Swimming Taught by Telephone

BY MEANS of a special headset and transmitter, a San Francisco coach is teaching swimming via telephone. The instructor stands on the edge of the pool and relays advice to his pupil in the water.

Specially prepared, waterproof transmitters and receivers, plus a length of telephone wire, comprise the set which operates on a charge of three volts. The advantage of the device is that faults are corrected while the swimmer is in action.

I can’t imagine how this would help teach the piano. I think Dr. Johnen just got his kicks by strapping women into weird equipment.

This Instrument Will Register Body Reactions of Student Piano Player

A NEW device has been patented by Dr. Kurt Johnen, Berlin piano pedagogue, which records the motions and bodily reactions of a piano player to determine if the selection is being properly interpreted. A lady is pictured being examined by the device. A pneumatic belt records the change of the circumference of the chest, pneumatic cuffs about the upper arms control the changes of muscle tension, through a hose is recorded the rhythms of respiration and another hose transfers the strength of touch. Dr. Johnen expects this device will aid him in instructing his pupils in interpretation.

Winning a Hazardous Bet Driving Car on Shaky Cables
DRIVING his automobile, stripped of its tires, over cables 100 feet high and ],000 feet long, a man in Germany recently won a sizable bet from a group of friends who dared him to attempt the feat. He sped across the yawning gulch, over which the wires were stretched, at a speed of 15 m.p.h. The top photo above shows him waving as he neared the end of his perilous “journey.” “It was great fun,” he announced when he descended. The car was hoisted to the cables by a huge derrick used in a nearby limestone quarry. The pneumatic tires were first removed so that the rims would afford a means of keeping the wheels of the car on the heavy steel wires.

AIRPLANE IN CHURCH PAINTING HAS SAINT AS PATRON

Adapting the airplane, locomotive, and automobile to motifs for religious frescoes, a French artist has achieved unique results in the decorations on the walls of the new church of St. Christopher, the patron saint of those engaged in hazardous occupations, recently completed in Paris. The figure of the saint is seen protecting a falling aviator, an engineer, and a speeding auto-ist. The machines, shown in detail, form the chief note in the designs and the imminence of danger is effectively suggested. The building has become known as the “sportsmen’s church,” and the novel decorations have caused wide comment.

What are they practicing for? An attack by 10ft snowmen?

Bayonets Thrust into Snow Man by Soldiers at Practice
Encountering a snow man on the grounds of Fort Dix, N. J., two zealous soldiers attached to company L, 174th infantry, took an opportunity to demonstrate an attack with bayonets. National guardsmen and draftees are receiving army training at the fort.

Whole Cigarette Factory Contained in Single Tobacco Can

ADD to your list of incredibilities this tobacco can cigarette factory, which nevertheless is an established fact, as our photo proves, though unlikely to cause stirrings of uneasiness in the council chambers of the country’s cigarette manufacturers. The invention is the creation of Dr. Edward P. Delevante, who has built a cigarette roller right into the bottom of the tobacco can. At the twist of a lever the cigarette pops out ready for use, with matches handy for lighting on the side of the tin.

At Last Outdoor Sleepers Can Keep Heads Warm

OUTDOOR sleeping is likely to be more popular with the use of a newly designed electrically heated pad to keep the scalp warm; for—particularly in the damp air and changing temperatures of spring—it is sometimes difficult to sleep comfortably without putting the head under the bedclothes. This, of course, defeats the purpose of sleeping outdoors.

To fill this need, the new electric pad is shaped for the head and designed so that the temperature never rises enough to injure the hair. The connection cord is attached to any electric-light socket.

SINGER CAN HEAR VOICE AS AUDIENCE HEARS IT

So that would-be singers may hear themselves as others hear them, a Los Angeles, Calif., voice teacher and former grand opera singer has invented and patented a voice reflector. Fitted around the pupil’s neck like a collar, as shown above, its convolutions carry a part of the singer’s tones back to her own ears. According to the inventor, his device will enable singers or public speakers to detect and correct faults in tone, volume, and diction during a few hours’ practice, since they may hear in this way exactly how their voices in singing or speaking would sound to an audience.

Brain Meter Tests Lawmaker’s Intellect

Your Congressman’s Brain

Based on partial survey of 89 senators and congressmen.

SENATORS’ brain weights averaged 52 oz., congressmen, 50 oz. The greatest brain weight, 55 oz., was shown in members from Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

The next highest brain weight, 53 oz., was found in members from Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.

The lowest weight, 49 oz., was registered by members from California, Oregon and Washington.
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THIEF STEALS RODS OFF WASHINGTON MONUMENT

One of the strangest thefts on record was revealed recently with the reported disappearance of 107 miniature lightning rods that were being substituted for older ones atop the Washington Monument. Apparently an audacious thief had taken advantage of the huge scaffold used in renovating the monument to commit one of the loftiest of burglaries. Plated with gold and tipped with platinum to avoid corrosion, the rods were valued at eight dollars apiece.

‘Venetian Blinds’ in Goggles Shade the Wearer’s Eyes

Tiny Venetian blinds are built into the top of a new type of sun goggles to shade the eyes from direct sun glare. The Venetian-like structure is an integral part of the lenses, formed by deep rectangular indentations in the lens material which are then filled with opaque liquid. While the uncolored lenses are about ninety-eight per cent transparent, the upper part intercepts overhead sun rays and casts a shadow on the eyes. In one type, the “blinds” are made of thin, flat wires.

Duelists Break Custom; Shoot Selves In Target Practice

QUITE contrary to the ancient custom of duelling, the members of the Southern California Colectors Association have evolved a bloodless version of the honorable art, using life-sized photographic enlargements of themselves as targets.

One of the club members, a photographer by profession, struck upon the idea, and now the members are staging regular contests, shooting with old guns from their collections.

A circle over the heart is the bull’s eye; concentric circles extending over the other vital parts of the body provide a wide range scoring basis.