1000 Things Worth Knowing

Part 13

Chapter 133,905 wordsPublic domain

=Sunstroke.=--Indications of sunstroke or heat prostration are a slow but full pulse, very labored breathing, and the skin is hot and dry, the face usually red, and the person affected is unconscious. Remove the sufferer to a shady place, and be sure to loosen his collar and clothing, if tight. Raise the head and shoulders. The head, face, and chest should be drenched with cold water, and if it is very hot use cracked ice. In ordinary cases of heat prostration, the patient is not unconscious, the skin is pale and clammy, and the breathing is not normal. Force the patient to lie on his back with his head level with his body, and loosen all tight clothing. Apply heat to the extremities, and cold to head. The patient should not be allowed to drink too much water. Give him hot drinks, and apply heat to the spine and feet. Under no circumstances administer alcoholic stimulants. Always send for a physician.

=Temperature of the Body.=--The normal body temperature is 98.4 degrees Fahrenheit. When it is higher, the patient is supposed to have a fever. Temperature usually rises in the afternoon, being one degree higher than in the first part of the night or in the early morning. It gradually falls from midnight to six or seven o'clock in the morning. The temperature of a child frequently rises two degrees from slight causes. Every family should carry a clinical thermometer. Bodily temperature should be taken by holding it in the mouth under the tongue for two minutes. Temperature under 101° indicates a slight fever; under 103° a moderate fever; under 105° a high fever. When the temperature rises two or three degrees above normal, send for a doctor at once.

=Temperature of the Sick-Room.=--Sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit is a good average temperature for the sick-room. In certain diseases the average temperature may be lower, and for throat or chest affections it should be higher. When the patient is being washed or dressed, the temperature should be kept at about 70°.

=Toothache.=--If the nerve is exposed, or nearly so, toothache may be cured by placing in the cavity a small piece of cotton soaked in creosote or oil of cloves. If it continues, consult a dentist.

=Transporting the Wounded.=--Great care should be taken, because the slightest carelessness is likely to cause intense suffering. A four-handed seat may be made by two persons, the hands of each one clasping one of the wrists of the other, and two ordinary men can easily carry a person of average weight. A stretcher will carry the patient in a horizontal position if the persons carrying it place their hands under it. A stretcher may be made of boards, over which are placed coats or shawls, or a blanket may be fastened to two stout poles; if no poles are handy, a shawl tightly held by two persons will do, but great care should be taken to keep it tight. A window shutter is generally available. The sufferer should be very carefully placed upon the stretcher, and had better be lifted by several persons, by two at least. The bearers of the stretcher should not keep step, the opposite feet should be put forward at the same time to prevent the swaying of the stretcher and the rolling of the patient. Never carry the stretcher on the shoulders. Carry the patient feet foremost, except when going up hill. In case of a fractured thigh or leg, carry the patient head first when going down hill.

=Ventilation.=--The sick-room should never be without fresh air. Impure and close air breeds disease and encourages illness. Fresh air should be introduced constantly and steadily. The windows may be lowered at the top or patented ventilators used. To change the air, open the windows in an adjoining room, and then open the door between the rooms, but the fresh air in the adjoining room should be warm before it is allowed to penetrate the sick-room. By swinging the door back and forth, the air will be fanned in. Do not maintain the erroneous impression that cold air is pure because it is cold, for cold air may be as foul as warm air. Night air is not dangerous. The patient must breathe night air or closed-in day air, and closed-in air rapidly becomes foul.

=Vomiting.=--Lie down and hold small pieces of ice in your mouth. If it continues, consult a physician.

* * * * *

=Wills.=--A will, untechnically speaking, is virtually a bill-of-sale or transfer of property by its owner to those he may designate, but differs from the ordinary bill-of-sale in that there is no consideration mentioned on the part of those who will receive the property, and the will is not operative until the death of the maker of it. No one can execute a will unless he is presumably in his right mind, and knows what he is doing. Nor can a will be made by an idiot or one insane. The will must be signed and witnessed by several witnesses, each witness signing as a witness in the presence of all of the other witnesses. While it would appear that every one has a right to dispose of his property as he chooses, a will is not likely to stand in law if it can be proved that the maker of it was under undue or unfair influence, and, therefore, distributed his property to the prejudice of those who would be entitled to it if no will was made. For example: a will is not likely to hold good if its maker unfairly disowned close legal heirs, like a wife, husband, or children, or bequeathed his property to some institution which it could be shown he probably would not have done had not unfair pressure been brought to bear upon him at the time he made his will. All legal heirs should, as a rule, be mentioned in a will, even though they are given insignificant sums. As the laws differ in the several states, it is suggested that it is better and safer to consult a good lawyer, or one familiar with conditions.

=Wireless Telegraphy.=--The exact date of the discovery or invention of wireless telegraphy is not accurately known. Many scientists discovered it theoretically before Marconi made it practical. Some scientific authorities claim that it was originated by Professor Dolbear, of Massachusetts. In 1899, messages were sent from England to France, and recently an intelligible message was flashed across the Atlantic Ocean. Unscientifically speaking, wireless telegraphy consists of discharging powerful electrical currents into the atmosphere, their vibrations being taken up by the natural electricity in the air, and received by wires placed at an elevation. Practically all sea-going steamers are equipped with wireless telegraphy.

=Woman's Suffrage.=--The first convention in the interest of woman's rights was held July 19, 1808, at Seneca Falls, N. Y. In 1850, a National Woman's Rights Convention was held in Worcester, Mass. From that time woman's suffrage was agitated in America and in England, and many of the leading women of the world strongly advocated it. It is growing rapidly, and is being recognized throughout the country, although all of the States have not given the vote to women. Under the Constitution of the United States a native-born woman may hold any office, including that of president, even though the women in all of the States cannot vote at the presidential election. The Constitution of the United States does not recognize sex, and in the eye of national law, women have all of the rights of men.

=Women Voters.=--Many of the towns, cities, and States give full franchise to women, while others allow them to vote for only a few officials. Woman's suffrage, or the right to vote, is spreading rapidly, and it is probably only a question of time before she will have full franchise throughout the entire country. There is nothing in the Constitution of the United States to prevent a woman from holding the office of president or vice-president if she was born in this country, and she can hold such offices even though she may not be permitted by State law to vote for them.

=Wool Industry.=--The United States produces about $320,000,000 worth of wool in a year and weaves about 55,500,000 square yards, worth about $40,500,000.

=World's Largest Steamships.=--The "Imperator," just placed in commission, is the world's largest vessel. She is 919 feet long, 98 feet beam, and 62 feet deep. The boat deck is 100 feet, and the trunks of the mast 246 feet, above the keel. The funnels are 69 feet long with oval openings, 29 by 18 feet. The rudder alone weighs 90 tons. She is registered at 50,000 tons, with a displacement of 70,000 tons. Displacement represents the weight of the water which is occupied by that part of the hull under water. The ship is a modern floating hotel, containing a grill-room, a tea garden, a veranda café, several ladies' sitting-rooms, a palm garden, a ball-room, a gymnasium, a swimming tank, and other accessories. In the first cabin there are 220 regular bath rooms and showers, including 150 private bath rooms. The staterooms do not contain berths, metal bedsteads being used throughout. The entrance hall is 90 feet wide, and 69 feet long. In addition the vessel carries a drug store, a book store, and a flower shop, and several passenger elevators are maintained. To illuminate the ship there are 9,500 electric lamps. The Roman bath is 65 feet long, and 41 feet wide. The swimming bath is 39 feet long, 21 feet wide, and 9 feet deep. The quadruple turbine engines have 72,000 horse-power and develop an average speed of 22-1/2 knots an hour. One of the immense rotars contains 50,000 blades, and weighs 135 tons. The ship carries a crew of 1,100 persons, a complete fire department, and wireless telegraphy. If the "Imperator" was set on end, she would be higher than the largest building in the world, which is 750 feet high. The ship has a passenger capacity equal to the population of a large town.

=Yankee.=--This word is said to be a corruption of English or Anglais, pronounced by the Massachusetts Indians, who gave this name to the New England Colonists, Yenghies, Yanghies, Yankees. It was applied to the New Englanders by the British soldiers during the Revolutionary War, and to the Federal soldiers by the Confederates during the Civil War.

=Yankee Doodle.=--The origin of Yankee Doodle, perhaps the most famous American national air, is unknown. It is supposed to have been an English tune. At any rate, it was introduced into America by the British troops in 1775.

INDEX

INDEX

Abbreviations in common use, 1

Accidents, 160

Accidents, electrical, 173

Accidents, how to avoid, 185

Acetylene gas, 2

Acid poisoning, 189

Aconite poisoning, 190

Admitted to the Union, 62

Adventists, 2

Arsenic poisoning, 191

Æolian harp, 3

Afire, clothing, 166

Africa, 40

Age, 3

Agricultural implement industry, 3

Air ship records, 114

Alaska, 3

Alberg tunnel, 59

Algebra, 4

Almanacs, 4

Amazons, 4

American inventions, 57

Ammonia, 174

Antarctic ocean, 40

Apostles' creed, 4

Apothecaries' weight, 154

Apparent death, 160

April Fools Day, 4

Arbor Day, 5

Arctic ocean, 40

Area of a circle, 24

Area of a square, 26

Area of desert, 41

Area of fertile soil, 41

Area of the base of a square, 26

Area of the earth, 39

Area of the oceans, 40

Area of the United States, 62

Areas of earthquakes, 42

Arithmetic, 5

Arnica, 175

Aromatic spirits of ammonia, 175

Artesian wells, 5

Artificial ice, 5

Arts, seven liberal, 108

Asia, 40

Atlantic cable, 6

Atlantic ocean, 40

Atmosphere, 10

Aurora Borealis, 10

Australia, 41

Automobile records, 114

Automobiles, 10

Average life of man, 3

Average weight of men and women, 128

Avoirdupois weight, 154

Baltic and North Sea canal, 17

Bandaging, 161

Bank of England, 11

Baseball, 115

Base of a triangle, 25

Bastile, 11

Baths, 161

Bayreuth Festival, 11

Beautifiers, 43

Belladonna poisoning, 191

Bells on shipboard, 100

Bible, 11

Bible, kissing the, 67

Bible statistics, 12

Bicarbonate of soda, 175

Billiard records, 115

Bi-metallism, 12

Birth stones, 12

Bite, snake, 195

Bites, dog, 169

Bleeding, 162

Bleeding from capillary veins, 163

Bleeding from the veins, 163

Blind, 13

Blood, circulation of, 21

Blood-heat, 13

Blue-Grass region, 13

Board and timber measure, 156

Body temperature, 198

Bones, broken, 164

Books, production of, 100

Bowling records, 116

Boxers, 14

Brain, 14

Brandy, 177

Bread, 15

Breakfast foods, 15

British Royal family, cost of, 30

Broken bones, 164

Brook farm, 15

Burns, 192

Cable, Atlantic, 6

Calculating interest, 16

California, gold in, 55

Camphor, 176

Camphor poisoning, 190

Canals, 17

Capacity of cisterns and wells, 18

Capillary veins, bleeding from, 163

Capitol at Washington, 18

Carbolic acid poisoning, 189

Cards, 93

Carrying the wounded, 199

Cause of failures, 48

Cellars, disinfecting, 168

Cells of the brain, 14

Celluloid, 19

Census of the United States, 27

Certified checks, 19

Cesspools, disinfecting, 168

Cheap laundry soaps, 110

Checks, certified, 19

Chemical composition of man, 20

Chess, 20

Chests (medicine), 75

Chief virtues, 107

Chilblains, 164

Children, emergencies, 173

Chloroform poisoning, 190

Christmas, 21

Circle, circumference of, 25

Circle, diameter of, 24

Circle, radius of, 24

Circle, square of the diameter of, 24

Circle, square of the radius of, 24

Circular measure, 155

Circulation of the blood, 21

Circumference of a circle, 25

Circumference of a circle, square of, 25

Circumference of a sphere, 25

Circumference of the earth, 39

Cisterns and wells, capacity of, 18

Cities in the United States, distances between, 34

Cities (large) of the United States, 28

Cities of the world (population), 73

Civil War, songs of, 113

Cleanliness, 164

Climate and temperature, 21

Climate, influence of the ocean on, 66

Clothing, afire, 166

Coal industry, 22

Coal oil, fires from, 179

Cocoa industry, 22

Coffee industry, 22 Coin (money), 23

Cold cream, 177

Colds, 167

Collapse, 194

Colors, to produce, 138

Colosseum, 23

Comets, 23

Communism and Socialism, 27

Comparative population of the large cities and towns of the United States, 28

Comparative population of the United States, 27

Copper coining, 23

Commission form of government, 56

Common abbreviations, 1

Common Council, 56

Common degrees, 1

Common measurements, 24

Compass, 28

Composition of man, 20

Constitution of the United States, 55

Corn in the crib, to measure, 138

Corporal works of mercy, 107

Correct weight of men and women, 126

Corrosive sublimate poisoning, 191

Corsets, 29

Cosmetics, 29

Cost of the British Royal family, 30

Cotton industry, 31

Cotton gin, 31

Cough medicines, 87

Countries of the world, 98

Cradle of American liberty, 31

Credit Mobilier, 31

Creed, Apostles', 4

Creosote poisoning, 189

Croton water tunnel, 59

Crusades, 32

Crust of the earth, 32

Cubic measure, 154

Daguerreotypes, 32

Damage by lightning, 33

Danger of taking patent medicines, 86

Day or night, to find the length of, 137

Deadly sins, 107

Deaf and dumb, 33

Death, apparent, 160

Deaths, percentage of, 77

Deeds, 33

Degrees in common use, 1

Depth of the sea, 40

Dialects, 112

Diameter of a circle, 24

Diameter of a sphere, 26

Diamonds (famous), 49

Dictionaries, 33

Difference in time, 136

Different colors, to produce, 138

Digestibility of foods, 34

Diphtheria, 167

Diseases, infectious, 186

Disinfectants, 167

Disinfecting cellars, yards, cesspools, etc., 168

Disinfecting the sick room, 168

Dislocation, 168

Distance between cities in the United States, 34

Distance from the earth to the planets, 112

Diving bells, 36

Dog bites, 169

Drama, 36

Drowning, 169

Drowning, to prevent, 172

Drugs, 36

Dry measure, 154

Dumb and deaf, 33

Dying sayings of great men, 37

Dynamite, 39

Ear, getting things into, 184

Earth, crust of, 32

Earth facts, 39

Earthquake areas, 42

Earthquakes, 41

Electoral vote, 62

Engine, steam, 128

England, Bank of, 11

Equator, 39

Errors of history, 44

Esperanto, 46

Estimating the weight of hay, 137

Europe, 40

Exercise, 178

Extinguishing fire from coal oil, 179

Eye, getting things into, 183

Facts about the earth, 39

Failures, 47

Failures, cause of, 48

Fainting, 180

Famous diamonds, 49

Faneuil Hall, 31

Farm productions, 49

Feeding an invalid, 180

Fertile soil, 41

Finding the capacity of cisterns and wells, 18

Finding the length of day or night, 137

Finding the number of days (interest), 16

Fire in the house, 181

Fires from coal oil, 179

First trans-Atlantic steamship, 51

Fits, 181

Flag of the United States, 142

Flour industry, 51

Food (pure), 101

Food nutriment, 51

Foods, breakfast, 15

Foods, digestibility of, 34

Fool's Day, 4

Force of gravity, 57

Forests, 52

Foretelling the weather, 52

Freemasonry, 54

Freiburg tunnel, 59

French Academy, 55

Frost bite, 182

Fumigating a sick room, 182

Gas, acetylene, 2

Gas, illuminating, 186

Gas, natural, 79

Gems, language of, 67

Getting things into the eye, nose, ear, etc., 183

Getting wet, 184

Ginger, 176

Glass, plate, 92

Glasses, 114

Glycerine, 176

Gold coining, 23

Gold in California, 55

Government, 55

Grain industry, 57

Gravity, 57

Great American inventions, 57

Great Eastern, 58

Great libraries, 59

Great men, dying sayings of, 37

Great religions, 135

Great tunnels, 59

Greece, seven wise men of, 108

Growers (hair), 59

Gunnison tunnel, 59

Hair growers, 59

Half-century of life, 60

Half the circumference of a circle, 25

Hamamelis, 177

Hammer-throwing records, 117

Harp, æolian, 3

Hawaii, 61

Hay industry, 61

Hay, to estimate the weight of, 137

Headache powders, 87

Headaches, 184

Health, 61

Height of men and women, 126

Height of the land, 40

Hiccoughs, 185

Highest mountain, 40

Historical data, 62

History, errors of, 44

History in brief, United States, 143

Holy Grail, 64

Hoosac tunnel, 59

House afire, 181

House of Representatives, 56

Household weights, 64

How to avoid accidents, 185

How to become a voter, 64

Human brain, 14

Hurdle racing records, 117

Hurricane warnings, 152

Hydrophobia, 169

Ice, artificial, 5

Illuminating gas, 186

Implement industry, 3

Indian ocean, 40

Industrial occupations, 65

Industry, agricultural implement, 3 coal, 22 cocoa, 22 coffee, 22 cotton, 31 flour, 51 grain, 57 hay, 61 iron, 66 jewelry, 66 liquor and wine, 74 meat, 75 mineral, 76 mining, 76 petroleum, 92 poultry and egg, 97 sugar, 130 tobacco, 137 wool, 203

Infectious diseases, 186

Influence of the ocean on the climate, 66

Inhabitants of the United States, 95

Insane, 66

Insomnia, 195

Interest calculating, 16

Interest table, 17

Invalid, feeding an, 180

Inventions, great American, 57

Iron industry, 66

Jewelry industry, 66

John Doe and Richard Roe, 66

Judicial, 56

Jumping records, 117

Kissing the Bible, 67

Koran, 67

Land area of the earth, 39

Land area of the United States, 93

Land, height of, 40

Land measure, 155

Language of gems, 67

Languages, 112

Languages of the world, 67

Large cities and towns of the United States, population of, 28

Large cities in North America, population of, 68

Largest steamship, 204

Laundry soaps, 110

Law, 72

Leading cities of the world (population), 73

Legislative, 56

Length of day or night, to find, 137

Liberal arts, seven, 108

Libraries, 59

Life, half-century of, 60

Lightning, damage by, 33

Liquid measure, 154

Liquor and wine industry, 74

Literature, 74

Living ages, 3

Lockjaw, 188

Long measure, 153

Lotions, shaving, 109

Magnetic poles, 75

Mammoth cave, 75

Man, chemical composition of, 20

Manchester canal, 17

Marathon team race records, 117

Masons, 54

Measurements, common, 24

Measuring corn in the crib, 138

Meat industry, 75

Medicine chests, 75

Medicines, emergency, 174

Medicines (patent), 86

Men of Greece, seven wise, 108

Mercy, seven corporal works of, 107

Metalic coin, 23

Metric system, 155

Microscope, 76

Middle Ages, seven wonders of, 108

Mineral industry, 76

Mining industry, 76

Money (coin), 23

Mont Cenis tunnel, 59

Moon, 76

Mortality, 77

Mortgages, 78

Motor-cycle records, 117

Mountain, highest, 40

Mushroom poisoning, 191

Mustard plasters, 188

National Government, 56

Nations, wealth of, 151

Natural gas, 79

Naturalization, 79

Naturalized citizens, 64

Neuralgia, 188

Newspapers, 80

New York Stock Exchange, 81

New Zealand, 41

Nicknames of States, 81

Night, to find the length of, 137

Nitroglycerine, 82

Normal weight of men and women, 126

North American continent, 40

North America, population of the large cities of, 68

Nose, getting things into, 183

Notes, 82

Number of newspapers, 80

Nutriment of food, 51

Nux vomica poisoning, 190

Occupations, industrial, 65

Ocean ownership, 82

Ocean records, 117

Oceans, area of, 40

Old time ships, 83

Opium poisoning, 190

Oxalic acid poisoning, 189

Pacific ocean, 40

Palmistry, 84

Panama canal, 17

Partnership, 84

Patent medicines, 86

Peppermint, 176

Percentage of deaths, 77

Perpetual motion, 91

Petroleum industry, 92

Philippine Islands, 92

Phonograph, 131

Physicians, 88

Pianoforte, 92

Planets, 112

Plate glass, 92

Playing cards, 93

Poison, 188

Poisoning by acids, 189 by aconite, 190 by arsenic, 191 by carbolic acid or creosote, 189 by belladonna, 191 by camphor, 190 by chloroform, 190 by corrosive sublimate, 191 by mushrooms, 191 by nux vomica, 190 by opium, 190 by oxalic acid, 189 by prussic acid, 189

Poisonous insects, stings of, 197

Pole star, 93

Pole vaulting records, 118

Poles, magnetic, 75

Population by States, 125

Population and land area of the United States, 93

Population of the large cities and towns of the United States, 28

Population of the large cities of North America, 68

Population of the large cities of the United States, 68

Population of the leading cities of the world, 73

Population of the United States, 27

Population of the United States per square mile, 95

Population of the world at the time of Augustus, 41

Porto Rico, 97

Postage stamps, 97

Poultry and egg industry, 97

Presidents of the United States, 97

Press, 99

Principal countries of the world, 98

Printing press, 99

Production of books, 100

Prussic acid poisoning, 189

Public debt of the United States, 101

Public schools, 101

Pulse, 191

Pure food, 101

Pyramids, 103

Quack doctors, 90

Radius of a circle, 24

Railroads, 103

Records, air ship, 114 automobile, 114 billiards, 115 bowling, 116 endurance, 116 hammer-throwing, 117 hurdle racing, 117 jumping, 117 Marathon team race, 117 motor cycle, 117 ocean, 117 pole vaulting, 118 running, 118 running distance, 119 shot putting, 119 skating, 119 sporting, speed, etc., 114 swimming, 120 trotting, 121 walking, 121

Referendum, 104

Registration, 64

Religions, ten great, 135

Religious denominations, 105

Rheumatism, 192

Roads, 105

Round table, 105

Royal Academy, 106

Royal Society, 106

Running distance records, 119

Running records, 118

Sayings of great men, 37

Scalds and burns, 192

School statistics, 106

Schools, 101 Sunday, 131

Sea, depth of, 40

Seasickness, 106

Senate, 56

Settlement of the United States, 62

Seven chief virtues, 107 corporal works of mercy, 107 deadly sins, 107 liberal arts, 108 spiritual works of mercy, 108 wise men of Greece, 108 of the Middle Ages, 108 wonders of the New World, 109

Shaving lotions, 109

Ship bells, 109

Ship watches, 110

Ships (old time), 83

Shock or collapse, 194

Shot putting records, 119

Sick room, disinfecting, 168 fumigating a, 182 temperature of, 199

Sins, seven deadly, 107

Size of the brain, 14

Skating records, 119

Slavery, 110

Sleeplessness, 195

Snake bite, 195

Soap, 110

Socialism and Communism, 27

Solar system, 111

Some things worth knowing, 112

Songs of the Civil War, 113

Soothing syrups, 87

Sore throat, 196

South American continent, 40