Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/598

 582

��Popular Science Monthhj

��National MileomeUr

Co.. Ltd.

J5 Conirna St. W, DETROIT

DIRECTIONS

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Tape No. 4d

CHICAGO. ILL, MILWAUKEE. WIS.

��ROAD CONDITIONS

��SPEED LAWS

��The Automobilist's Automatic Path- finder on the Steering Column

EVERYONE who has ever toured to any extent over unfamiliar roads in

an automobile, knows ^

how inconvenient it is to have to stop every few miles and compare the reading of his speedome- ter with the distances as given in his route book. Even if a member of the party sat on the front seat and called off the mileage readings and the landmarks, it is often necessary to slow down or turn back to find one's bearings.

All these difficulties have been eliminated by means of an automatic route book which is mounted on the steering column of the car di- rectly under the steering- wheel \\here the driver can look at it without taking his hands off the wheel. The new type of book has no pages to turn or no places to find. It consists of a small metal box carrying a tape on which is printed for any particular route, the turns of travel as indicated by arrows, and other symbols for steam and electric railways, dangerous curves, bridges, garages and hotels. The tape also supplies information on road conditions, traffic laws, and other his- torical points of interest. A full mile of travel is always visible on the tape and in this way prepares the driver in advance for any unusual or dangerous road con- ditions, cro.ssings, steep hills, etc.

A separate tape is required for each route. All that the driver has to do is to start the tape at the point indicated. The tape mechanically unwinds from a roll in one end of the case and winds up on a similar roll the other, the move- ment being provided by a tlexible shaft geared to either front wheel in much the same manner as a speedometer.

��Electricians Should Wear Straw Hats While at Work

A SUGGESTION has recently been made by a prominent engineer, that all persons employed in and around elec- trical stations should wear straw hats with stiff brims all the year round while at work. Straw is a better insulator than felt and the stiffness of the straw gives an additional advan- tage, as it gives more emphatic warning to

��INTERSTATE GARAGE CO.

��MORRISON

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��KENNARD TIRE SERVICE

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Tire* — Cu«liii« — Tub«»

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Chicago

��CHICAGO. ILU

Population 2.497.722

��INTERSTATE GARAGE CO.

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��This is a sample of the tape and the indicator on the steer- ing column that does away with cumbersome route books

��the wearer of the hat when he comes in contact with a wire or apparatus carrying electricity of high tension. It may seem ridiculous to wear a straw hat in zero weather, but — safety first!

��And Now We Wash Ourselves in the By-products of Garbage

NEW York city's plant on Staten Island for the reclamation of gar- bage produces the necessary fat for ten million cakes of soap yearly, and also the nitrogen and glycerin for the manufac- ture of seven hundred thousand pounds of high explosive. In addition to this, much phosphoric acid and potash are re- claimed and sold for fertilizers. This is effected by the so-called Cobwell process.

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