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When a grandfather clock in a tall Chicago hotel refused to run, the owner was perplexed, for it was in perfect order. A clockmaker explained the apparent mystery. The building stands in an isolated spot where it receives the full force of the winds and sways slightly, especially in the upper stories. When this movement is in the right direction with reference to the swing of the pendulum, the clock stops, the craftsman explained. He said that he had been kept busy adjusting clocks because of this difficulty. Where it was practical, a simple remedy was found simply by turning the piece at such an angle that the vibrations would not affect the pendulum. Another method was to put on a heavier pendulum and adjust the springs so that the slight sway of the building would not stop the mechanism. In skyscrapers the sway is sometimes perceptible to a person standing at the top.

 

One of the latest novelties in restaurant architecture in California is a cafe building in the form of a large shoe, to suggest a nursery rhyme. An automatic "Mother Goose" flies in a circle over the structure, which has the advantage of ample lighting and ventilating facilities, because of the peculiar shape of the exterior.



 



Fingerprint experts of the Baltimore police department are saving considerable time and work by using a rapid duplicator for making copies of the impressions used in keeping track of suspects and identifying criminals. The apparatus is the invention of one of the members of the force, and is said to be superior to older photographic and other methods.

 

Not far from the spot where the Bessemer process for making steel was developed in England, is being constructed an experimental furnace to test a new method for refining the product. According to reports, it will result in the production of high-purity steel at less than one-half the cost of the present material, which is far from being chemically pure. No tall blast furnaces will be needed and cheaper grades of coal can be used, while low-grade ore, that cannot profitably be handled by present processes can be smelted.

