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Filling in the Hudson to Rebuild New York

by ALFRED ALBELLI

PLUG up the Hudson river at both ends of Manhattan . . . divert that body of water into the Harlem river so that it might flow out into the East river and down to the Atlantic ocean . . . pump out the water from the area of the Hudson which has been dammed off … fill in that space . . . ultimately connecting the Island of Manhattan with the mainland of New Jersey . . . and you have the world’s eighth wonder—the reconstruction of Manhattan!

That is the essence of the plan proposed by Norman Sper, noted publicist and engineering scholar. It is calculated to solve New York City’s traffic and housing problems, which are threatening to devour the city’s civilization like a Frankenstein monster.
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WORLDS LARGEST PISTOL?
IF this isn’t the biggest pistol in the world, we’d just as soon not meet the champ. R. G. Wilson of Fulton, Mich., turns out these giant .45-70 copies of the Wild West’s famed .45-cal-iber Colt single-action Peacemaker, and at $250 each he can’t make ‘em fast enough to meet the demand.

“Fill’er Up with Cold Air!”
Texas gas stations are delighting motorists with a new kind of free air. When a car stops for gas, a nozzle fixed to an air conditioner is poked in the window. Station attendants say temperature inside the car drops as much as 20 degrees in two minutes.

This is a really odd marketing idea, then again, it would be a lot easier to target minors at home.

Machine Sells Cigarettes In Home
COIN-IN-THE-SLOT cigarette vending machines built into attractive pieces of furniture are now being placed in American homes. Already twenty thousand of these venders, built into magazine stands and end tables of six different models, have been distributed to home owners.
Machines vending other articles are now being planned. It is intended to make the furniture pieces so attractive that housewives will welcome their placing in the home. Machines are refilled regularly and money collected by agents of the manufacturer.

I’m sure that I use hundreds of products that involve crystal urea. However that does not mean I want to be told that you’re washing my clothes in it.

IDEA-CHEMICALS
… from Du Pont Polychemicals Department
CRYSTAL UREA
takes the stiffness out of ordinary starch

Washable summer suits once had to be starched stiff as a board to stay pressed.Then one starch maker found he could produce a far better laundry finishing agent by chemically combining starch with Du Pont Crystal Urea. This new product, called starch carbamate, gives an elegant drape and finish to washable suits, doesn’t impact . . . and doesn’t close the air space between the fibers, but lets the garment ‘breathe” and remain cool. New starch carbamate is also finding applications in other fields as an ingredient in water-base wall paints . . . and as a binder for glass fibers in the molding operation.
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Flying Saucer Camera will be used by Air Force to clear up saucer questions. One lens takes regular picture; the other separates light into colors so scientists can judge the source and make-up of saucers.

Horned Owl Clings to Radiator Cap for Eighty Mile Drive
ALIVE owl of the horned species flew up to the car of George Carpenter of Minneapolis while he was driving near St. Cloud, Minnesota, and refused to be shooed away. The tenacious bird clung to the radiator cap for the entire 80 mile trip back to Minneapolis, making a living radiator ornament that attracted considerable attention. The owl is now making its home in the Carpenter garage, and is rapidly becoming a family pet. Mice have mysteriously disappeared from the garage and vicinity since the arrival of this bird, so the Carpenters consider that it is earning its board.

Church Juke Box installed in Lutheran Church in Harrison, N. J., plays hymns for visitors who enter for prayer. Rev. Bornhoeft, reserve army chaplain, thought of it. Selector is remote control.

Fisherman and His Pets
Most fishermen have a hobby of some kind and Henry Larsen, lob-sterman of Freeport, N. Y., is no exception. He likes to train pets of all kinds. He hasn’t yet discovered a way to train the lobster, but he has worked out a tightrope routine starring Sonja, his cat. Sonja gracefully trips across the rope carrying two white mice and a small chicken on her back. To make the act a little more exciting, Julius, a bantam rooster and another of Larsen’s pets, perches unconcernedly on the rope, forcing the cat to step over him as she carries her passengers along the rope.

Anti-pest Doorbell Discourages Agents and Bill Collectors
A RECENTLY invented doorbell of the coin-in-the-slot type is finding great favor with housewives who are continually pestered by salesmen and bill collectors.
A dime must be inserted in the slot of this unit before the push button can be made to operate the bell. If the visitor is unwelcome, he or she loses the dime, but if a friend calls the housewife returns the dime after opening the door.
Agents are a bit hesitant about entering homes equipped with this doorbell, for they are not always confident that they can persuade the lady of the house to buy their products or return the dime.
Movie stars especially, who are continually bothered by autograph seekers and salesmen, are finding that this tittle device adds considerably to their income.

Living Actors Animate Fireworks
SPECTACULAR pyrotechnics animated by living performers clad in asbestos suits have been part of the display which thrilled London audiences at the Crystal Palace during the past season.
Most famous of the acts is “Blondin on his tight rope,” in which “Blondin,” outlined in blazing powder, pushes a fiery wheelbarrow across a flaming plank. The heat generated by the display would be sufficient to melt iron.

This seems a bit sketchy, seeing as how it violates the laws of physics.

Cans Lift Up Water Column in Perpetual Motion Engine

THE latest in perpetual motion machines is a fuelless engine devised by a Frenchman of Paris, M. Miralle. The contraption functions on an application of Archimedes’ principle of floating bodies, and consists of a sort of thick set chimney made of sheet iron and equipped with fifteen flywheels.

The machine is set going by turning one of the flywheels about fifteen revolutions, which subsequently sets the remaining wheels in operation. Over these wheels passes an endless chain fixed in the interior of the chimney like a motor, in which is also a series of chambers made of vegetable cans.

The chimney is filled with water so that the chamber and the endless chain are submerged in the liquid. One of the columns of chambers contains water and the other, through a process known only to M. Miralle, is filled with air. The air-filled chambers tend to rise to the surface of the water-filled chimney, thus setting the motor in motion. The photo shows M. Miralle standing beside his invention.