Page:Popular Mechanics 1928 11.pdf/13

 



One of the most attractive features of an eastern amusement park is a miniature eight-ring circus, in which all the performers are puppets that go through realistic movements by the action of electricity. A tiny band wagon furnishes the music, while midget animals, jugglers and acrobats perform, roller coasters, merry-go-rounds and aeroplane swings operate, and practically all the lively thrills of a real circus are duplicated in miniature. The elaborate installation is the result of a country merchant's plan to attract customers to his show windows. Trade was dull, so he exhibited a few manikins, dressed in the latest fashion and operated by clockwork mechanisms. The device grew so popular that it was gradually enlarged until it became a complete circus.

 

Due to the shortage of genuine briar, a substitute wood has been grown by grafting the gnarled, knotted roots of the bruyere to ordinary red and white hawthorn and with satisfactory results, according to reports. Pipes made from this hybrid wood are said to be light in weight, to absorb nicotine readily, give a cool, sweet smoke, and can be seasoned in about three months as against the three years necessary for the real briar. Another advantage claimed is that the roots grow to three or four times the size of the briar's so that more pipes can be cut from them.

 

To speed canal traffic, an English inventor has introduced a motor which may be removed or attached in a few minutes and has power enough to tow three fully loaded barges. Its chief feature is that the propeller is so adjusted that, should it strike an obstacle, it automatically rises above the obstruction to prevent damage. This is an important point when running in shallow waters.



