Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/253

 Popular Science Monthly

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��When the Fighting Relaxes the Bayonet Becomes a Periscope

STUDY the accompanying illustration and you will see what a British Tom- my can do with his bayo- net, by exer- cising some cleverness and ingenuity. At the point of the blade is affixed an or- dinary trench mirror. By leaning back against the parapet the Tommy can see the out- skirts of No- Man's Land and the ene- my's trenches in his make- shift peri- scope. Beside him are two o b serv e rs.

���By attaching an ordinary trench mirror to the end of his bayonet blade the Tommy has a makeshift periscope

��dilation is this: The sun is enlarged at sunset because the air magnifies it. Of course the air is in a condition tcr magnify objects all day. But when the sun stands high, we look up through only a thin layer

of air, where- as at sundown our eyes have to pierce the entire depth of the atmos- p h e r e — mul- ti plied at least sixteen times. This accounts for the enlarge- ment of the sun. Dust and heated air ap- pear to be the causes of the magnification. Thus the phe- nomenon is more notice- able in sum- mer and au- t u m n, our dusty seasons.

��Why Is the Sun Bigger On the Horizon?

DURING the day when the sun is high, nothing is near it to compare it with in distance, so we think it is small; but when we see it on the horizon with houses and trees and church spires intervening, we believe it to be large. How often have you swallowed this explana- tion as the truth? To be candid, it is a scientific fib. To prove it, look at the moon from behind a lace curtain or from be- hind a bush. It will ap- pear not a whit larger. The real explanation of the sun's apparent

���Trouser clip

��Showing the elastic band with the con- venient clips

��This support- er holds the trousers firm- ly to the vest

���w

��A Simple Supporter Takes the Place of Suspenders

'HEN both trousers and vest are worn without suspenders, the trousers all too frequently sag below the lower edge of the vest, exposing the shirt. This is very un- sightly. To avcid it, William Baake, cf West Hoboken, New Jersey, has invented a supporter which fastens the trou- sers securely to the vest and at the same time al- lows the wearer full free- dom of movement.

The supporter is a simple elastic strand mth clasps at both ends, one for the vest and the other for the trousers. With the vest buttoned, the clasp is invisible.

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