Belgian General Learns to Bat

GENERAL JACQUES, of the Belgian army, received a lesson in batting from an expert during his stay in America, when Babe Ruth showed the famous soldier how to “line ‘em out.” The Babe demonstrated where to meet the ball, how to stand at the plate, and how to swing.

The general proved to be an apt pupil for a man who had never had his hands on a baseball, and is said to have knocked out a couple of creditable hits. His lessons in batting, however, were not extensive enough to put him in the home run class.

100,000 See Soap Box Derby

President M. J. Coyle presents the Soap Box Derby Trophy to Herbert Muench while the American runner up, Harold Hansen, and the International runner-up, Norman Neumann, of South Africa, look on.

Mrs. Herbert E. Muench happily embraces her son, Herbert, winner of the 1936 Soap Box Derby. Representing a St. Louis newspaper, young Muench set a pace of 39 miles per hour over a 1,100 foot course. His time was 28.2 seconds for the run, just two seconds faster than the runner-up, Harold Hansen, of White Plains, New York. The Derby was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Co. and 116 newspapers.
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Breaking Balloon With Stick at 50 M.P.H. Is New Sport

STEADY nerves and a keen eye are required to accomplish this trick shown at left. This young woman is poking a four-foot stick at a toy balloon while driving her car 50 m.p.h. past the pole on which the balloon is mounted. The stick is pointed at one end with a sharp piece of metal so that when a “strike” is made score can be kept by counting the number of balloons broken. Read the rest of this entry »

I think the Modern Mechanix definition of a fad is “something somebody did once”.

Bike Riding on Tight Wire Is Latest in Hollywood Fads
RIDING her bicycle along the popular beach at Venice, California, near Hollywood was too tame a pastime for Billie Yuill, so with Isabelle Becker to help her maintain her balance she tried out the stunt illustrated. Taking the tires off the wheels of her bike and with Isabelle in a rope swing underneath her “bike,” she rode the lifeline along the beach.

NEW FOOT PADDLES MAY MAKE SWIMMING EASIER

Easier swimming is said to be possible with a set of foot-paddles, recently invented. Fitted to the soles of special sandals, the paddles spread out with a downward or backward thrust of the leg and close with a forward or upward movement. They will be found especially helpful, it is believed, to water polo players and others who must make quick movements in the water or who find it necessary to tread water for long periods.

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Master These Strength Tests – OUTDO Mightier Opponents

DO YOU want to compare your strength with that of your friends? If you do, here are eight different methods, all simply executed, that will bring into play every muscle of the body. Master these feats and you can hold your own with men of much greater bulk, because they will have failed to develop the distinct muscles brought into use in each of eight separate tests.
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Chairway Hauls Skiers a Mile up Mountain

Up an avenue cut through the trees on the slopes of Mount Mansfield, Vt., runs a cableway more than a mile long, carrying skiers past the treetops to the summit. The eighty-six-chair tramway, new this season, cost $80,000 and is the longest of its kind, stretching over 6,330 feet.
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New Thrills from Freak Spills of Auto Ball

by ED HARLAN GIBSON

SPILLS! Thrills! Smashups! Constant danger. Daredevil drivers strapped in odd looking, speeding cars, bouncing a huge ball about the race track.

Spills? Sure there’s one! Dust clouds rise as a little car does a crashing “barrel-roll.” Then another, farther up the track, fairly leaps into space as it turns over. The air about the grandstand has the tainted odor of burning rubber from spinning wheels—wheels spinning first back and then forward. Cars skid, slide about, swap ends like a wild bucking broncho. Read the rest of this entry »

ELECTRIC FAN HELPS BOXERS GET BREATH BETWEEN THE ROUNDS

An electric fan was used to refresh boxers between rounds at a recent military boxing tournament in England, as shown below. The fan, its blades guarded by wire mesh, is hinged to the end of an extension arm attached to a corner post of the boxing ring. When the boxer resumes fighting, the fan is swung back outside of the ropes.

The Jumping Balloon—Thrilling New Sky Sport

HOW would you like to own your own hand-power jitney balloon — to spend your Saturday afternoons joy-riding in the sky, up a thousand feet or so, swinging beneath the round belly of a small gas-filled bag and traveling anywhere you can induce the playful breezes to take you? You sit in a suspender-like harness slung from ropes. Read the rest of this entry »

“They’re Off!”—Thrills of the Turf in Ostrich Racing

FLOWING ostrich plumes once decked the helmets of gallant knights. Later, they were worn prominently on the hats of gay cavaliers. Today the quill feathers of their wings and tails are used principally by women for hats and fashionable apparel. But ostriches are raised in great numbers in Czecho-Slovakia for a purpose other than plucking their feathers for decorations. Ostrich racing is supplanting the usual horse classics of the turf in that country and, according to observers, is far more fascinating and exciting to watch.

The powerful leg muscles of the birds allow them to travel much faster than the fleetest horse. Special saddles that fit tightly around the ostrich’s body permit the riders to “stay aboard” when the birds are going at full speed. They are controlled by means of reins and a small bit that fits firmly in the mouth. The birds are trained from birth in knowledge of the track. When full-grown, they stand from six to eight feet high. They are harder to manage than a horse.

Kitchen Chair Mounted on Runners Makes Sled for Ice Racing Thrills

YOU haven’t exhausted all the possibilities of sled construction till you’ve made this little gadget. It’s nothing more than a chair mounted on a pair of runners, but the fun it provides is endless. First lay hands on a pair of old sled runners and secure to them, in the position shown, the strap iron braces. To these are bolted the chair, which may be of the kitchen variety. On the stern of the runners nail a pair of blocks. Read the rest of this entry »