Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/908

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��Popular Science Monihhj

��tank being so constructed as to give the appearance of a lake or river." This last master trick in illusion-making is, how- ever, not explained but hides under the easy phrase: "so constructed." He con- tinues: "The track, however, soon emer- ges from the tank and the rest of the course passes through inclosures, all above the water line, the interiors of which are decorated and illuminated to produce various effects. " Th? first in- closure may be entitled Sub- marine View. "Here will be seen sharks, divers, sunken wrecks, marine growths, etc." The next inclos- ure is advertised as Under the Ice at the North Pole. "Here arc- tic views may be shown, such as seals, walrus, Es- kimos." Iron balls suspended within the in- closure and in the path of the vessel (the car) produce by con- tact a grating or grinding sound "in imitation of

icebergs striking the vessel." Such is the inventor's idea of an iceberg! The port- holes through which the passengers view the wonders "are provided with convex lenses which produce the desired illusion of distance, swirling motion, etc." In other words, they blur the vision to make the passenger's imagination work more willingly. "The illumination of the dif- ferent inclosures is controlled by the passage of the submarine," by electric contacts on its dummy periscope.

Altogether, there should be shocks enough in a trip like this to provide the least fertile imagination with thrills suf- ficient to last the average individual quite a while — and, incidentally, to make him profoundly grateful that the trouble is imaginary. Without that comforting kno\\ledge enjoyment would be dubious.

���This shows how you can arrange beds for two adults and one baby in your automobile

��Sleep in Your Automobile and Hang Up the Baby for the Night

A RESIDENT of Tropico, California, has devised the novel automobile bed equipment shown in the accompanying illustrations. It accommodates two grown-ups and a, child, adds not more than twenty pounds to the outfit and takes up no more room than an ordinary "camper's" roll of bedding.

Thebackofthe front seat is cut down so that it can be dropped backward, to fill the space be- tween the front and the rear seats. This makes a bed of the interior of the car, large enough to ac- commodate two grown persons. The bed for the youngster con- sists of a ham- mock, which is swung above the bed. This ham- mock may be made of duck, about thirty inch- es wide by fifty- two inches long.

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��The Secret of the Wily Snake's Sinuous Glide

DID you ever watch a snake gliding over the ground in graceful curves and did you ever stop to think of the mechanical principles involved in its motion? The snake moves along the ground in undulating curves produced by the contraction of the longitudinal sys- tem of muscles in alternate sections of its body. That alone would not produce a forward motion, however, were it not for the friction of the scales on the underside of the snake's body against the rough- nesses of the ground. By bracing the rear part of the body, the forward part is enabled to glide forward and by re- versing the process the rear part is dragged forward to a new position.

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