Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/224

 What's the Matter With You?

��The illuminated skeleton tells. The organs are indicated by incandescent lamps

��DR. RATLEDGE, of Los Angeles, has a novel and rather startling method of explaining to you what he thinks is the mat- ter with you. He hangs a skeleton in a frame of piping and indicates the posi- tions of the vital or- gans by means of incandescent lamps. Small lights are placed in the eye sockets, and long lights are placed along the arms and legs.

Along the spine, where the many nerves branch off to the vari- ous organs, are placed electric switches which control the various lights. To il- lustrate what hap- pens to the vital or- gans when the nerves leading from the spine become pinched or otherwise injured, he turns the switch so that a very small amount of current is supplied to the par- ticular light that represents the organ which is supposed to be diseased or misplaced. This lessening of current causes the light to burn very dimly. This is supposed to illustrate the manner in which the force flowing to the vital organ is shut off when the nerve leading to that organ is in any way ob- structed. To illustrate what happens when this obstruction is removed by the manipulations of the spine, the switch is turned over a notch to supply more electric current and cause the lamp to glow brightly again. To ex- plain what happens when a nerve is so pinched that

���Current is turned on or off to indi- cate a healthy or diseased condition

��no nerve force can pass, the switch is turned so that all current is cut off which extinguishes the lamp. The switch works somewhat like the familiar high-and- low light that burns brightly in one posi- tion of the switch and low in another.

There are five switches, each work- ing independently of the other. For in- stance the light repre- senting the heart may be burning brightly, but the one repre- senting the stomach may be exceedingly dim, thus illustrating the fact that the cur- rent leading to one vital organ may be exceedingly strong while the current leading to another may be very weak.

We are not in ac- cord with the doctor's medical theories, but we think his ap- paratus is one that can be employed to advantage in driving home knowledge to people who cannot understand the jargon in which doctors usually manage to con- ceal what they think they mean.

��Metal strip

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��Switch

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��Bright ■light

��Dim light

' Switch on spine swinging to contacts varies brightness

208

��Licking Stamps Is Very Unsanitary

USE a dampened sponge to seal your letters and to moisten the stamps. The glue used on stamps and evelope flaps is made of bones and hoofs of cattle, and all sorts of rags are used in paper. Besides, although they may have been sterilized, '^the articles pass through many dirty hands while on their road to you.

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