Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/457

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���FOR PRACTICAL WORKERS

��Using a Piece of Wool to Detect Dye in Jam

SOME of the jam sold at the present time is dyed to give it an attractive color. Happily, it is easy to find out whether or not the jam has been treated

���A bit of cotton dipped into dyed jam will retain the color through many washings

in this way. The first step is to mix a little of the suspected article with some -w'ater, then dip into it a piece of clean cotton wool. If the jam has been arti- ficially colored, the stain on the wool wdll be very difficult to wash out. On the other hand, when the jam is pure, the stain can be rinsed away very easily.

��Rubber Roofing Used for Packing in Steam Joints

IN case of emergency — and in the regular course of repairs for that matter — ordinary rubber roofing makes an excellent packing for steam joints. As a gasket between flanges on a steam line, for cylinder head, or for steam chest work, it lasts just as well as regular packing and shows no more of a ten- dency to blow out. Moreover it is a great deal cheaper.

��Deodorizing Naphthaline for Medicinal Purposes

NAPHTHALINE has such a dis- agreeable odor that its use in medi- cine and surgery is considerably retarded, and it has been found out by experience that the mixture of camphor and various other deodorants with it produces only a temporary benefit. Mixing the naphtha- line with some benzoin and subliming the mixture, frees the sublimate of naphtha- line from the tarry smell. Moreover, the naphthaline is given a pleasant odor. This is not the case when it is simply mixed with tincture of benzoin or benzoic acid.

��Trick of Brushing Ten -Cent Piece from the Palm

STRETCH out your hand and place a dime in the center of your palm Give your chum a whisk broom and ask him to brush off

���the dime. He will probably laugh and ask "What's the idea?" But let him try it. He can brush for half an hour without removing the coin. A dime cannot be brushed from the center of the palm with a whisk broom unless it is "dug out" with a corner, which would not be fair play. Try it for your- self first and see — then try it with your friends. If anyone wishes to examine the dime after the stunt, tell him that even the dime says the joke is on him. To prove this, turn the coin over to show the printed words: ONE DIME. Cover up the E and the Di. The remaining letters spell "ON ME."

��The coin cannot be swept out

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