Largest Catfish on Record, 80 Pounds, Caught in Indiana

SHADES of Mark Twain! Strange sights are sometimes seen along the banks of the famed Wabash River, and without doubt this monstrous catfish is the king of all.

It is the largest catfish (sometimes called bullhead) ever recorded in piscatorial history. It weighs 80 lbs. and was caught by Marcus Moyer, of Indianapolis, Ind., whose wife is shown in the picture at the right endeavoring to support a portion of the weight of the huge fish.

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Grotesque Heads “Carved” from Pasteboard
Masks and heads bearing a striking resemblance to the persons caricatured are “carved” from plain cardboard or tin sheet metal by a Polish sculptor and painter. Scissors and paper clips form his only tools in fashioning the grotesque figures which have attracted attention in European art circles and won him praise.

A Electronic backpack won’t let you get lost
It’s called a position locator, and Westinghouse makes it for the Army. The locator automatically computes the distance and direction traveled by a wandering soldier on patrol, who then determines his location by reading map coordinates on a counting meter and comparing them with grid lines on a military map. The system consists of a 14-pound backpack computer plus boot antennas (top right) and a display/control unit (lower right). The antennas count and measure each step by an exchange of electronic signals fed to the backpack, which contains a compass device. The system can also be used in forestry work, in exploration, or for preliminary mapping.

New Inventions Answer Varied Public Needs

New burners for gas stoves have openings in side of mountings. Boil-overs run past fuel openings and will not clog flame.

A bridge table beverage shelf keeps glasses and smoking trays from cluttering up the table. The metal shelf holds two glasses and a cigaret tray and is attached to the table leg.

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Walking-Stick Supplies a Light for the Smoker

A CIGAR-LIGHTER in a walking-cane is a novelty that is being introduced in France. The lighter is operated by compressed air.

A long steel rod attached to the handle and extending into the hollow of the cane carries a briquette of highly inflammable material, the chemical composition of which is secret. When the handle is thrust into the cane quickly, the air compression is said to ignite the composition. The substance glows like a pocket light. It is extinguished by thrusting back the steel tube.

Tail of “Hot” Suit Serves as Entrance

A TECHNICIAN puts Oil this plastic protective suit by crawling into it through its fat “tail, ” which is connected to a port in the door. Used in radioactive areas at the Hanford plutonium factory, it stays inflated because air pressure inside the “hot” room is lower than pressure outside. This prevents any radioactive dust from leaking outside the room.

Science Helps Carve Giant Faces on Mountain

Huge models in studio are used in carving giant faces on Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota’s Black Hills. One inch on the models represents one foot on the mountainside. The models aid in making measurements and taking readings.

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Blind Get Fair Map Printed in Braille

For the benefit of the numerous blind persons visiting the New-York World’s Fair, the New York Association for the Blind has made available a map of the exposition printed in raised Braille characters. Complete in every detail, the map is designed for use with a special Braille guidebook describing the major points of interest. In the photograph below, a blind visitor is shown “reading” the special map.

What happens when it rains?

Sculptor Models Statue from Pulp

This life size statue of George Washington was modelled from pulp made of old newspapers by George W. Cook, shown with his creation above. The statue weighs 22 pounds.

Petrified Display Dinners Made From Real Roast Turkey

PETRIFIED foods are now a reality. Van Olkon and Arthur Cohler, two young Minneapolis college graduates, have developed a secret wax composition which can be molded into realistic imitations of absolutely any food. The new wax foods keep their fresh appearance even with the burning summer sun beating down on show windows.

Wax foods are used by restaurants, by ice cream manufacturers, or by anyone who wants to display a perishable product. Green peppers filled with gleaming macaroni, and topped with rich yellow cheese, turkeys roasted and fairly dripping with delicious gravies, and even chocolate candy are duplicated in wax with a naturalness that is unbelievable.

In making a turkey model, the chef first bakes a real turkey in the ordinary style, basting it with rich sauces. The fowl is coated with stearin and kerosene, and a plaster mold made. The mold is cut apart, the bird removed, and the rejoined mold filled with the wax compound.

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When Inventors Pull Boners…

Many gadgets didn’t succeed at first. Some initial attempts were amusing and others nearly ended in disaster.

By Douglas Greene

IF the invention you have struggled with for so long has kicked you, literally or figuratively, in the face, take heart. You are not alone. Be thankful, at least, that it wasnt your 280-pound tank that ran amok in the living room, nor was it your burglar alarm that worked so faithfully it trapped its own inventor.

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Strange Facts about Power Age

WHAT has the power age done for America? Experts now give the United States credit for performing half the useful work of the world. This means that Americans, with the help of science and invention, accomplish as much work as 1,875,-000,000 people in other parts of the world, or that one-sixteenth of the world’s population now performs as much work as the other fifteen-sixteenths. This is not a chance guess, but is based on a recent world survey by Prof. T. T. Read, of Columbia University.

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