Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 90.djvu/181

 Popular Science Monthly

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��What the First Aerial Bombs. Were Made Of

IT may be remembered that Garros came to the United States in 191 1 and amazed vast audiences by his audacious flights. From here he went to Mexico to entertain the populace there. It occurred to him on arriving that, since fighting seemed to be the favorite pastime of his Latin brethren, he would making a lasting '"hit" with them if he could only arrange for an aerial sham-battle. To his good luck, he found the general in command of the army, then in Mexico City, a willing listener. Accord- ingly, one day he was seen flying over the Mexican batteries, armed with baskets of juicy oranges that the quartermaster had given him. Suddenly the batteries opened fire and sent shot after shot after him. The immense crowd became wildly enthu- siastic, although they knew, of course,that only blank cartridges were being used. Garros then started to let go the oranges upon the artiller>'men. To his surprise al- most immediately they began to scatter in every direction. The quartermaster had not realized that a juicy orange dropped from so great a height would rival a small bomb. The first aerial fight unquestiona- bly was won by bombs of ripened oranges.

���A Tree Root That Resembles a Young Deer

WHILE clearing the way through a Wisconsin forest for a railroad, a construction gang pulled up a curious bit of ^ree root. One of the men saw a resemblance in it to a young deer, and accordingly took it back with him to camp. Merely by cutting away the surplus branches, the root was formed into a fairly good-look- ing deer; that is, if such matters as a bandy- leg and full-grown horns may be overlooked as desirable members of a very young deer. The eyes, nose and ears were formed by the knots when the branches were cut away.

The deer stands three feet high and prized curiosity.

���IS a

��Woodsmen in a Wisconsin forest found this curious tree-trunk which they imagined resembles a very young deer

��An incisor tooth covered with a sohdified matter which has eaten the gxun away but has preserved the tooth from bacteria

i Peculiar Disease of the Teeth Which

Disables and Yet Preserves Them ''J^HE peculiar infection which dentists call "salivary calculus" will, if left to itself, cause a person to lose his entire set of teeth. Yet when this happens, the teeth themselves will --^ often be in a perfect state of preservation. The organic and inorganic matter, derived from the saliva in the mouth, solidifies and forms a hard deposit upon the teeth. The mechanical irritation of the deposit causes the jums to become exposed to chemical deteriora- tion of the salivary de- posit. The deposit then absorbs the gum tissue and interferes with the building up processes of the bony roots, so that the teeth finally become completely exposed and must drop out because of their lack of support.

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