Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/240

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A Sled Brake Which Will Not Throw You Headlong Into the Snow

SLED brakes seldom work satisfactor- ily. When applied, they either cause the occupant of the sled to plunge headlong into the snow or force the sled to spin around like a top. A brake recently invented by Jacob Blas- zczyk, of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, over- comes these defects in a simple way.

The brake is not mounted on the side of the sled, as are most

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���To operate the brake, a handle which moves between wooden guides is pushed forward on anti-friction rollers

boy-made brakes, but is rigidly attached to the underside of the sled top. The brake end consists of a toothed steel plate, which is made fast, by means of a rod and strong spring, to a handle at the front of the sled. To operate the brake, the handle is pushed forward on anti-friction rollers which travel between wooden guides. This is done with the rider's feet, as he sits upright on the sled.

��How Many Mot ion -Picture Tree-Top "Close Ups" Are Taken

WHENEVER you are puzzled by the unusual in motion pictures, there are always' two points to be kept in mind. The scenes are not taken in the order in which they appear on the screen, and continuity of thought takes the place of continuity in fact.

For instance, if you see a girl start to climb a tree and an instant later see her in the top- most branches, the thought is practically continuous and your mind imagines the rest of the climb. The ac- companying photograph shows how such a pic- ture v/as actually filmed. All of the scenes on the ground, before and after the heroine was supposed to have climbed the tree, were taken first. Then strips of planking were nailed to the tree and the tree-top "close ups" were taken.

���Cook a Breakfast for Six for One-fourth of a Cent

'"p^O-DAY the question of fuel is J. a burning one, metaphorically as well as literally. In a series of very interesting tests recently con- ducted at the Ohio State University, natural gas was found to be the cheapest combustible. There are many places, however, where it is not available.

A breakfast which cost one- fourth of a cent to cook with natural gas, cost nearly three and one-half cents to cook with soft coal, two and one-half cents with coal oil, over three cents with gasoline and three cents exactly with electricity.

���The camera platform is mounted on a motor truck. Ground props prevent all vibration

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