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Machine Speeds Pretzel Bending

THERE are more crunchy pretzels to munch when you sip long, cold drinks this summer, thanks to a new automatic pretzel-twisting machine that rolls and ties them at the rate of 50 a minute—more than twice as fast as skilled hand twisters can make them. Developed by the American Machine & Foundry Co., of New York City, the pretzel . bender is helping to meet the increased demand of pretzel lovers, who eat millions of pounds each year. On this and the following page is the story of how pretzels march from raw dough to baked twist.
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Britain Demonstrates “Sombrero” Flame Thrower

Dubbed the “ack-pack,” Britain’s new flame thrower has an odd-shaped fuel tank that looks like a Mexican sombrero strapped to the soldier’s back. The weapon is shorter than most flame throwers of previous design. A length of flexible hose connects the fuel tank with the gun.

Safety Belt Devised For Car
DESIGNED to hold passengers firmly in their seats in event of a crash so that they will not be thrown violently against the car interior, a newly developed safety belt for automobiles may eliminate injuries attributed to this cause.

Helmet Helps Smog Study

The lady under this plastic headpiece is getting a dose of smog, made up of smoke and fog. Photoelectric cells attached to glassless goggles record blinks due to eye irritation. She reads a book to produce uniform reactions. The test is part of a study being made by Stanford Research Institute to find out more about the smog that often blots out Los Angeles’ sunshine.

And it only weighs 7lbs!

The Lens That Focuses Itself
Ever shoot an out-of-focus picture? Then you’ll be interested in the newest lens from Nikon. It focuses as automatically as your eye, and just as fast. You can just point and shoot at fast-moving subjects from athletes to zebras without giving focus a thought. As long as you keep your subject within the sensing circle in the center of your viewfinder, you’ll get sharp pictures. Any drawbacks? Sure. The lens is k big (11 inches long), heavy (it weighs six pounds including the batteries that power the autofocus mechanism), slow (f/4.5), and you won’t be able to buy one until next year.—A. J Hand

How does it work? Like this:

Light reflected from the subject passes through the first group of lens elements and is split by a ring mirror. Some of the light passes through the lens to the film plane. The rest is reflected down to the autofocus mechanism where a condensing lens forms an aerial image. The position of this image will vary according to distance of the subject. A contrast-sensing set of four photocells inside the autofocus system moves up and down the shaft of focused light. Every time the photocells pass through the point of focus (also the point of highest contrast) they send a pulse to the logic circuit. At each up-and-down cycle of the four cells, a clock pulse is fed to the logic circuit as well. A third pulse indicating the current focus of the lens also is transmitted to the circuit. The circuit takes the three pulse signals and converts them to a time signal. The time signal corresponds to the distance between the sharpest image position and the current focus position. An analog circuit and power amplifier actuate a servo motor that shifts the movable lens elements to bring the lens into focus. All this takes place several times a second—scanning, computing, and refocusing.

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Levers Control Bike Brakes
A FRONT wheel brake, operated from the handlebar and a two-speed rear wheel coaster brake, operated by a lever mounted on the frame, have been developed for bicycle use. The rear brake has a change speed gear which provides extra power on hills, quick pick-up, and more speed. Photo shows fingertip controls.

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Things You Never Knew About Your Fountain Pen

A leaky 1884 pen let loose the flood tide of American ingenuity that has kept the world writing.

By Richard Match

FROM Murmansk to Timbuktu the American fountain pen, streamlined, durable and leakproof, is a symbol of U.S. technological excellence. After World War II our trim Parkers, Sheaffers, Watermans, Eversharps brought $400 each on the black market overseas. Today Japanese and Italian street vendors hawk shoddy counterfeits; the Russians turn out imitation Parker 51’s which cost more than the real thing. But American manufacturers make 75 percent of the world’s output—some 200 million pens a year.
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Friday Animals for profit blogging:

CAPONS
HICKORY ACRES
6-WKS. OLD STARTED
Easy, Profitable to Raise

Wonderful, tender capon meat brings top prices — makes finest eating. Easy to raise in back yard, on farm, or with other chicks. Hickory Acres 6.-Wks. Old Capons are your best buy. Cost less than day old turkeys — easier to raise. Write for prices. information.
HICKORY ACRES CAPON FARM
BOX PM, WINDSOR, MISSOURI

Coin Operated Phone for Home
TO PREVENT excessive phone bills and to lessen the “Can I use your phone” nuisance, a coin-operated lock can now be obtained for either the French cradle type phone or the standard type. In operation, a nickel is inserted in the slot after removing the receiver from the hook and the plunger is pushed down with the finger.
The device can be applied in a few seconds to all types of standard phones. It is used in offices, stores and homes where, the meter system is employed.