of seeming odd. 146 ff has lots on NOT getting measles etc when young.
      And also on law considered now, such things as self interest and bias and judgements pro the status quo.

I've scanned in and OCRd the whole index, in the hope it way prove useful.

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      The proofreading of proper names is rather poor - Darius for example appears as 'Darins', 'Alfred Russell Wallace'. A Whole chapter is titled 'ENTYMOLOGY'.

      SUBJECTS:–
ASTRONOMY
BIOGRAPHY
BIOLOGY
BIRDS
DOMESTIC
ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE
ETYMOLOGY
FISH
FOOD
GENERAL MISINFORMATION
GEOGRAPHY
HISTORY
INSECTS
LAW
LITERATURE
MAMMALS
MARRIAGE
MINERAL KINGDOM
MUSIC
OUR BODIES
OUR DISEASES
OUR SENSES
RELIGION
REPTILES ETC
STATISTICS AND NUMBERS
VEGETABLE KINGDOM
WEATHER

---

      FULL INDEX [Very fully checked - though possible odd error; my own additions in brackets. It's not as useful as it might be as the actual errors aren't listed - you have to look to see what they are. And there are many omissions.]

à Becket, Thomas 345, 479 [should be plain Becket]
Aborigines, Australian, 324
Abortion, 77
Absalom son of David, death of, 828
[abstinence from drink, teetotal idea, supporters 25, 794 anecdote]
Acceleration and work, 610
..of a body moving in a circle, 610 [and angular acceleration]
[work not done in rotary motion despite 'acceleration' 610]
Accuracy of the mean of a number of dimensions, 722-3
[acoustics: 689 says problems have been solved]
[acoustics: use of wires a myth though once apparently fairly common]
[acoustics: waves from small horn spread more than from large 700]
Act of Parliament making people sober, 723-4
Actions, human, inspired by reason, 121
Adam and Eve, existence of, 785
..turned out of the Garden of Eden, 825
"Adam's Apple," 826
Adders not deaf, 278
Addition and subtraction and concrete things, 716
Aeroplanes and mass. 637-8
"Aesop's Fables," 399
Aether, 653-4
African natives not lazy, 756
Age, legal coming of, 461
Aged persons and "supporting" of, 27-8
Ages, Stone, Bronze and Iron, 537
Aggravate, to, meaning of, 428
Air, as a conductor of heat, 622
.., compressed, 620-1, 637
.., discharged under pressure, 683-4
.., disinfection of, 11
.., dry and stuffy, 639
.., fresh, 190
.., fresh and dispersion of germs, 165
.., moist and low barometric pressure, 743-4
.., night, 149-50
.., piped into room full of gas, 689
.., pressure in the tyres of a motor car, 660
.., resistance of bodies moving through, 647-8
.., "stuffiness" in a room of, and causes, 18
.., weight of damp and dry, 599-600
Airman, injunction against, 465-6
Air sacs of insects, 260
Albert Hall, shape of, 749
Alcohol, 43, 59-60
Alexander the Great and Darius, 786
Alfred, King, and his retreat at Athelney, 785
..,.., and visit to Danish camp, 786
..,.., and the university of Oxford, 520, 786
..,.., cakes and, 514-15
.. .. .., English Law and, 478-9
..,.., his fleet and the forged paragraphs in Asser's Life of, 785
..,.., prize won by, 515-16
Alienist not the same as an alien, 62
Alligators not dangerous to man, 277
Aloe, life of, 284
Alum bath, used with magic lantern, 631
a.m. and p.m., 560
Amazons, 318-19
Ambassador, definition of, 413
Amber and ambergris, 754
.., test for, 654
American Civil War, cause of, 533-5 [not abolition of slavery] [& Lincoln]
Amru, and the Libraries at Alexandria, 409-10
Anaphrodisiacs, 122
Ancient Britons not savages, 530-1
Ancient Egyptians and stopping teeth, 537
Anecdotes and myths, 497-9
Angle, trisecting an, 601
Animals, and breeding in captivity. 220
.., and presentiment of death, 220
.., and reversion to aboriginal stocks, 223-4
.., breeding with regard to certain characteristics, 324
.., cannibalism of, 804
.., extinct forerunners of existing, 203-4
.., gulf between man and, 217
.., higher, and the production of offspring, 3234
.., how to handle, 214
.., in wild nature, 217-18
--, large, require luxuriant vegetation, 199
.., laughter and, 205-6
.., nails of, 143-4
.., not automata, 343
.., offspring of and previous impregnation, 320-1
.., piebald, 218
.., shivering of, refusal to pass certain spots, 693-4
.., struggle for existence and, 810-11
.., trespassing of, 479
.., use of tools by, 783-4
Antarctic Continent, discoverer of, 555-6
Anthrax, 183
Ants and storing food, 251
"Ants' Eggs," 49
Apostles' Creed, the, 399-400
Apostolic Succession, 540
"Apothecary" and "Chemist," difference between, 757-8
Apples, green, and colic, 168
Apsley House, Piccadilly, 549 [not a gift to the Duke of Wellington]
Arabs, and mathematics, 786
Arches, semi-circular, 603
Archimedes and the Fleet of Marcellus, 359
Ark, the, animals taken into, 527
..,.., on Mount Ararat, 495
Arnold, Matthew, his death, and the number thirteen, 359-61
Arthur, King, a legendary person, 527
Artificial fertilisers, 291
Aryan, meaning of the term, 420
Asparagus, 26
Astrology, 312-13
Astronomers and telescopes, 683
Astronomy, ancient Egyptian knowledge of, 311
Athanasian Creed, the, 400
Atlantic, the, and crossing by steam power stated to be impossible, 376
..cable, the first, 347-8
Atomic energy, not of practical use, 707-8
Atomic theory, age of, 663
"Atrocious crime of being a young man," 517
Audubon, not the same person as the Dauphin, 394
Augustine, St., 499
"Auld Lang Syne," tune of, 567-8 [composed by man from Durham]
Australasia, race suicide of, 718-19
Australia, birds and flowers of, 244-5
.., discovery of, 785
.., rivers of, 444-5
"Australian Bush," the, 448-9
"Average" events, 722
..percentage, 714-15

Baby, new born, and breathing, 189
..,.. .., and expulsion of the meconium, 188
Babylon, more than one city named, 443
Back-ache, and kidney disease, 168
Bacon, Francis, and aeronautics, 389
..,.., his incorrect title, 403
.., Roger, gunpowder and, 390
..,.., his college, 389-90
Bacteria and disease germs, 179-80
.., freezing of, 172
.., in the air, 167
.., origin of, 183-4
.., rendering innocuous, 180
[good bacteria mentioned p 25]
Bag-pipe, 764
Baker's trade, unhealthy, 135-6
Balaclava, "charge" at, 786-7
Baldness and radiation from ceiling heater panels, 186
.., and shaving, 51
Balloon does not explode if hit, 684
[ball lightning 689]
Banister not the hand-rail, 752
Bank of England Notes, 464
--, abbreviation "Compa" on, 770
Banks, Sir Joseph, botanic work of, 390
Banyan tree, 288
Barker Sir Herbert, and the Lambeth Degree of M.D., 182
"Bar Sinister," 756
Bartley, James: story of his being swallowed by a whale, 809
Bathing in cold water, 56
Baths, hot, 77-8
Bats not blind, 201
..on flat surfaces, 787
Bay of Biscay, rough seas in, 442
Bayreuth Theatre and King Ludwig of Bavaria, 362
Beaconsfield, Lord, [Disraeli] a member of the Church of England, 780-1
Beams, neutral axis of the section of, 682
.., support of slanting, 631-2
Bear-Feasts, 822
Bears, ferociousness of, 220-1
Beauty, universal standard of, 66
Beavers, use of the tail as a trowel, 210
Bed, well-slept-in, 184
Beech trees as protection from lightning, 590-1
Beef, roast, of Old England, origin of, 531-2
"Beefeater," derivation of, 422-3
Beef-tea, 28-9 [Liebig. Not nutritious]
Beer, amount drunk per head, 27 [in England and Germany]
.., as a food, 42
Bees and noise, 251-2
.., found in the carcase of a lion, 254
.., how they carry honey on their legs, 247-8
.., stupefied by smoke, 251-2 [myth - they are alarmed]
Belfry, 428
Belisarius, 345-6 [notion he begged etc in old age not true]
Bell metal, 648
"Benedict," meaning of, 428
Beresford, a curse on the family of, 555
Berries, yellow pigments in, 290
Betel-nuts, 284-5 [and preparation cpd with European salads]
Bible, fallacies connected with, 820-1, 821-2
.., quotations from, 492
Bicycles, gearing of, 579
"Big Ben," 690
Billiards, and sign of an ill-spent youth, 797
Binomial Theorem, discoverer of, 820
Birds do not sleep in their nests, 238
.. dying of cold, 229-30
.., fascination by animals of, 272-3
.. happy when singing, 230
.., how they sleep, 229
.. of Paradise, 226-7
.., piercing the eyes of, 240
.., splitting the tongue of, 243
.. which swim well and web-feet 230
Birthmarks, and the mother's fright, 62-3
Birth Control, the Christian Church and, 830
Birth-rate, babies and the, 766-7
.., depopulation and, 717
.., fallacies about the, 716 ff.
Biscuits, and babies, 35
Bitters for provoking an appetite, 35
"Black Agnes," 380
Black-beetles, 247
"Black cap" the, 480
.. Country," the, 447
Black-damp, not black, 693
Black Hole of Calcutta, 169
.. Magic, 126
.. Prince, the: Motto and badge of 364-5
.. .., ..: Where he was knighted, 509
.. .., ..: Why so called, 535
Blind men and smoking, 104
Blind persons, 104
.. .., and increased acuteness in other senses, 97
Blind-worms, 273
Blinking, 76
Blondel the Minstrel and Richard I, 545
[blood made into charcoal, 25]
Blood, purifying of, 66
.., "thin" in hot climates, 122
"Blood is thicker than Water," 410-11
blood made into charcoal 25]
Bloodhounds, 202
Bluebeard, legend of, 405
Boa-Constrictors, animals' fright at sight of, 278
.., bite not poisonous, 274
Bode's Law, 313
Bodies, falling, 603-4
Body, capability of floating, 47
Body, human. and seven year change in, 76
.., mass of moving, and production of a blow, 623-4
Boiler explosions cause of, 605-6
.. .. in steamship, cause of, 592-4
.., heating, 604
Boils, 140
Book, first, printed in England, 506
Borgia, Lucretia, 383 [high opinion of her]
Bowels, opening of during menstruation, 71
"Brain Fever," definition of term, 172
Brandy, dram of, and its uses, 166
.. for washing head of new born baby, 165
Brass, metallic, 297
Brazil wood, 288
Bread, brown, sold by weight, 476
.., to smell, an antidote to mustard, 36
.., white and brown, and nourishment in, 31-5
Briar pipes, how made, 749
Brick Court, No. 2, and Blackstone and Goldsmith, 787
Brides: "Walking up the aisle," 772
"Brimstone and treacle," 151
Bruce, Robert, 787 [not Scottish - Norman descent]
Brummel, Beau, 344-5
Buchan's periods do not occur in London, 479-80
Buddhism, 822
"Buffaloes," 208
Bull, [Dr John>, and the National Anthem, 558
Bull-dogs, 202
Bulls, red rags and, 221
Bulrushes, 290
Bunker Hill, Battle of 530
Burns, treatment of, 144
.., Robert, death of, 383-4
Busby not the same as a Bearskin, 772
Butchers and service on juries, 481
Butler Samuel, and a quotation, 417
Butter, turnipy taste of, 37
Buttery, 428
Byron, lameness of, 390

"Cabal," origin of word, 425
Cab fares after midnight, 459
[Caesar unreliability, 195]
Calculation, percentage accuracy of the result of, 664-5
Cambridge University has no college quadrangles, 781
...., origin of colleges of, 793
Camelopard, 432
Camels, 224
.., water in humps of, 196-7
Camels' hair brushes, 749
Cameron, Jeanie, and Prince Charlie, 346
Camphor, 14
Canada, high birth rate of, 720
Cancer, and heredity, 157-60
.., more prevalent among women than men, 174
.., tomatoes and, 129
Candle-flame blown out by a soap-bubble, 607
Cannibalism, 746-7
Cannon-ball, effect of the wind of a, 614-15
Canute and the waves, 531
Cape gooseberries, 286-7
Carbon dioxide 655-6
Carbonic acid gas, 331-3
Cardan's method: By whom invented, 654-5
Carlisle, 450
"Carnot Cycle," the, 614
Carpets, Axminster, Brussels and Wilton, 750
Carrier pigeons, 237-8
Caste in ancient Egypt, 532
Cast-iron bars with the "skins" on, 600-1
[castrati Constantinople and Turks 531]
Catalpa trees, 292
Cataract, operation for, 180-1
Caterpillars, food of, 246
Catgut, 561
Cathedrals and churches, and gloom, 816
Cats and sleeping children, 3-4
.., attached to houses rather than to people, 210-11
.., buttering the paws of, 212
.., caterwauling of, 223
.., disease transmitted by, 221-2
.., eating flies, 211
.., seeing in the dark, 194
.., skinning alive for fun, 199
.., tailless, 216-17
.., tortoise-shell, 212-13
Cats, white, 212
.., with pendent ears, 205
Caus, Solomon de, 558-9
Cause and effect: And laws of change 681-2
.. -- .., relation between living tissue and lifeless matter, 69
Causes, and erroneous arguments, 808
Cave man not pugnacious, 787-8
Ceilings, blackening by gas or oil of, 5-6
Celt, meaning of, 432
Centenarians, 77
.., among Negroes and Whites. 715
Centre of gravity, and mass-centre, 600
Centrifugal machines, inventor of, 391
Century, first day of a new, 712
[Chadwick and others, 682]
Chaffinches, blinding of, 211 [1912 lower classes believed they sang better]
Chameleons, 807
Chance, 648
Chamois leather, 775
Chantrey, Sir Francis, death of, 798
Character and ancestors 325
..and Physiognomy, 120-1
..told from the skull, 107-8
Chariots, British, scythes not attached to, 795
Charlemagne, 788
Chastise, to, meaning of, 432
Chancer, and the "Court of Love," 404-5
Cheques "in settlement" of an account, 481
.., not negotiable, 4634
Chimneys, "drawing" of, 594
.., lamp, 594
.., tall, purpose of, 665-6 [and how tall chimneys work]
Child, the, and its home, 113-14
.. born of parents lacking a limb, 76
.., eight and seven months, 54
--, sex of, and mother's pregnancy, 335
Children born at sea, 464-5
--born with teeth 54
..and fear of the dark, 115-16
..and impulses, 113
..and the mother tongue, 123
..and learning to walk, 50
.., clever, and early death, 153-5
..desire of parents for, 339-40
.., fat, 137
.., grinding teeth in sleep, 163
--, illegitimate, 331
.., light clothing and, 54-5
..more liable to infection when growing rapidly, 182
.., neuroticism of only, 116
"Children's ailments" having them more than once, 131-2
...., not necessary evils, 146-7
China, and its Population, 726
.., infanticide in, 809 [or rather lack of]
China articles, boiling water and, 692
.., Dresden, 750
[Chinese food, best, 43]
Chinese, the, and doctors, 184
--, and mental capacity, 113
-- rice paper, 749
.., temperament of, 122
Chloroform, amount to produce unconsciousness, 86-7
.., discoverer of, 357-8
.. in child-birth, 65
.., not inflammable, 331
Chop suey, Chinese and, 44
Christ, Birth of, and the Shepherds and the Magi, 823
.., Crucifixion of, 827
.., date of birth of, 505
Christianity, introduction into Great Britain of, 499
Christmas, warm or green, 710
.. trees, 533
[Church of England, 819]
Churches, nave and chancel not in line, 555
--, orientation of, 553
Cigarette ash in coffee, and drunkenness, 182
Cigars, 14-25
Cincinnatus, 546
Cinderella and the "glass" slipper, 396 [494]
Circumcision, 822-3
Clarence, Duke of: his death, 507
Claverhouse and the Wigtown Martyrs, 540-1
.. death of, 391
"Cleanliness is next to Godliness," 411
Cleopatra, dissolving a Pearl in vinegar, 542
[Cleopatra asp story 542]
.., killed by a silver bullet, 542-3
Cleopatra, not an Egyptian, 384
Cleopatra's Needles, 357
Climacteric, male 334-5
Climate of the British Isles, 447-8
.. milder now than formerly, 448
Clocks, Dutch, 747
-- of Wells Cathedral and others in the West Country, maker of, 699-700
.., where invented, 663-4
[close packing of spheres in a box, with formulas 655]
Clothes: their relation to human modesty, 19
Clothing, and health, 77
.., disinfection by exposure of, 138
.., silk garments liable to customs duty, 682
Cnut, King, and Forest Laws, 771
Coaches, Hackney, 751
Coal, bituminous, 690
Coal-gas and air, mixture of, 597-8
Coalite different from coke, 11
Coal mines, and dust, 693
..mining not dangerous, 691
Cobwebs to stop bleeding, 144-5
"Cocker's Arithmetick," author of, 780
"Cockney" accent and phraseology 415-16
Cocktails, 44
Coffins, old, conditions of bodies in, 66-8
Cocoa: how made, 22
Cohesion, 648-9
Coin, tossing of, 714
Coitus, and the menopause. 340-1
.., and procreation of children, 340
.., and subsequent depression, 124
Colds, not caught in bed, 142
.., sense of taste not lost during, 191
Collieries, kind of coal burnt in, 656
Colorado cañons, 435-6
Colossus of Rhodes, the, 536-7 [myth of being astride]
Colour-blindness, 91
[colouring of food - milk used to be coloured, and butter 29]
Colours, the mixture of, 626
.., primary, 626
Columbus and the discovery of North America, 490-2
Columns and wind pressure, 583-4
.., fallacies about, 691-2 [engineering/ architecture]
.., hollow and solid, 575
.., with free and fixed ends, 656-7
Comets and weather, 307
.., tail of, 311
Commons, not common property, 478
Compass, mariner's, inventor of, 371
.., needle of a, 616-17
.., where invented, 663-4
Complexions, florid, and health, 137
"Condy's Fluid" not permanganate of potash, 11-12
Confinement, ninth day after a, 61-2
Consciousness, instants in, 660
Consumption, 134
Contraception not illegal, 481
..not the same as abortion, 765-6
Contraceptives, results of use of, 71-2
Cooking utensils, aluminium, 183
Copper, hardening of, 630-1 [not poisonous [?] 657]
..surfaces, green patina on. 774
..wire and rheumatism, 169
Coral, how formed by insects, 804-5
..islets, possession of, 803 [sequence of colonisation of new island]
Cork hats, 747
.. legs, 752
Cormorants: their food, 238-9
Corns, 153
.., roots of, 152
Corpse, passage of, over private roads, 466-7
Corrosion, effects of wind and water on, 692
Cough, stopping that of children, 150-1
Coulomb torsion balance, 692
Courts of love, medieval, 123
Cows: Improvement in milk of, 200
Crabs, eyes of, [in materia medica; Lankester thinks in crabs' stomachs> 80]
.., walking backwards. 803
Creation, account in Genesis of the, 827
.., present form of life, and Genesis. and. 685
Creditor and a deceased debtor, 468
Creoles, their parentage, 330-1
Crest on coat of arms, importance of. 761
Criminals and type of face of. 322-3
Criticism, 684-5
Crocodiles, tears of, 268-9
.., tongue and jaw of, 268
Crops and cultivation operations, 292
.., deep ploughing and, 29
Crops, rotation of, 289-90
Crosier episcopal, 432
Cross, the, not of Christian origin, 823
Crossing, reverential, 823
[crusader effigies and myth that crossed legs meant Crusader]
Crystal Palace, 788
...., two towers of, 787
Cubic feet of sand, wet and dry, 682 [wet sand is less dense, unless..]
Cuckoo-spit, 245-6
Cucumbers, 21
Curfew bell, 518-19 [and William the Conqueror]
Curling, 810
Currants, not unwholesome, 29
Curses upon families, and former church property, 520
Cutlass and cutler, 428
Cuttle-fish, 264
Cylinder of an engine, lagging of, 633
Cyclist's bell, 460
Cyclone. what it is, 743

Da Gama, Vasco, 359
Dam, pressure against, 582
Damascus swords, 797
"damn," derivation of, 422
Dance, country, 749
Da Vinci, Leonardo, death of, 358
Darwin, Charles, and descent of man, 335-6
.. .. and the Origin of Species, 496
.. and loss of interest in aesthetic pursuits, 370-1
.., not an atheist, 356-7
Darwinism and evolution not practically synonymous,
Dauphin, the: the story of his murder, 546
Davy Sir Humphrey: his experiment with ice, 697
Day, daily variations in length, 306
Dazzle Painting [camouflage] on ships during war-time, 643-4
Dead bodies, and pestilence, 169
.... not to be touched, 461
Deadly Nightshade, 289
Deafness, and extractions of teeth, 132
Death, agony of, 139-40 [a myth - it's peaceful!]
.. at the seaside, 137
.., being frozen to, 758-9
.., events of past life at moment of, 92-5
.., when it most occurs, 713-14
Death-rate and average duration of life, 767-9
Death Warrant, 475-6
Debt, imprisonment for, 471-2
Decimate, to, 434
Decisions, and big gatherings of persons, 123-4
Defective persons, number not increasing, 729
Defoe, Daniel, 391
Dehydration and food values, 45
Delirium tremens, 175
Delivery valve of a pump, effect on engine of closing, 700
"Density" and "specific gravity" not synonymous, 616
Dental bridges, not an American invention, 167
Descartes, and the discovery of the law of refraction, 357
"Devil to pay," the, 430
"Devil's Coach-horse beetle, 252-3
Dew, 632 [dispute over whether any falls like rain]
[dew ponds, 86]
Diamonds sparkling in the dark, 617
.., wear out, 298
Diet for sick persons, 35
.., nutritive matter of, 22-3
..of a nursing mother, 36
Diogenes, 384
[Dingle quoted on relativity]
Diphtheria, adults and, 168
.., and the throat, 136-7
Dippers, and the ova of fishes, 243
Directory, London Post Office, 762
Discoveries by scientists, 641
"Disinfectant" not synonymous with "antiseptic," 10
Disinfectants not necessary for water closets, 693
Distemper in dogs, 209
Dives, not the name of the Rich Man in the Parable, 396
Diving bell, inventor of, 490
[diving and the bends 262]
Divining rod, 585-90
Divorce, wife not entitled to one-third of husband's income after, 482
Dock gates, 577
Docking the tails of horses, 206-7
Doctor, current use of the term, 748
Dogs, black roof to the mouth of, 215
Dogs, collie, 213
.. Dalmatian, 222
[Dog eat dog idea; animals eating 'their own kind', 804]
.. hitting another person's, 468
.., mad and water, 193
.., mad, foaming at the mouth of, 199-200
Dolphins not fish 201-2
..not curved creature, 202
Dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, 657
-------- and Sir Christopher Wren, 705
[chain round dome not needed - Wren secretly cut out a link. 1926 disproof]
Double joints in people, 68
Doves not always peaceful, 783
Dragon-flies, sting of, 247
Dragon's blood, 757
Drainage of houses, 10
Drains, cast.iron, 622
Dreaming, and suspension of voluntary powers, 120
Dreams and sexuality, 114-15
Dromedary not a camel, 197
Drowning persons, 52
..prevented by cauls, 53-4
"Dunce," derivation of, 425
Dungeon meaning of, 425-6
[Dunlop letter - practically the first and real inventor of pneumatic tyre]
Dust particles, hardness and sharpness of, 176
Dyes, coal tar, 696
[dying of cold - birds don't 229]

Eadgar, King of Britain, 546
Eagles, and objects on the ground, 235
.. and the sun, 234-5
Ear-drums, piercing of, 76
Earth, distance from the sun of, 302
.., flatness at the poles of 443
.., yearly revolutions on its axis, 304-5
Earthquakes, big, and volcanic action, 810
[no connection said A W Groves, lecturer in geology in 1936]
Earwigs in the ears of human beings, 248-9
Easter, originally a Pagan festival, 820
Echo, preventing an, in a large room, 566-7
Edelweiss, 291
Edward I, King, and his promise to the Welsh, 524
....,.., and the Welsh bards. 528
Edward VI, King, and schools, 502 [suppressed many schools as did Henry VIII]
Eels, common, 267
Efficiency of over 100 per cent., 676
Egg-cup, inverted, placed in a pie, 15
Eggs, colour of shells, 39
.., cracking the shells of, 21-2
.. food value of, 45
.. making hard boiled, 24
.., standing on end, 611
Egypt. 437-8
"Eikon Basilike," author of, 501
Einstein and Newton's law of gravity, 657
Eke, meaning of, 411
Elastic strip, maximum bending moment, 650
Eleanor, Queen, 518
Electric cable, copper wire of, 693
..currents, 678
..energy generated by water.power, 647
..glow lamps, bursting of, 632-3
..shock, and playing a water hose on to an insulated electric conductor, 695
..telegraph, inventor of, 666
[electric shock treatment to the head has given good results 186]
Electrical instruments, indications of, 608-9
.., sensitiveness of, 608
Electricity and power, 623
.. and thunderstorms, 474
.., eddy-current of, 678
.., generation of, in a dynamo, 622
.., not two kinds of, 694
Elephants, African, tameability of, 205
Elizabeth, Queen, and Earl of Essex, 558
Embryo, human, stages of, 325
Emigration, 727
Energy, 601-2
Engine of a motor car, and warming-up of, 685-7
England, people of, not deteriorating, 729
.., snow at Christmas seldom occurs in, 772
Environment, geographical, and human behaviour, 451
Epileptics and high palates, 163
Epistle to the Hebrews, the, 820
Equation, an exponential, 658
Esau and his birthright, 411-12
Escalators, walking up, 674
Eskimos and snow houses, 809
Etchings, 754
Ethelred the Unready, 500
Euclid, and books missing, 397-8
Euler's formula for struts, 658
Eunuch, confession of the, in the Acts, 820
.. and sexual intercourse, 82
"Every man has his price," originator of, 362-3
"Evil communications corrupt good manners," 412
"Exceptions prove the rule," 808
Exercise for body and mind, 57
.. for girls, 58
Expectation of life greater to.day, 192
Explosions bringing down rain, 740-2
.., noise made by, 641-2
.., outside a building, 635-6
Explosives, energy of, 684
.., high, 639
[partial vacuum caused by, and damage 615 and 635 and elsewhere]
"Eye for an eye..," 789
Eye, Infection of one, 185
.., not a perfect optical instrument, 98-9
--, power over wild animals of the human, 91
.., taking it out, 153
.., whitish ring round the iris of, 78
Eyes, and pressure of water on eyelashes, 78
.., constant use of, 74-5
.., electric light and, 103-4
.., fallacies about, 120
.. of a horse, and magnification of objects 694
--, opening under cold water daily of, 69
Eye.teeth, 68

Fall from great heights, 50-1
Fallacies, technical, 663
Faraday, Michael, and the electro.magnet, 346-7
Fasting, the word in the New Testament, 819-20
Feathers, pound of, 86
Feeding a cold, 153
Feet, footwear that "draw" the, 64
Female sex, not the weaker, 338
[Fertilisers, artificial, and peoples' doubts 291]
Fertility, and strength of sexuality, 335
Fetishes, popular, 178
Feudalism, 489
Fever, starving a, 153
Field lens of microscope, first introduction of, 697
"Findings are keepings," 469-70
Fire-arms, invention of, 772
Fire-balls, and their use, 15-16
[Fire insurance - only pays the proportion destroyed]
Fire-screen made of wire net, 17-18
"First catch your hare," 45
Fish and airborne sounds 267
.. as food for the brain 22
.., deep-sea 262-3
.., flat, 264 5
.., river, 265
Flags at half-mast, 789
Flamingoes and their nests, 232
Flannel, covering on tin utensils, and loss of heat, 688
.. in hot climates, 15
.., red and white, 55-6
.., red, worn round the neck 169
Fleming, Sir Alexander, and penicillin, 186
[flies in winter - not known where they are!]
Flight, artificial, commencement of, 653
Flint-working, 530
Flood, the, 830
Flowering currant, berries of 292
Flowers in bedroom at night, 129-30
.., yellow Pigments in, 290
Fluorescence, 687-8
Flying fish, 262
Flying foxes, 201
Flying squirrels, 217
Fogs and sound, 583
.., London smoke 695
.., town, and "sulphur," 136
"Fond father," meaning of the phrase, 427
Food and good temper, 41
..and palatability of, 39-40
..supply and population, 720-1
[and quality exerting a great influence - 531]
Foods, tinned, and poisoning, 45-6
Football fallacies, 762-3
Foot-binding in China, 557
Footlights, early use of, 799
Force, centrifugal, 609
.., draw-bar, 643
.., impulsive and compressive, 624-5
.., Power and Energy not synonymous, 578-9
"Forest," meaning of the word, 424
Forest fires and the sun's rays, 642
Forest of Arden, 450
Forks and knives, introduced into England, 772
"Forlorn hope," 427
Fortunes, telling of, 776-9
[Foucault eddy currents known before Foucault 678]
Foundation stone, 761
Fountains in Trafalgar Square, 753
Fowls trespassing, 461
Fraction, square root of, 709
Fractures, simple and compound, 78-9
France, death-rate of infants in, 187
.. not a "dying nation," 717-18
Frankenstein, 751
Franz Neumann law of potential, 678 [discovered by Gauss]
Freedom, 557
Free will, 108-9
French cookery 44
Frend, William and Cambridge university, 789
Friction, coefficient of, 681
Fridays, passenger boats starting on, 726-7 [superstition with disproof]
Frogs, rain of, 800
Frost, and insect life, 249
[frozen meat new about 1885]
[frozen caterpillars which can overwinter usually survive]
Fruit, canned, not dangerous, 39
--, legal right to, 461-2
.. taken at night, 28
.. stains on a cloth, 6
.. trees, pruning improves the bearing, 292-3 [overpruning]
Fruition 421
Fuel, wet, heat obtained by burning of the hydrogen in, 704
Funeral services, and Parishioners' right to service of Anglican Parish parson, 482-3

Gabriel, the Angel, and the Annunciation, 827
Galileo, 395
.., and the Tower of Pisa, 681
Galvani, Luigi, and electric experiments, 353
Gamekeepers, 464
Gammarids, Young, 222
[Garrick didn't introduce footlights 799]
Garrotting in London in 1862, 487-8
[Garter, order of, 543]
Gas, and weight and pressure, 696
[gas heating 1893 and 1906 Lancet reports pp 10 & 12]
Gas leakage, and a naked light, 775-6
Gas-stoves, air in room warmed by, 10-11
.. and health, 12-14
Gasometer, and explosion in, 575-6 [or gasholder]
Gate, 421
Gauss, Disquisitiones Arithmeticæ of, 557
Genius and insanity, 116
.. and unhealthiness, 81-2, 117-18
.., isolated, and discoveries. 783
Geological epochs and cataclysms, 450-1
-- strata, 451
George Inn, the Borough, 551
Germ, and minute copy of the human body within, 74
Germans, not Teutonic, 330
Germany and family limitation, 719-20
"Girl," [means young person] 809
Girls more delicate than boys, 58
Gin, used in colic, 166
Gipsies their place of origin, 319
Giraffes, 222-3
Glaciers, and impurities 706
Gladiator, signal for death of a, 546-7
Glass, black, 618
.. eyes, 64
.., powdered, as a Poison, 169-71
.., Venetian, 750
Glasse, Hannah, and her Art of Cookery, 402
Glass-painting, ancient art of, 537-8
-- rods and tubes, and bending under their own weight, 707
Glider, not the same as a sailplane, 780
Glow-worms, 253
Glucose and sucrose, 43
Gluttons, 209
Glycerine non-inflammability of, 16
Gnats, 250-1
Goat-suckers, 226
Godiva, Lady, 516
"God is always on the side of big Battalions," 409
"God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb," origin of, 407-8
Goitre, how caused, 148 [iodine deficiency not known as cause]
Gold, colour of, 297
.., Mosaic, 295
.., ore, 685
.. paint, 614
.., value of, 295-6
Golden Age, the, 560 [James Sully on hoary traditional myths]
Gold mines, 298
[idea they are always profitable - 'a gold mine' - is false also 685]
Goldsmith, Oliver, 394
"Goodness" of Man, 115
Goodwin Sands, the, 444
Goose-teal, 229
Gordon Castle. not in Banffshire, 446
Gorillas, 215-16
Gossamer, 257
Gossiping, harmfulness of, 18
Gradient of a railway, 599 [tangent, not sine, he says]
Grammar, formal, not indispensable, 413
Grantham, 432
Great men, and remarkable mothers, 336-7
[Greek fire, Callinicus, 543]
Greek scientific achievements, 419
Gregorian Calendar, 392
Greyhounds, 429
Grolier, 421
"Growing pains" 173
"Guards' Home" girls of the, 753-4
Guillotine, inventor of, 494
Guitars, frets on, 573-4
[Gulf Stream keeping UK warm a myth]
Gun, axis of a shell from, 651
.., persons blown from the muzzle of, 520-1
Gunnersbury, 432-3
Gunpowder, explosion of, 596
.., invention of, 390
.., inventor of, 372

Hair and felting, 643
.. and physical strength, 68-9
.., growth after death of, 64-5
.., red, and characteristics going with, 329-30
Hairs of a wet brush, 690
Hampton Court, Great Hall at, 530
Handley Cross, 552
Handrail of the pulpit steps and sliding down, 375-6
Hands of clock: turning them back, 582
Hand-work and machine work, 658
Hanwell, derivation of, 429
"Harmonious Blacksmith," composer of, 565
Harvest moon, 302-3
"He who runs may read," origin of, 407
Health, and temperament, 181
Heart, healthy, and physical strain, 181
.., human, seat of the affections, 103
.., nerves from, to ring-finger, 61
.., position of human, 47-8
Heart of Midlothian, 751
Heat does not rise, 666-7
.. of the sun and of a fire, 703
Heaviside layer, first suggestion of, 696
Hedgehogs and cows, 197-9
.., shooing out their quills, 204
.., usually eat black beetles, 209
Hell, 818-19 [and English legal ruling on it as in Bertrand Russell]
Henry of Monmouth and Judge Gascoigne, 506-7
Hens, and carbonate of lime, 241
Herd instinct, the, 773
Heredity, and father's part in, 335
.., popular idea of, 142-3
Herrings, fallacies about, 261-2 ['more nonsense.. than all other .. creation']
Herschel, Sir William, 790
Hide of land, area of, 761
High heels and narrow toes, harmfulness of, 79-80
"Hippocratic Collection," 810
Historians not always trustworthy, 684
History and judgments on people, 560
"History of England in a series of letters," author of, 405
History repeats itself, 539
Homosexuality, 181-2 [also A S Neill, 84]
Honduras, British, and the Republic of, 435
Honey, and the sweet fluid in flowers, 36
Honey, Poisonous, 254
Horatius and the defence of the Sublician Bridge, 508-9
[horizon - why the sun and moon appear larger near it 301]
Hors d'oeuvres, 26
Horse leeches, 805
Horses, and hoofs when galloping, 218-19
--, "knee" of, 217
House-fly, how it is able to walk on the ceiling, 249-50
.., in winter, 254
.., small, 245
Hudson Henry, and North America, 790
Human interference in animal and plant life 218
.. relationships and the intercellular process of living organisms, 335-6
Humming-birds: how they feed, 228
Hunger and appetite. 80
Hyaena not untameable. 196
Hybrids and fertility, 328
[Hydro-electric power in Great Britain has potential 638 not free 647]
Hydrogen, lifting power of, 639
Hydrophilus, 260
Hydrophobia, preventing persons bitten from having, 130-1
Hydrophobic patients and their doctors, 137-8
.... biting people, 152-3
Hymen, unruptured, 76
Hypnotism and will power, 109-10

Ibis, scarlet, 236
Ice, and melting of pieces rubbed together in a vacuum, 697
.., how it keeps things cold, 706-7
.., temperature of, 585
.. Age, sun's heat and, 310-11
Icebergs, kind of water obtained from, 650
Iceland, 446
Identification by finger prints, inventor of, 363-4
"Il n'y a qu'un Français de plus," 399
Immaculate Conception, the: what it is, 816-17
Immunity of site from bombs, if once hit, 629-30
['immune system' not referred to; just acquired immunity]
[cannot have measles etc more than once 131 etc]
Inbreeding and homozygosis, 343
Indian cobras, not most venomous snake, 278
.. ink, 748
Indians, North American (Red), 812
.., increasing, 790-1
Infantile paralysis, 171
Infectious diseases, 145
Inferiority complex and a sense of inferiority, 119
Influenza, 165-6
Inoculation against smallpox, 372-3
Insanity, and inheritance of, 182
.., and recovery from, 186
.., not disorder of mind. 176
Insane, the: no ill effect on staff attending, 187
.., .., their appearance, 176
Insects in gardens, 258-9
Insomnia, and the counting of sheep, 181
Instinct, 117
.., natural, 95
Insurance against age, 761-2
.. policies, whole life, 722
"In the midst of life we are in death," 408
Integral calculus, pioneer in, 789
Intellectual capacity of women and men, 128
Intelligence estimated by looking at a person, 103
..of Africans, 116
..quotients and innate ability, 120
Invalids laughed out of their complaints, 148
[iridescent colours in feathers 646]
Irish jaunting car, inventor of, 346
Iron, floating, 583
.., meteoric, 584
.. not the same as steel, 597
.., red-hot, and cooling of, 705
Israelites: making bricks without straw, 551
Ivy, on the walls of a house and damp, 16-17

Jackass, laughing, 764
"Jack Tar," 427-8
Jelly made from gelatine, 26
Jenneting, 429-30
Jews as a "pure" race, 319-20
.. birth-rate of, 328-9
Jew's harp, 574
Joan of Arc, correct name of, 499-500
John, King, and Magna Carta, 502
..,.., why he was called "Lackland," 518
John the Blind, King of Bohemia, death of, 532
John Dory (Zeus Faber), fish, 264
Johnson, Dr. Samuel, and "The Cheshire Cheese" tavern, 362
..,.., and a walk down Fleet Street, 412
..,.., his dictionary, 405
..,.., on fishing, 408-9
Johnson's Court, Fleet Street, 421
Jonah and the whale, 825-6
Jordan almonds, 285
Juggernauts, 783
Julius Caesar, 504
[jus prima noctae]
Jutland, 422
Juvenal's statement, Mens sana in corpore sano, 69-71

Kangaroos, 223
Katy-did, 253
Kerchiefs, those worn by sailors, 539
Kestrels, and game, 236
Keys, major and minor, 568-9
Keystone of an arch, 598
Kilt, the, 524, 791-2
King, the, persons in service under His Majesty, 485
Kinematograph, inventor of, 374-5
"King", word not always applied to males, 426-7
Kingfishers, 225
Kirchoff's laws, 678 [discovered by Gauss]
Knight's, [sic] effigies of, 551
.. of the Round Table, 526-7
Knives, stainless steel, and sharpening of 773
Knot, in reference to a ship's speed, 611-13 [613 has detailed account]

L.L.A. (St. Andrews), 398
Lactation and menstruation, 343
Land, entailed, 468
"Land o' the Leal," 750
Lantern, 426
[latent heat calculation - ice into water]
Latin American Republics, 419-20 [very different characters, says the article]
Laughing gas, 66
Law, Roman, and the formation of English Common, 478
Law, "unwritten", 483-4
Lead, heaviness of, 298
.., pound of, 86
.., putting the hand into molten, 698-99 [many anecdotes say OK]
Leap Years, 314
[Le Bon, Gustav, 123 NB Malinowski on myth of herd action, elsewhere]
"Little learning is a dangerous thing a," 403-4
Learning easy and hard things in, 775
.., quickly and memory, 126
Lease, reason for a 99 years', 477
Legal fallacies, 456-59
Legends, exploded, 492-4
Lemon sole, 265
Lenses, 63 1
"Lepers' windows," 552
Lesseps, Ferdinand de, not an engineer, 788-9
Letter H, enigma on. 397
Letters marked "Private and Personal," 486
Leyden Jar, charge of electricity and, 667-8
Libel and truth, 472-3
Liberty Bell, cracked, 514
Liebig's Extract of Meat, 28
Life sentence, 488
Light, colouring of, 585
Lightning and thunder do not cause rain, 744-5
.. ball, 689-90
.. conductors, 625 [should they be insulated?]
.. discharge, 698
.., path described by, 300 <[ot zigzag]
.., photograph of trees on the victim's skin, 651
--, reducing the risk of being struck by, 698
.., striking twice, 629
[line of least resistance, electricity doesn't take this - it's split 678]
Linnaeus and injustices. 556
Lions, dangerousness of, 224-5
Liquid gas in warfare, originators of, 543
Literature, English, not derived from Beowulf, 560
"Little children, love ye one another," 398
Lloyd's, 755
[Locks and passage of huge ships - probably reference to Suez or Panama 661]
Lockjaw: how produced, 132-3
Lock-nuts, position of smaller nut, 668-9
[Lockyer, Borman, on orientation of Egyptian temples 553]
Locomotive, steam, inventor of, 513
Locomotives, weights on the rims of the driving wheels of, 660
Locusts, 260
.., in the Bible, 250
Lodestones, incorrect spelling of, 678
London Bridge: its name, 544-5
.. clay, 450
Londoners, 3rd generation of, 336
Love-birds and grief, 237
Luggage, boarding-house keeper may not detain, 483
Luminescence, 687-8
Luminous paint, 644-5
Lunar month more than twenty-eight days, 302
Lunatics and the moon, 87

Macbeth, where he killed Duncan, 547
Macdonald, Flora, 504-5
Machine, Perpetual motion, 621-2
Mackerel, unwholesome in winter, 263-4
[and attempts by Board of Agriculture and Fisheries to counter this idea]
Maelstrom of the West Coast of Norway, 770
Magi, the, and the stable, 552
.. and their following the star, 519
.., number of, 826
Magistrate, Stipendiary, 474
Magna Carta, 502 [not signed by King Jon. And not Charta.]
Magnetic rocks in Cornwall, 627-8
Mahogany, 287-8
Mail vans, no privileges for, 484-5
Malaria, 73-4
.., causes of, 141
Malthus, not an advocate of birth control, 729
"Man in the Iron Mask", mask worn by, 404
Mandeville, Sir John, 413-4
Mankind separated into classes of ability, 98
Manure, farmyard, 291
Marat, nationality of, 385
.., profession of, 385
"March of the Men of Harlech," the, 569
[Marconi and 'wireless telegraphy' 367 ff]
Marine trumpets, 774
Mark, St., and last verses of his Gospel, 418
Marmosets, 210
Marriage after absence 455
.., annulment and dissolution of, 485-6
.., by capture, 814
-- ceremony performed on ship by captain, illegality of, 813-14
.., clever men and silly women, 116-17
.. in Lent, 813
.. not a sacrament of Church of England, 813
.. of cousins, biological aspect of, 326-7
.. of first and second cousins, 455
.. with husband's brother, 72
.. with persons having opposite characteristics, 815
"Marriage lines," loss of, 487
Mars, life on the Planet, 303-4
Marseillaise, The, 548-9
Mass and weight, difference between, 598-9
Mass-centre above point of support of body in equilibrium, 694-5
.. and centre of gravity, 600
Masturbation, 82-4 [1902 author. Aschaffenburg, Jones, Moll; Freud; A S Neill]
Mathematical knowledge not invented by the Arabs, 786
.. processes, and understanding them, 781
Mathematicians and absent-mindedness, 117
..and chess, 98
..and uselessness of their work, 682
Mathematics not a monomania, 118
Maupin, Mlle. de, 353-4
May-flies, life of, 248
Measles, not a trivial disease, 161-2
Medical advances, 172
Medicinal springs, 173
Medicine, absurdities in, 134-5
Medicines taken in the spring 152
Mediterranean sea, tide in, 435
Meerschaum: what it is, 751
"Meeting in a better world than this," 812
Mental defectives and mating, 188
Metallic copper not poisonous, 657
Metals, ductile, hardening and softening of, 619-20
Mews, 430
Microscope and shut eye, 49
Middle Ages, the, 792
"Middy," 427-8
Midgets, 336
Midsummer Day and the longest day, 314
Milk, 29-31
.., colour of, 29
.., covering of, 40
.. cow's and mother's, not agreeing, 30-1
.. pasteurised, 784-5
.., separated, 30
Miller, Joe, 401
Miniatures, 412
Mining, limit to depth at which it can be done, 500
Mint, meanings of, 430
Miracles, 818
Mirage, 636-7
Mistletoe, and oak trees, 284
Mohammedans and women, 756-7
Moles, 202-3
Monday, not the first day of the week, 753
Mongoose, and snake-bite, 187
Monkeys, 200-1
Monkey-trees, origin of name, 433
Monomania, 156-7
Mons, Battle of, and the Angels, 821
Mont Blanc not in Switzerland, 444
Moon, devoid of atmosphere, 307
[claim that it's as good as earth at burning up meteors!]
.. does not rotate on its axis, 310
.., "earth-rise" and, 307
.., full, and clouds, 306
.., full, interval of time between, 314
.., gravity extending to the orbit of, 559-60
.., horns of the, 739
--, light of full, and half, 310
.., lunatics and, 87
Moonlight, effects of sleeping in, 87-9
Moore, Sir John: his death, 358-9
[mortality rates, occupatinal, and suicides. e.g. 135. Soldiers high rate]
[mortality of coal miners not high 691]
Mosquitoes, 250-1
.., larvae, and oil on water, 259-60
"Most learned fool in Christendom," 399
Mother Shipton's prophecies, 792
Moths and clothes, 2-3, 19
[motor cars being run in 685 ff - and wear on cars]
Motorist, and audible warnings, 484
Mountain, determining the height of a, 449
"Mount Calvary," 400
Mt. St. Elias. 437
Mourning, white used In China for, 783
Mulberry trees, age at which they bear fruit, 290
"Mummy Wheat," 281-2 [fallacy of germination after thousands of years]
"Münchausen, Baron, The Adventures of," 398
"Murder will out," 715-16
Murderers, aspect and character, 73
.., motive for crime not required for conviction of, 484
.., portrait on retina of eye of victim, 90-1
.., production of the body of the victim, 477
Muscles, excessive development of, 185
Muscular exertion and diversion of the sexual urge, 124
Mushrooms, 20-21 ['only mushrooms peel']
Music, quality and difficulty of, 570-1
Musical instruments, perfect, 564-5
.. .., pitch, 573
Mussels, poisonous, 23
Mustard gas, 773-4
"My kingdom for a horse," 417
Myths and anecdotes, 497-9

Nakedness and sexual desire, 341-2
Napier, and logarithms, 728-9, 782
Napoleon: his arrival on the Bellerophon, 377-8
..: his Russian campaign, 539-40 [defeat in fact by typhus]
"Nation of shopkeepers," originator of phrase, 396
Native races, and their intelligence, 125-6
National Anthem, composer of, 558
.. efficiency and early death, 721
Natural selection, 223, 337
.. .., and the species, 814-15
.. .., Darwinian theory of. 781
Nature, balance of, 221 [cp New Statesman article Nov 95 saying this is mythical]
.., laws of, 773
Nautilus 806-7
[nave not altar where bride walks]
Nebulae, gaseous spectra of, 311
Negro, skin of, and heat-emissive power, 73-4
Nelson, at the Battle of Copenhagen, 553
.., his statue, 748
Nero, and the burning of Rome, 381-2
[town planner - clearing slum areas and messy shrines and build spacious roads]
Nervous system, sympathetic, 74
[New Forest and supposed myth of William the Conqueror]
New Testament, date of, 817
...., date of MSS. of, 829
Newton, Sir Isaac, and gravitation, 348-51
.., and his dog Diamond, 793
.., and his work on gravity, 309-10
.., and a straight line, 695
New York, not the capital of the U.S.A., 445
Niagara Falls, 445
Nightingales, 225-6
[Noah's Ark didn't have two of everything]
Noble Families in the United Kingdom, 517
[no legal privileges unlike France and Germany]
Nose, washing out of, 80
.. bleeding, 151-2
Noses, large, and sexual organs, 337
Notice, giving of, 464
"Now Barabbas was a Publisher," author of, 390
Nudism and sexuality, 127-8

Oak-apple Day, 550-1
Oceans, life in the great abysses of, 807
Octopus, 279
Odours, evil smelling, 17
"Off with his head..," 417
Oil, crude, and fuel, 700
Okapi, 200
"Of that ilk," meaning of, 410
Old Testament, earliest extant MSS. of, 829
.. .., versions in use in the time of Christ, 823-4
Omelet, [sic] derivation of, 430
"One touch of Nature makes the whole world kin," 401-2
Onions, smell of, after eating, 118-19
Oranges, Seville, not bitter, 46
Orang-Outans, use of sticks by, 200
Orchids, living on air of, 282
Order of the Garter, 543-4
Organs, American, 564
[Orientation of churches not general in early days; & did exist before]
Original sin, doctrine of, 816
Osprey feathers, 239 [so called]
Osteopathy and manipulative surgery, 80-1
Ostriches and swimming, 228
.. digesting iron, 230-1
.. do not fly, 243
.. hiding head in sand, 234
Othello, not black, 392
Over-work, and excess of brain activity, 181
Owls, and daylight, 240
.., how they perch, 240
.., little, 243
Oxford, origin of Colleges of, 793
[and Cambridge: owed nothing to the monasteries - reaction against]
Oxidation of matter in water, 610-11
[oxygen penetrates all parts of a mass of water with 'magical quickness' 611]
Oysters, eggs of, 805
Ozone, in air at seaside places, 164-5
.., not healthy, 164

Pacific Ocean, discoverer of, 365
Paine, Thomas, not an atheist, 385-6
Palmistry, 776-9 [the Daily Mail campaigned against]
..and the Vagrant Act, 459
Panama Canal, 449
...., ships passing from Atlantic through, ?65
Paper, overdrying during cable-making operations, 640
Parents, white, and "black" children, 321-2
Parrots: countries they inhabit, 241
.., cutting the tongue of, 227
.., in small cages, 240
.., not the only birds which talk, 231-2
Partridges, and insects, 261
[and rooks and other birds - examination of stomach contents being needed]
Pascal, triangle of numbers not first thought out by, 770
Passion Week and Holy Week, 754
Pâté de foie gras, preparation of, 26
[unpleasant description of geese and liver and pate]
Patented machines or articles, law about, 486
Patrick, St., 793
Peacocks, colours of feathers, 645-6
.., the tail and train of, 235
Peak, The, not a mountain, 450
Pearl-oysters, 266-7 [culturing pearls]
Pears soap, 425
Pedestrians and the roadway, 486
Peel, and The Times, 523-4, 792-3
Pelican, feeding its young, 227-8
Pendulum and the working of the clock, 6
.., weight of the bob of a, 584
Pennant, origin of, 385
Pentateuch and other Books of the Bible, by whom written, 828-9
Pepper, 291
"Pepper's Ghost," inventor of 380-1
Pepys, Samuel, and his diary, 417-18
Perpendicular not synonymous with vertical, 500
Peter, St., 503-4
Petersham, 432
Pewter, 616
Pheasants, food of, 239
Pheidippides, 519-20
Phosphorescence, 687-8
.., on dead fish, 617
[phosphorescence on watches etc barium sulphide, calcium s, strontium s]
Photographic dark-room, 649
Photographs, fallacy regarding enlargement of, 596-7
Photography, inventor of, 385
Piano, musical intervals in, 571
.., origin of, 569
.., playing discords on, 562-3
.., quality of a note sounded on, 571-2
.., tuning of, 569-70
Pied Piper of Hamelin, 547
"Piers the Ploughman", author of, 398-9
Pigeons, milk of, 225
Pigs, not dirty, 219-20
Pilgrim Fathers, the 508
Pin-pricks and needle-pricks, 143
Pine, Scots, 293 [native of Britain - most important of our conifers]
Pipe, curved cast-iron, and internal fluid pressure, 669-70
Pipes for smoking, 547-8
Pisa, Leaning Tower of, 764
Pisistratus and Homer's poems, 548
Piston of an engine, corrugations on, 659
Pitch used in preservation of mummies, 763
Pitt, the Elder, death of, 386
Plague conveyed by rat-fleas, 186
Plane, free, position in a stream of, 659
..trees, in towns, 288
Planets, not self-luminous, 310
Plants, sponging leaves of, 287
Plastic surgery, 190
Plate, flat, in a stream of air or water, 500
Playing cards, history of, 516-17
[ploughing: US Dept of Agriculture 1936: buries weeds & manure, eases seeding]
Pneumatic tyres and the inventor, 354-5
Pneumonia, crisis occurring on an odd day, 161
Poets, and Poverty, 418 [Mostly they were rich, wrote Q]
Poisons and their antidotes, 285-6
Poker, draught caused by, 1-2
Police, promotion of, 749-50
Polygamy and Mohammedans, 317-18
Pompeii: how buried, 553 [not lava]
.., Roman sentry at destruction of, 554
Pontius Pilate, death of, 365
Pool of Bethesda, Angel troubling the water of, 820
Poor Law, beginning of the, 467-8
Pope Joan, 548
Poppies, opium in seeds of, 293
Population, diminishing, and effects on demand for goods and unemployment, 729-30
.., increase of, 727
Porcupines shooting out their quills, 204
Porpoise footwear, 17
Porpoises not fish, 215
"Port wine" mark, 71
Potatoes, introduction into England, 378-9
.., skin of,43
Poultice, linseed, 141
Pounds, correct contraction for, 414
"Pouring oil on troubled waters," 407
Powder, Digby's sympathetic, 135
Preaching in the Medieval Church, 788
Precosity and mediocracy, 122-3, 128-9
Pregnancy, and coitus, 337
.., dental trouble during, 190-1
.., fallacy about, 76-7
Press gang, derivation of, 430-1
[when engaged received prest-money']
Pressure of a liquid or gas, 764-5
Pressure on angles of an octagon, 606-7
..on shoulders of a truss of hay, 658
Priestcraft, primitive, 819
Primitive Peoples, earlier maternity among, 337
Primroses and Lord Beaconsfield, 351
"Primula sinensis," 293
Prince of Wales, birthplace of the first, 524-5
Printed book, oldest, 418-19
Printing, where first produced, 505-6
Profit and selling price, 729
Propagation, species and powers of, 263
Prostitution, motives for, 342
Psychological methods and vocational guidance, 121
Psychology, Remedial, 188
Ptomaine poisoning, 188
Public halls, and acoustics, 689
Public Schools do not have school ties, 771
Publishing a work, and the copyright, 468
Pumping engine in a mine, and horse-power, 670-1
Pumpkins, 283-4
Purse of State, the Great Seal not kept in, 789-90
Pyramid, the Great, and Lincoln's Inn Fields, 755
Pythons, animals' fright at sight of, 278
.., bite not poisonous, 274

Quadrilateral, diagonals of a, 730
Quails, 241
Quart bottle, 750
Queen Anne's Farthings, 529
Quick-sands, 626-7 [don't 'suck']
Quotations, xiii-xv

Rabbits, how to lift, 214
.., keeping down of, 221
Radiation, 600
Radiators, [Joke: pun on radiation?]need not be painted black, 696
Radio, securing good effects with, 775
Railway bookstalls, by whom invented 762
.. passengers and particular trains, 486
.. ..in wrong class carriages, 464
.. .., production of ticket, 463
.. .., return tickets of, 463
.. track, super-elevation on, and train's speed, 679
[supposed myth that raising one rail doesn't affects maximum speed much]
.. train, and impending collision, 680
[Rain, praying for, 744]
Rainbows, 627
Rainfall and the use of wireless, 452-3
Raleigh, Sir Walter, and his cloak, 356
.., and tobacco, 355-6
.., and the potato, 378-9
Rasputin, not a priest, 794
Rats on ships, 195
Rat-traps, 811
Rattle-snakes, and the rattle, 277
Ravens, and their young, 233
Realm, three estates of, 554
Receipts for debts, 462-3
Reciprocating steam engine and initial condensation of steam, 707
Relativity, and Physics, 671
.. .., first statement of Principle of, 684
[Religion in Russia or USSR; cp McCabe 817 & note nothing about church assets]
Remedies, chemical, originator of 782
.. queer, 178-9
Reptiles, and insects, bites of, 260-1
Research workers and their motives, 769-70
Reservoir, yield of a, 619
Resurrection of the Body, 830
Rheumatic fever caused by damp, 184-5
Rheumatism and chalky soil and water, 189
Rhône, the, 435
Rhubarb, Turkey, 450
Ribs, of man and woman, 47
Rice, Chinese and, 434
.., Chinese, Indians and Japanese and, 688
Richard III, and his reputed deformity, 382-3
Richardson, Sir Benjamin Ward, and an alcoholic legacy, 794
Richmond, Duchess of, and her Ball in Brussels before Waterloo, 798-9
Rifles, flat and high trajectories, 677-8
[Littlewood's mathematical miscellany also has rifles 'pulling' upward]
Right of the First Night, 791
Rights, marital or conjugal, 431
Rings, metallic, as a safeguard, 162
Riot Act, reading of, 474
.. .., taking action after reading, 474-5
Roads, long distance, and Romans, 678-9
Road fallacies, 672-3
[inc. 'roads cannot be too wide' - cp positive feedback letter by Fred Hoyle]
Robin Hood, not a real person, 364
Robins, and song of, 229
.. and the young of, 241-2 [do they kill their parent birds? - cp Russell]
[robin males and females are closely alike 230]
Rolling resistance with mathematically geometrical and elastic materials, 707
Roman camps, 424-5
Roman Catholic Mass and the Communion Bread (the Host) in, 822
[Roman roads anticipated by Hittites]
Roman steel-yard, origin of, 533
Rope, stress on, 576-7
"Rope trick," Indian, 105-7
Rosamund, Fair, and her death, 509
Rose of Jericho, 285
Rotation of a wheel, 653 [fallacy of mud flying off radially]
Royal Chelsea Hospital. founding of, 376-7
Royal Marriages Act, 475
Rubber goods, how made, 753
"Rule the Roost," 415
Russia, religion in, 817

Sadism, 190
Safety lamp, miner's, and the inventor, 352-3
Safety-pins, 530
Sailors' collars, stripes on, 538-9
-- , kerchiefs worn by, 539
St. John's Gospel, story of woman taken in adultery not part of original Gospel 771
St. Laurence, Church of, Bradford.on.Avon, not Saxon, 792
St. Luke's Day, 745
St. Paul's School, and Dean Colet, 796
St. Swithin's Day, 737-39
St. Thomas's Hospital, 796
Salamanders, 802 [and reputation]
Saliva not a disinfectant, 78
Salmon, and crimping, 26-7
Salt, solubility in water of, 581
-- meat, 19 [and sailors and trailing it in the sea]
-- water and fire-extinguishing, 651
Sand-deserts, 450
Sand-eels, shower of, 801-2
Sanitary work, England a pioneer in, 682
[and not the Germans as fashionable people imagined. Entry refers to 1920]
Sapphires, colour of, 296
Sardonic smile, and the ancient Sardinians, 118
Sargasso Sea, 436-7
Savages, and civilised races, 114
.., and European standards, 338
.., and freedom, 338
.., and licentiousness, 119
.., not illogical, 122
.., not lawless, 774
.., senses of, 95-6
Savonarola, 508
Scaevola, 509
Scan, to, meaning of, 423
Scarlet fever and scarlatina, 145
[school and college stories 497ff - got transferred to eg Mr Jowett]
Schreiner, Olive, and George Meredith, 406
Science and former theories, 559
..not synonymous with mechanical invention, 701
Scientists, conclusions reached by, 654
Scorpion stinging itself to death, 255
Scotland, letters to, 809
.., National Flag of, 759
Screw-drivers, power of, 595-6
Scurvy, 190, 764
Sea, discolouration of, 803
.. water, being wetted by, 176
.. .., drinking of, 41, 176-7
.. .., freezing of, 580-1
Sedan chair, derivation of, 431
Selkirk, Alexander, and Defoe, 419
..,.., shipwreck of, 496
Semen and spermatozoa, 338
Senior Wranglers, 392-3
Senses, five, 89-90
Seraphim, meaning of, 433
Sewer, maximum discharge of, 621
Sex, change in, 243-4
.., determination of, and the Morgan theory, 338-9
.. instinct, 339
.. and civilisation, 120
.. in women, 342-3
Sexual act, woman's part in, 815
.. capacity and physique, 339
.. desire and the menopause, 340
.. intercourse, abstinence from, among the young, 80
.. periodicity not connected with the moon, 730
.. promiscuity among man has never existed, 793
Sexuality in men and women, 341
Shadow of a person at night, 599
Shakespeare, not a dealer in malt, 366-7
.., quotations and, 413, 417
[no systematic examination of claimants]
Shamrock, 294
.., grown in England, 286
Sharks, ferocity of, 266 [timorous and won't attack hubbub making man]
.. will not attack anything dead, 265-6
Sheep, deposit of gold on teeth of, 811
"Sheep-tracks" not made by sheep, 451
"Sheer hulk," meaning of, 410
Sheppard, Jack, 796
Sherry before dinner, 256
Shingles, 151
Shopkeepers' right to refuse to supply goods shown, 460
Shore, Jane, 507
Shorthand, 528 [predated Pitman!]
Shrapnel, not fired from anti-aircraft guns, 683
.. shells, 639
Shrews, 223
Shrikes, and their food, 244
Sight, long and short, 90
.., of sailors, 97
Signatures, 418
Silicosis, 780
Silk garments and customs duty, 138
Silver, German, 295
Simpson's rule, 727-8
..two rules, 701-2
Siphon action in a vacuum of, 702
"Sirloin," origin of the word, 426
"Sisters and brothers have I none..," 810
Skating, cutting names on the ice, 747
Skin, pores of, 81
Skin foods, 81
"Skin of my teeth," 408
Skins, human, seven, 51
Sky, blue, 581-2
Slate, cleavage of, 705 [cleavage and bedding plane distinction]
Sleep before midnight, 81
Slimming, 185-6
[slug, yellow, small shell at tail end is carnivorous, active at night]
Smith, Sydney, and Landseer, 393
Smoke rings, 774
Smoker's throat and cancer, 162
Smoking, medical opinions about, 124-5
[including a defence on grounds that smoke disinfects - disproven]
Snake-bite, and brandy. 189
[snake charming anecdotes 276]
Snakes, and Chinese alleged eating of, 41
.., and their young, 279
.., death of before sunset, 270-1
.., forked tongue of, 267-8
.., glass, 274
.., horned, 279
.., in Ireland, 280
.., jumping of, 278
.., large: how they feed, 274-5
.., movements of, 278
.., music and, 275-7
.., not slimy, 274
.., power of fascination of, 271-3
Soils, gravel and clay, and health, 334
Solar eclipse and the weather, 308-9
.. system, Helio-Centric Principle of, and Copernicus, 313-14
"Solar topi" translation of, 422
Soldiers, British, and charging of, 760
Somerville, Mary, 796-7
Sound, effect of a clear atmosphere, 645
.., effect of rain, hail, and snow on, 645
.., velocity of, 645
.. waves, spreading of, 706
Soy made from black-beetles, 246
[cockroaches; Chinese used latter as fishing bait]
Spanish Armada, cause of defeat of, 535-6 [not storms]
.. .., descendants of crews of, 317 [myth about Cornwall]
-- Main, the, 445
"Spare the rod and spoil the child," 406-7
Sparrow-hawks, and their nests, 232-3
Sparrows, and House Martins' nests, 241
Sparrows, migration of city, 242-3
Speaker of the House of Commons and perquisites, 760
Spectacles in work, and efficiency, 127, 680
Spencer, Herbert, and a statement on billiards, 797
Spermatozoa and ova in the vagina and uterus, 82 [only fertile a few hours]
Sphinx, riddle of the, 412
Spiders, Australian barking, and their noise, 257
--, bird-eating, 256-7
.., bites of, 257
.., female, 258
.., garden-spider and its web, 258
.., harvest, 258
.., little red, 258
.., not an insect, 255-6
.., sea, 258
.., threads of 258
Spinet, derivation of, 433
Spirit photography, 110-12
.. rappings, 680
Spiritualism and the Vagrant Act, 459
.., fallacies about, 112-13
Sponges, 804
Spooner, Dr. W. A., and his Spoonerisms, 794-5 [claimed never to have made one]
Sprinklers, lawn, 579-80
Square: feet square and square feet, 712
Squints, 74
Squirrels, hibernation of, 207-8
.., laying up nuts, 811
.., not shy, 204-5
Stamps, black Penny, 774-5
Staring, awareness of, 102
Starlings do not eat seeds, 238
Stars, and Bayer's Greek letters for brighter 311
--, "fixed" 306-7
.., fixed, possibly inhabited, 308
.., number seen at any one time, 617
.., shooting or fading, 300-1
.., visible in daylight, 305-6
.., visible to the naked eye, 307-8
Statistical methods, 730-1
"Statistics can prove anything," 712-13
Statues, ancient Grecian and Roman, 549 [not white]
Stead, W. T., and his predictions of his death, 393
[he died on Titanic, not as he'd seen in dreams]
Stealing by finding, 487
Steam discharged through a nozzle, 651-2
.., expansive use of, inventor of, 701
.., invisibility of, 7
Steamers, first to cross the Atlantic, 510-13
Steam navigation, first accomplishment of, 556
.. pipes, and loss of heat from felt-covered, 697-8
Steel, does not "crystallise" with vibration, 668
.. hardening with water 640
.., high tensile, 659
[Stefannson, 809]
Stephenson, George, and link motion, 347
Stephenson's "Rocket," 700
.. .., designed by Robert Stephenson, 703
Sterilisation and castration, 343
..and mental defectives, 126-7
..and sexual power, 75
..in England, 488
Sterility and impotency in the male, 336
Stirrup, holding the, meaning of, 71l
Stoats, powers of fascination of, 272
Stomach, working during sleep of, 81
Stonehenge, 795
Stoves and hot-water apparatus, and Paint used for, 696, 782
.., gas and oil, and their smoke, 7-9
Straight line, a, and Newton, 695
Strawberry, derivation of, 431
Stress and strain, not synonymous, 577-8
Studs on a cylinder cover, tension of a, 607-8
Sty on the eyelid, curing of, 132
Sublimation and sexual interest, 128
Submarine, attacks by, 762
.. not a modern invention, 544
.., resistance of the water to the propulsion of, 643
Suez Canal route used by ancient Egyptians, 454
Suffocation In a conflagration, 597
Sugar, 41-2, 43
..and acidity, 182
..and obesity, 46
..and the teeth, 46
..and vinegar, mixture of, 594
..beetroot, 284
--, loss of weight of, 40
.., made from bullock's blood, 25
Sugar Cane Mill, three-roll, inventor of, 392
Suicides not more numerous in November, 724-5
Sulphur and volcanoes, 297
[article on bacteria - perhaps the underwater 'discovery' wasn't new]
..Insoluble in water, 296-7
Sun, the, and dust, 5
.., and fire, 4-5
.., and Moon, and angle subtended by, 301-2
.., constitution and heat of, 303
.., focused by large lens, 634
.., growing cooler, 303
.., setting of, on the shortest day, 308
.. and Planet gear, inventor of, 704
Sun-burn, 810
Sunday, documents signed on, 476
.. not the same as the Sabbath, 775
Sunflower and the sun, 283
Sunstroke, 135
Surface level, not necessarily flat, 674-5
Surgeons and service on juries, 481
Survival of the fittest, 338
.. .., originator of the principle, 797
Swans, and song when dying, 233-4
Swaying of tall structures, 602-3
"Sweat" on walls, 597
"Sweeney Todd," 393
Sweets, green, 40
Swift, Jonathan, and a toast, 413
Swimming, in shallow or deep water, 581
.., rate of, 758
.., with and against the stream, 613
Sword in Arms of the City of London, 521-2
Syphilis and Columbus, 155-6
.. caused by the bite of a camel, 192
.., rate in men higher than in women, 189

Tables, rectangular, 753
Tablets and capsules, medical, 191
Tarantula spider, 256
[Tartaglia and cubics, method communicated to Cardan 654]
[Tartaglia and motion of projectiles 654]
Tartan, 758
Taxis, 487
Tea, drinking hot, and cooling effect, 40
.., green, 23-4
-- in cup, and train motion, 775
-- leaves and tannin, 38
Teeth, aching, and swollen face, 163
.., and contact with ice, 69
.. and intestines of man for eating flesh 50
-- "dead", 163
Telegraph wire, current through, 592
Telepathy, 99-102
Telephone, inventor of, 389
Telescopes, and Galileo, 371-2 [Lippershey supposed to be inventor]
[Note: theory over practice: Telescopes not used by some great astronomers 683]
.., powerful, purpose of, 314
Tell, William, 501-2
Temperature attained at the focus of a lens, 633-4
.. of air produced by an electric table-fan in a room, 695
.. of articles in a room, 85-6
.., sweating it out and, 191
[temperature and sunlight falling directly on a thermometer 659]
Temples, 431 [not place for worship, but dwellinghouse for deity]
Tendencies, musical or criminal, and heredity, 119
Thaw and burst water Pipes, 1
Theatre, acting manager of, 760
Theory and facts, 659-60
Thermos flask, inventor of, 797
Thermometer placed in the sun's rays, 659
Thirst, quenching of in hot weather, 41
Thirteen, the number, 359-61
Thistle: "Cnicus arvensis" and its Propagation, 294
--, sow, 294
"Three acres and a cow," originator of, 361-2
Three heavenly witnesses, text about 819
Thunder, effect on beer and milk of 591
.., how produced, 740
Thunderbolts, 299
Tidal waves, i52
Tides, daily cause of, 315-16
.., irregular high, 452
.., when spring tides occur, 442-3
"Tin" utensils, 7
"'Tis not in mortals to command success," 413
Titanium not a rare metal, 296
"To go the way of all flesh," 417
Toads in a garden, 807
Toads in rocks and coal, 269-70
.., jewel in head of, 279 [however fish have beautiful otoliths 279]
Toadstools, 434
Tobacco, derivation of, 431 [not from Tobago]
.., habit of smoking, 294
.., introduction into England, 355-6
.., used to stop bleeding, 16
.., Virginian, mildness of, 294
.. smoke, 644
.. .. as a disinfectant, 751
Tonnage of a ship, 646-7
Toothache, and worms, 192
"To run the gauntlet," 429
Tortoises and black-beetles, 805-6
Tortoise-shell not obtained from tortoises, 807
Trade winds, 444
Tradition, fallacy of, 495-6
Tram and tramway, derivation of the words, 423-4
Trap on the waste-pipe of kitchen sinks, 14
[treasure trove in the section on law]
Trees mentioned in Domesday Book, 291
.., sap of, 287
Trespassers, 477
['Tripod of Life' Cp. Challoner on Second World War? 270]
[Trotter, Wilfrid or Wilfred 121]
Tsetse fly, 253-4
Tumbler, inverted, and full of water, and atmospheric pressure, 702
Tumblers, capability of standing heat, 2
Tunnels, Pressure on, 642-3
Turkeys, place of origin of, 811-12
Turkey vultures, and their food, 244
Turpin, Dick, and the Church plate, 391
..,.., and his ride to york, 402-3
Tutankhamen, tomb of, 559
Twins, resemblance to each other, 58-9
Tyndall, John, not an atheist, 386
[Tyndall on sound not stopped by 'thick weather' - & effect on sea warnings]
Typhoid bacilli and typhoid fever, 148

"Uncut," use of the term, 400
Unicorns, 214-15
Universities, colours of, 755
[unwritten law 483-4]

Vaccination, against smallpox, 191
Van Tromp, Admiral, and a broom at his ship's masthead, 379-80
....,.., correct name of, 379
Veddas, the, and laughter, 118
Vegetable Kingdom, fallacies about, 282-3
Vegetables, green, preserving of colour of, 37-8
Velocity, steam, greater than the velocity of sound, 707
Venereal diseases, and promiscuous intercourse, 187
...., communicating them to others, 163-4
Ventilating cowls on ships, 595
Ventilation, 9-10
Ventriloquists, 49
Vessels, glass, and boiling liquids, 595
.., passing through a lock: amount of water used, 661-3
Vibration caused by road vehicles, cause of, 703
.., periodic force applied at node of a vibrating body, 703-4
[vibration as a source of metal 'crystallising', tested 668]
[vicar 483]
Viking, 432
Vinegar, used to reduce obesity, 64
Violins, accumulation of resin on, 561
.., cracked, 561-2
.., old and modern, 563
.., varnish for, 563-4
--, waist of, 574
Viscosity, "coefficient" of, 673-4
Visibility as a sign of rain, 739-40
Vocal chords, 571-2
Volcanic action not greater formerly than now, 439-42
Volcanoes, definition of, 438-9
.. of old not similar to the existing ones, 443
Volume of coal independent of size of lumps, 655

[Wallace, Alfred Russel, eg struggle for existence as minimising pain 810]
[Alfred Russel Wallace vs Hampden on water surface being flat or curved]
Wallace, William, [nothing known of him] 683
Wallpaper, green, 10 [arsenic compound 'poison green']
Walls of a room, thickness of, 640
War and physique, 321
[warm water freezes sooner than cold myth in Bacon 615]
Washington, George, and cutting down a cherry tree, 344
..,.., his birthday. 353
Wat Tyler, death of, 522-3
Watches, and personal effect of wearer on, 704
.., their losing time in summer, 675-6
Water, bacteria in, 25
.., bad, 24
.., blue colour of, 775
.., boiling in domestic boiler, 683
.., chlorinated 692
.., decomposition of, and the hydrogen, 695
.., drunk after eating fruit, 54
.., filtration of, 36
.., freezing of cold and warm, 615-16
.., freezing point of, 584-5
.., from deep wells, 36-7
.., hydrostatic pressure of, 618-19
.., in primary rocks, 706
.., jet from nozzle of fireman's hose-pipe, and pressure, 702
.., opening the eyes under, 56-7
.., power in Great Britain, 638
.., pressure of, in a fire hose, 591-2
.., specific heat of, 652
.., standing. 37
.., tap, not chalky, 692
.., tensile strength of, 660
.., viscosity of, 628
Water-cress, 292
Waterloo, battle of, 799
Waterspouts, 453
Wave, the ninth, 634-5
Waves "mountains high," 652-3
Watt, James, and the steam engine, 394-5
..,.., experiments with a tea kettle, 387-8
..,.., not the inventor of the steam engine, 388-9
.., Governor, 389
..,.., not the inventor of the engine governor, 389
Weather, fallacies about, 732 ff.
.., severe, and treatment after exposure to, 165
Webb, Captain, death of, 344
"Weber's Last Waltz," composer of, 565
Weight in man, before and after dinner, 48-9
.. of person before and after death, 62
Wellington, quotations from, 500-1
Welsh rabbit, 423
"Westminster" extent of, 760-1
.. belfry, 797
Wettest place in Great Britain, 451-2
Whale-bone, 193-4
Whales not fish, 195-6
.., small throats of, 208
Wheat, yield per acre, 725-6
Wheatstone bridge, 389
[Wheatstone not the inventor of the electric telegraph 666]
Wheel out of balance, 618
Whirlpool formed by water running out of a bath, rotation of, 453
Whisky and intoxication, 747
..and Scotland, 799
..and wet feet, 172
..as an antidote to snake-bites, 150, 192
..for restoring apparently drowned persons, 145
White "ants" not ants, 772
Whitebait, 263
Whitechapel Mount, 554
Whittington, Dick, 365-6
..,.., and burning of royal bonds, 797
..,.., and his cat, 496-7
..,.., poor when young 366
"Why do they not eat cake?" origin of, 373-4
Whooping cough, 137
.. .., in adults and children. 177
Wild duck. flying formation of, 235-6
Will, 117
William the Conqueror and the New Forest, 548
.. .., why so called, 525-6 [change in meaning]
.. of Wykeham, 798 [not an architect]
Wind: how it blows, 742-3
.. instruments, physical effect of playing on, 565-6
Wine, bottled, 38-9
.. glasses, singing into, 566 [myth of breaking]
.. stain, putting salt on, 628-9
Winter and health, 1334
Wireless telegraphy, discoverer of, 367-70
.. telephony, as a cure for deafness, 177-78
Wire nail, roughing of, 628
Witches, 798
[witchcraft death sentences 540-541]
Wives: not bought by Africans, 769
.., sale of, 460-1
Woffington, Peg, and almshouses, 393-4
Women and seduction. 118
.. and suckling, 115
.. and veils in Mohammedan countries, 825
.., childlessness and, 815
.., Chinese, not suppressed, 557
.., cold felt less by, 128
.., more sensitive than men, 128
.., orgasm in, and conception, 337
.., ratio of, to men in Great Britain, 709-10
.., scale of ascent of, 799
.., status of, 799
.., suckling and conceiving and, 330
[women's status in China good, and in Babylon - Hammurabi's Code 799]
Woody nightshade, 289
World, age of, 711-12
"Worming" a dog, 197
Worsted, felting of, 643
Wounds made by rats, 189
Wounds, neglect of small, 167-8
Wrens, 230
Wyatt, Sir Thomas. 548

"Yankees," 415
"Ye," for "the," 422
Yellow fever, and doctor's self-sacrifice, 192
"Yellow Peril," high birth-rate in the East, and Europe, 718
Yeomen of the Guard, not warders of the Tower, 549-50
Yew tree berries poisonous, 289
.. trees, purpose of planting, 554-5

Zebra, not untameable, 196

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Review/ commentary © Raeto West 2023