The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing Part 8

French Revolution, 1789; Reign of Terror, 1793.

$1,000,000 gold coin weighs 3,685.8 lb. avoirdupois.

Mormons arrived at Salt Lake Valley, Utah, July 24, 1847.

The largest cavern in the world is the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.

Experiments in electric lighting, by Thomas A. Edison, 1878-80.

Daguerre and Nieper invented the process of daguerreotype, 1839.

First American library founded at Harvard College, Cambridge, 1638.

First cotton raised in the United States was in Virginia, in 1621; first exported, 1747.

First sugar-cane cultivated in the United States, near New Orleans, 1751; first sugar-mill, 1758.

First telegraph in operation in America was between Was.h.i.+ngton and Baltimore, May 27, 1844.

The largest university is Oxford, in England. It consists of twenty-one colleges and five halls.

The first illumination with gas was in Cornwall, Eng., 1792; in the United States, at Boston, 1822.

Printing was known in China in the 6th century; introduced into England about 1474; America, 1516.

The great wall of China, built 200 B. C. is 1,250 miles in length, 20 feet high, and 25 feet thick at the base.

Gla.s.s mirrors first made by Venetians in the 13th century. Polished metal was used before that time.

Meerschaum means "froth of the sea." It is white and soft when dug from the earth, but soon hardens.

In round numbers, the weight of $1,000,000 in standard gold coin is 1-3/4 tons; standard silver coin, 26-3/4 tons; subsidiary silver coin, 25 tons; minor coin, 5-cent nickel, 100 tons.

The highest monument in the world is the Was.h.i.+ngton monument, being 555 feet. The highest structure of any kind is the Eiffel Tower, Paris, finished in 1889, and 989 feet high.

There has been no irregularity in the recurrence of leap year every four years since 1800, except in 1900, which was a common year, although it came fourth after the preceding leap year.

It is claimed that crows, eagles, ravens and swans live to be 100 years old; herons, 59, parrots, 60; pelicans and geese, 50; skylarks, 30; sparrow hawks, 40; peac.o.c.ks, canaries and cranes, 24.

The greatest cataract in the world is Niagara, the height of the American falls being 165 feet. The highest fall of water in the world is that of the Yosemite in California, being 2,550 feet.

The most ancient catacombs are those of the Theban kings, begun 4,000 years ago. The catacombs of Rome contain the remains of about 6,000,000 human beings; those of Paris, 3,000,000.

The first English newspaper was the English Mercury, issued in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was issued in the shape of a pamphlet. The Gazette of Venice was the original model of the modern newspaper.

The Great Eastern, at one time the greatest steamer afloat, and twice as long as any other vessel at the time of her launching, in 1858, was 692 feet in length and 118 feet in breadth. She was too large to be handled profitably with the motive power then available, but proved indispensable in the laying of the Atlantic cable. She was broken up and sold as junk, although the Isherwood system, on which she was built, has since been revived, and is now successfully employed in s.h.i.+pbuilding.

The seven sages flourished in Greece in the 6th century B. C. They were renowned for their maxims of life, and as the authors of the mottoes inscribed in the Delphian Temple. Their names are: Solon, Chilo, Pittacus, Bias, Periander, Cleobolus, and Thales.

A "monkey wrench" is not so named because it is a handy thing to monkey with, or for any kindred reason. "Monkey" is not its name at all, but "Moncky." Charles Moncky, the inventor of it, sold his patent for $2,000, and invested the money in a house in Williamsburgh, Kings County, N. Y.

The "Seven Wonders of the World" are seven most remarkable objects of the ancient world. They are: The Pyramids of Egypt, Pharos of Alexandria, Walls and Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Diana at Ephesus, the Statue of the Olympian Jupiter, Mausoleum of Artemisia, and Colossus of Rhodes.

In 1775 there were only twenty-seven newspapers published in the United States. Ten years later, in 1785, there were seven published in the English language in Philadelphia alone, of which one was a daily. The oldest newspaper published in Philadelphia at the time of the Federal convention was the Pennsylvania Gazette, established by Samuel Keimer, in 1728. The second newspaper in point of age was the Pennsylvania Journal, established in 1742 by William Bradford, whose uncle, Andrew Bradford, established the first newspaper in Pennsylvania, the American Weekly Mercury, in 1719. Next in age, but the first in importance, was the Pennsylvania Packet, established by John Dunlap, in 1771. In 1784 it became a daily, being the first daily newspaper printed on this continent.

"Liberty," Bartholdi's statue, presented to the United States by the French people in 1885, is the largest statue ever built. Its conception is due to the great French sculptor whose name it bears. It is said to be a likeness of his mother. Eight years of time were consumed in the construction of this gigantic brazen image. Its weight is 440,000 pounds, of which 146,000 pounds are copper, the remainder iron and steel. The major part of the iron and steel was used in constructing the skeleton frame work for the inside. The mammoth electric light held in the hands of the giantess is 305 feet above tide-water. The height of the figure is 152-1/2 feet; the pedestal 91 feet, and the foundation 52 feet and 10 inches. Forty persons can find standing-room within the mighty head, which is 14-1/2 feet in diameter. A six-foot man standing on the lower lip could hardly reach the eyes. The index finger is 8 feet in length and the nose 3-3/4 feet. The Colossus of Rhodes was a pigmy compared with this latter-day wonder.

The largest and grandest temple of wors.h.i.+p in the world is St. Peter's Cathedral at Rome. It stands on the site of Nero's circus, in the northwest part of the city, and is built in form of a Latin cross. The total length of the interior is 612-1/2 English feet; transept, 446-1/2 feet; height of nave, 152-1/2 feet; diameter of cupola, 193 feet; height of dome from pavement to top of cross, 448 feet. The great bell alone, without the hammer or clapper, weighs 18,600 pounds, or over 9-1/4 tons.

The foundation was laid in 1450 A. D. Forty-three Popes lived and died during the time the work was in progress. It was dedicated in the year 1826, but not entirely finished until the year 1880. The cost, in round numbers, is set down at $70,000,000.

The great pyramid of Cheops is the largest structure of any kind ever erected by the hand of man. Its original dimensions at the base were 764 feet square, and its perpendicular height in the highest point 488 feet; it covers four acres, one rood and twenty-two perches of ground and has been estimated by an eminent English architect to have cost not less than 30,000,000 pounds, which in United States currency would be about $145,200,000. Internal evidence proves that the great pyramid was begun about the year 2170 B. c., about the time of the birth of Abraham. It is estimated that about 5,000,000 tons of hewn stone were used in its construction, and the evidence points to the fact that these stones were brought a distance of about 700 miles from quarries in Arabia.

The largest body of fresh water in the world is Lake Superior. It is 400 miles long and 180 miles wide; its circ.u.mference, including the winding of its various bays, has been estimated at 1,800 miles. Its area in square miles is 32,000, which is greater than the whole of New England, leaving out Maine. The greatest depth of this inland sea is 200 fathoms, or 1,200 feet. Its average depth is about 160 fathoms. It is 636 feet above the sea level.

The corner stone of the Was.h.i.+ngton monument, the highest in the United States, and until 1889 the highest structure in the world, was laid July 4, 1848. Robert E. Winthrop, then Speaker of the House, delivered the oration. Work progressed steadily for about six years, until the funds of the monumental society became exhausted. At that time the monument was about 175 feet high. From 1854 until 1879 nothing to speak of was done on the building. In the year last above named Congress voted an appropriation of $200,000 to complete the work. From that time forward work progressed at a rapid rate until December 6th, 1884, when the aluminum apex was set at 555 feet 5-1/2 inches from the foundation and the work declared finished. The foundation is 146-1/2 feet square; number of stones used above the 130-foot level, 19,163; total weight stone used in work, 81,120 tons.

The largest State in our grand republic is Texas, which contains 274,350 square miles, capable of sustaining 20,000,000 people, and then it would not be more crowded than Scotland is at present. It has been estimated that the entire population of the globe could be seated upon chairs within the boundary of Texas and each have four feet of elbow room.

The Mississippi River, from the source of the Missouri to the Eads jetties, is the longest river in the world. It is 4,300 miles in length and drains an area of 1,726,000 square miles. The Amazon, which is without doubt the widest river in the world, including the Beni, is 4,000 miles in length and drains 2,330,000 square miles of territory.

THE SINGLE TAX.

This idea was first formulated by Mr. Henry George in 1879, and has grown steadily in favor. Single-tax men a.s.sert as a fundamental principle that all men are equally ent.i.tled to the use of the earth; therefore, no one should be allowed to hold valuable land without paying to the community the value of the privilege. They hold that this is the only rightful source of public revenue, and they would therefore abolish all taxation--local, state and national--except a tax upon the rental value of land exclusive of its improvements, the revenue thus raised to be divided among local, state and general governments, as the revenue from certain direct taxes is now divided between local and state governments.

The single tax would not fall on all land, but only on valuable land, and on that in proportion to its value. It would thus be a tax, not on use or improvements, but on owners.h.i.+p of land, taking what would otherwise go to the landlord as owner.

In accordance with the principle that all men are equally ent.i.tled to the use of the earth, they would solve the transportation problem by public owners.h.i.+p and control of all highways, including the roadbeds of railroads, leaving their use equally free to all.

The single-tax system would, they claim, dispense with a horde of tax-gatherers, simplify government, and greatly reduce its cost; give us with all the world that absolute free trade which now exists between the States of the Union: abolish all taxes on private issues of money; take the weight of taxation from agricultural districts, where land has little or no value apart from improvements, and put it upon valuable land, such as city lots and mineral deposits. It would call upon men to contribute for public expenses in proportion to the natural opportunities they monopolize, and make it unprofitable for speculators to hold land unused or only partly used, thus opening to labor unlimited fields of employment, solving the labor problem and abolis.h.i.+ng involuntary poverty.

THE MYSTERIES OF HYPNOTISM.

A Compend of the General Claims Made by Professional Hypnotists.

Animal magnetism is the nerve-force of all human and animal bodies, and is common to every person in a greater or less degree. It may be transmitted from one person to another. The transmitting force is the concentrated effort of will-power, which sends the magnetic current through the nerves of the operator to the different parts of the body of his subject. It may be transmitted by and through the eyes, as well as the finger tips, and the application of the whole open hands, to different regions of the body of the subject, as well as to the mind.

The effect of this force upon the subject will depend very much upon the health, mental capacity and general character of the operator. Its action in general should be soothing and quieting upon the nervous system; stimulating to the circulation of the blood, the brain and other vital organs of the body of the subject. It is the use and application of this power or force that const.i.tutes hypnotism.

Magnetism is a quality that inheres in every human being, and it may be cultivated like any other physical or mental force of which men and women are const.i.tuted. From the intelligent operator using it to overcome disease, a patient experiences a soothing influence that causes a relaxation of the muscles, followed by a pleasant, drowsy feeling which soon terminates in refres.h.i.+ng sleep. On waking, the patient feels rested; all his troubles have vanished from consciousness and he is as if he had a new lease of life.

In the true hypnotic condition, when a patient voluntarily submits to the operator, any attempt to make suggestions against the interests of the patient can invariably be frustrated by the patient.

Self-preservation is the first law of nature, and some of the best known operators who have recorded their experiments a.s.sert that suggestions not in accord with the best interest of the patient could not be carried out. No one was ever induced to commit any crime under hypnosis, that could not have been induced to do the same thing much easier without hypnosis.

The hypnotic state is a condition of mind that extends from a comparatively wakeful state, with slight drowsiness, to complete somnambulism, no two subjects, as a rule, ever presenting the same characteristics.

The operator, to be successful, must have control of his own mind, be in perfect health and have the ability to keep his mind concentrated upon the object he desires to accomplish with his subject.