Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/259

 Popular Science Monthly

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���This merry-go-round furnishes great en- joyment for bathers who must have water sports of a more or less reckless variety It is operated by an electric motor, and splashes the bathers in the water as it whirls them about

��A Merry-Go-Round in the Water.

FOR the entertainment of its patrons, who enjoy water sports of a more or less reckless variety, a recreation park on Lake Erie near Cleveland, Ohio, installed last summer a revolving mechanism for bathers which, in the form of pleasure it offers closely resembles the familiar merry-go-round, or carousal, of the state fair.

An iron framework similar in de- sign to an oil well derrick supports revolving arms to the outer ends of which cables are attached- The bath- ers swing and splash in the water as the arms revolve. An electric motor on a platform a few feet above water level is connected by gears to an up- right rod through which power to re- volve the arms is applied.

Motion Pictures on the Firing Line

A LETTER from the War Front in Europe gives an interesting descrip- tion for a motion picture theater near the firing line in Flanders. This theater is operated by several British army officers to provide relaxation and amusement

��for the troops when off active duty.

There are usually two performances each evening, with a four reel program. The soldiers pay twelve cents admission, while the officers are charged a double amount. The expenses are very low, since most of the work is voluntary, and all profits are devoted to charity. The operator and pianist were both formerly employed in the same capacity at mo- tion picture theaters in London. The power for the lights and the machine is obtained by fastening a dynamo to an automobile.

At first all the films were obtained from Paris, but the cost was so high that the theater was being operated at a loss. The lieutenant in charge of the theater then went to London to attempt to rent the films at a more reasonable price. When he had explained his de- sires to the officials of a prominent motion picture concern he was offered sixteen thousand feet of film monthly until their supply was exhausted.

It is said that it is by no means un- usual to hear the reports of shells while the performance is progressing, as the firing line is but a short distance away.

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