The Book of Curiosities

If you place a moveable mirror without the window, by turning it more or less, you will have on the paper all the objects that are on each side of the window.

If a piece of sealing-wax be rubbed briskly against the sleeve of your coat, or any other woollen substance, for some time, and then held within an inch or less of hair, feather...

Take a stick, (see Plate,) AB. fig. 1, of about the size of a common broomstick, and lay its two ends, AB, which ought to be pointed, upon the edges of two glasses placed upon t...

Let the number thought on be 7 Then the double of this is 14 And 4 added to it makes 18 This multiplied by 5 is 90 And 12 added to it is 102 And this multiplied by 10 is 1020 Fr...

A very curious object is, THE AIR-BLADDER IN FISHES.--There is no doubt that fishes extract air from water by means of their gills, since it is through them that they renew the...

If you take off a small piece of the epidermis, or scarf skin, of the hand, by means of a sharp razor, and place it on the object-plate of the microscope, you will see it covere...

Take a glass, or any other vessel, (see Plate) ABCD, fig. 10. which has a small bent pipe, EFG, open at each end, running through the middle of it; then, if water or wine be pou...

His distress now became so notorious, that a scheme was at length concerted for procuring him a permanent relief. It was proposed that he should retire into Wales, with an allow...

"Water is conveyed from a distance, and is distributed to the various parts of the works by means of aqueducts, constructed with great ingenuity and skill. The method of washing...

So beautiful a species of birds as the peacock could not long remain unknown: so early as the days of Solomon, we find, among the articles imported in his Tarshish navies, apes...

"Answering him in the affirmative, he next inquired if I should want to be carried to the other side of the stream; telling me at the same time what the sum would be which I mus...

"The desire of ascending to the highest part of remarkably elevated land is so natural to every man, and the hope of repeating various experiments in the upper regions of the ai...

"Our fishermen (says the author) unanimously and invariably affirm, that, when they are several miles from the land, particularly in the hot summer days, and, by their distance,...

The cells are of different sizes, corresponding to that of the three orders of individuals which compose the community; the largest for the grubs of females, the smallest for th...

The performances of Vaucanson were imitated, and even exceeded, by M. de Kempelin, of Presburg, in Hungary. The androides constructed by this gentleman in 1769, was capable of p...

He had now lived to the age of forty, respected by the rich, prayed for by the poor, honoured and beloved by all; when, one day, a youngster, with whom he had some difference in...

The following account was given a few years since, in the papers, by a person who visited him. "In order to give the public a satisfactory account of William Kingston," says the...

The butterfly-fish is an exception to this general law, for that brings forth its young alive. The species of fish whose residence is in the middle of the ocean, are also exempt...

We shall next take a view of some of the most remarkable lakes; and the first we would notice, is the LAKE OF KILLARNEY.--This is a beautiful lake of Ireland, in the county of K...

A subject of great curiosity, and pleasing admiration, is, THE CARRIER, or, COURIER PIGEON.--These birds, though carried, hoodwinked, twenty, thirty, or even a hundred miles, wi...

REMARKABLE STRENGTH OF AFFECTION IN ANIMALS.--Mr. White, in his Natural History, &c. of Selborne, speaking of the natural affection of brutes, says, "The more I reflect on it, t...

It is altogether unnecessary to attempt an enumeration of the numerous hypothetical explanations which have been attempted to be given of the phenomenon of incubus, and which ha...

THE MAY FLY.--This insect is called the May fly, from its annual appearance in that month. It lies all the year, except a few days, at the bottom or sides of rivers, nearly rese...

The dimensions of the ark, as delivered by Moses, are three hundred cubits in length, fifty in breadth, and thirty in height; which, compared with the great number of things it...

When the spring renews the flow'ry field, And warns the pregnant nightingale to build, She seeks the safest shelter of the wood, Where she may trust her little tuneful brood. Fo...

Another case, not less remarkable, was communicated to M. Homberg by a physician at Bruges. A woman, who for several years had her legs and thighs swelled in an extraordinary ma...

7. I believe, with a firm and perfect faith, that the doctrine of Moses is true. He is the father and the head of all the doctors that lived before or since, or shall live after...

Our next subject is named THE ORNITHORHYNCHUS PARADOXUS, and is a very singular quadruped, remarkable for its structure. The head is similar to that of a duck, which would lead...

"The clerical process being thus abolished, it was thought proper, at the same time, to empower the temporal judges to inflict a further punishment where they should regard it a...

Soon after this period he set off for Holland, under the assumed name of Johnson. Forging a recommendation to a Dutch merchant, he became his clerk,--debauched his master's daug...

Another boy, a native of Bouzanquet, in the diocese of Alais, though of a strong constitution, appeared to be knit and stiff in his joints, till he was about four years and a ha...

REMARKABLE DUCTILITY AND EXTENSIBILITY OF GOLD.--Gold is the most ductile, as well as the most malleable, of all metals. According to Cronstedt, one grain of it may be stretched...

"The fears with which he at first inspired us having subsided, we were able to examine him attentively. I estimate, that his length is at least twice that of my schooner, that i...

Swinburne says, the iron ring was adorned with an adamant; the metal hard and durable, signifying the duration and prosperity of the contract. "Howbeit," he says, "it skilleth n...

DREADFUL INSTANCES OF THE PLAGUE, IN EUROPE.--Thucydides, lib. ii. gives an account of a dreadful plague which happened in Athens about B. C. 430, and with which he was himself...

This, in arithmetic, is a square figure made up of numbers in arithmetical proportion, so disposed in parallel and equal ranks, that the sums of each row, taken either perpendic...

"There are also coal-mines in several other parts of England. Near Whitehaven, in the county of Cumberland, are some that extend half a mile under the sea. The collieries employ...

The upper region, called the frigid zone, is marked out by a circle of snow and ice. The surface of this zone is for the most part flat and even, and the approach to it is indic...

ROMISH INDULGENCES.--In the Romish church, indulgences are a remission of the punishment due to sins, granted by the church, and supposed to save the sinner from purgatory. Acco...

Hence sound is conveyed from one side of a whispering gallery to the opposite one, without being perceived by those who stand in the middle. The form of a whispering-gallery is...

"As the extraordinary powers attributed to Miss Margaret M'Avoy, of this town, have lately attracted the attention of the public in an uncommon degree, permit me to send you a f...

But, after all, what are those parts in the fungi casually observed by naturalists, and which they have taken for the parts of fructification? These are quite distinct from the...

On Thursday the fifth of August, the volcano appeared most violently agitated: a white and sulphureous smoke issued with unceasing impetuosity from its crater, one puff seeming...

Another curious monument of antiquity, which demands the reader's attention, is, LAOCOON.--This is a celebrated monument of Greek sculpture, exhibited in marble, by Polydorus, A...

M. Huber gives the following curious account of the manner in which bees proceed in forming capacious cells for the workers' grubs destined to royalty.--"Bees soon become sensib...

We shall next give an account of THE MAIDEN.--This term is applied to an ancient English custom, or, more properly, to an instrument for beheading criminals; of the use and form...

ANNA MARIA SCHURMAN, the other distinguished female character, was born at Cologne, 1607, of parents sprung from noble Protestant families. From her infancy she discovered an un...

_The exploit of some British Seamen._--One of the volutes of the column was prematurely brought down some years ago, by a prank of some English captains; which is thus related b...

"On the 25th of May, 1768," he says, "Fahrenheit's thermometer 70°, I boiled a potato in the New-River water, till it was reduced to a mealy consistence: I put part of it, with...

After a variety of other extraordinary performances, the Indian places a stone of fourteen pounds weight, about the size and shape of a Dutch cheese, between his feet. With an a...

About the close of the seventeenth century, the peruke was made to represent the natural curl of the hair, but in such profusion, that ten heads would not have furnished an equa...

The Spanish historians relate a memorable instance of inviolable regard to the principles of honour and truth. A Spanish cavalier, in a sudden quarrel, slew a Moorish gentleman,...

"Towards the north-west, whence the eclipse came, I could not in the least find any distinction in the horizon between heaven and earth, for a good breadth of about sixty degree...

In _F. lanternaria_, which is an insect two or three inches long, the snout is much larger and broader, and more of an oval shape, and sheds a light, the brilliancy of which tra...

At the end of this court, opposite the west, is an outlet, which formerly was a gate, through which we perceive a still more extensive range of ruins, whose magnificence strongl...

INVERLOCHY CASTLE,--is an ancient castle near Fort William, in Inverness-shire. It is adorned with large towers, which, by the mode of building, seem to have been the work of th...

"The skeleton is now put up in the museum of the Academy, and the skin still remains attached to the head and feet. The mammoth is described by M. Cuvier as a different species...

For their support in winter, ample stores are laid up near each separate cabin; and occasionally to give variety and luxury to their repasts during a long season, in which their...

While we admire the ingenuity of the next character, we must lament that his conduct was licentious. It is the well-known GEORGE MORLAND, an ingenious, dissipated, and unfortuna...

Gmelin enumerates about seventy species, all of which, and doubtless many others, are found in different parts of Europe. They infest an endless variety of plants; and it is bel...

Consider what incredible labour and diligence, accompanied by the most unremitting activity, and the most unwearied celerity of movement, must be necessary to enable these creat...

"At the south-east of this ridge of mountains, there are plains of an immense extent, covered with different species of grasses, and watered by innumerable torrents, which falli...

"The name of the child is Zerah Colburn, who was born at Cabut, (a town lying at the head of Onion river, in Vermont, in the United States of America,) on the 1st of September,...

Such a prodigious effect of expansion, almost double that of the most powerful steam-engines, and exerted in so small a mass, seemingly by the force of cold, was thought a very...

We shall now introduce to the reader a curious account of SAND FLOODS; a name given to the flowing of sand so common in the deserts of Arabia. Mr. Bruce gives the following desc...

Sometimes the grand seignior passes into the gardens to amuse himself when the women are there, and it is then they make use of all their utmost efforts, by dancing, singing, se...

The stranger was accommodated as well as it was possible to be in the Bastile. An apartment had been prepared for him by order of the governor before his arrival, fitted up in t...

Because the utility of some animals, in a general view, is not palpably obvious, we ought not pettishly or hopelessly to give up the inquiry. Some of the most numerous are appar...

Among other instances of the preservation of animals, we ought to mention that of the pole-cat of America, commonly called the squash or skink. This is a small animal of the wea...

The dishes in which the meat was served up were either of wood or earthenware, or a kind of baskets made of osiers. These last were most used by the Britons, as they very much e...

We shall now describe THE MASON-BEE.--There is a family of wild bees which carry on the trade of masons, building their solid houses solely of artificial stone. The first step o...

"The district in which this tree stands is called Tigulabe; near to which, and in the cliff or steep rocky ascent that surrounds the whole island, is a gutter or gully, which co...

SCALIOT'S LOCK, &c.--In the twentieth year of Queen Elizabeth, Mark Scaliot, a blacksmith, made a lock, consisting of eleven pieces of iron, steel, and brass, all which, togethe...

One of the largest of the European spiders is the _Aranea diadema_ of Linnæus, which is extremely common in our own country, and is chiefly seen during the autumnal season, in g...

The next subject is, THE CURIOUS FORMATION OF THE EYE.--The _Eye_ infinitely surpasses all the works of man's industry. Its structure is one of the most wonderful things the hum...

The fact being certain, that ants impart their ideas to each other, we are next led to inquire by what means this is accomplished. It does not appear that, like the bees, they e...

"The impatience which every body felt to see the wonders we have heard so largely described, prevented our morning's rest; every one was up and in motion before the break of day...

In this manner the woods of northern countries are sown with junipers, by the thrushes and other birds which feed upon these heavy berries. The cross-bill lives upon fir-cones,...

In natural as well as civil history, there are facts presented to the meditation of the observer, which, though confirmed by the most convincing testimony, seem, on the first vi...

MONTE BOLEA.--This is a hill or mount in the neighbourhood of Verona, in the north of Italy, celebrated for the uncommon abundance and remarkable variety of the organic remains...

The title which George Gascoigne, who had great merit in his day, has given to his collection, may be considered as a specimen of the titles of his times. It was printed in 1576...

EARTH EATERS; from Humboldt's Personal Narrative.--"The inhabitants of Umana belong to those nations of the savannas, [_Indios andantes_,] who, more difficult to civilize than t...

When in a tranquil state, the colour of these brilliant inhabitants of the ocean is an opal yellow, mixed with green; but, on the slightest movement of those voluntary contracti...

Masonry found a zealous protector in Alfred the Great, the liberal patron of all arts and manufactures. He appropriated a seventh part of his revenue for maintaining a number of...

The Antshar is one of the largest trees in the forests of Java. The stem is cylindrical, perpendicular, and rises completely naked to the height of sixty, seventy, or eighty fee...

Louis XII. when he was Duke of Orleans, being taken prisoner at the battle of St. Aubin, was long confined in the tower of Bourges, and applying himself to his studies, which he...

"There was now pointed out to us by the guides a very rare and curious phenomenon, and which is particularly interesting, as it has been thought, by those who hold the igneous o...

This was not the only misfortune he laboured under; for lying in a place for a long time unfrequented, such abundance of rats and mice had bred there, that they were almost read...

That the tides may have their full motion, the ocean in which they are produced ought to be extended from east to west 90°, or a quarter of a great circle of the earth, at least...

We find various recompenses for blindness, or substitutes for the use of the eyes, in the wonderful sagacity of many blind persons, recited by Zahnius, in his 'Oculus Artificial...

The men who had been secretly contriving how to undermine his reputation, beheld this challenge with strange emotions. From the presumption which it displayed, they flattered th...

Another subject of acknowledged curiosity is, THE HUMMING BIRD.--There are sixty species enumerated by Latham, and Gmelin has sixty-five. The birds of this genus are the smalles...

THE ANIMAL FLOWER.--Animal flower, in zoology, is a name given to several species of animals belonging to the genus of Actinia of Linnæus. They have likewise been distinguished...

"Wild ducks and cranes (says Abbé de la Pluche) fly, at the approach of winter, in quest of more favourable climates. They all assemble at a certain day, like swallows and quail...

The _Ignis Fatuus_ is a luminous appearance, which is most frequently observed in boggy districts and near rivers, though sometimes also in dry places. By its appearance, benigh...

Many systems and theories have been ingeniously suggested, to ascertain the first cause of the glaciers, their maintenance, and whether they increase or diminish in extent; of w...

This work also presents to the reader, a view of the great achievements of the human intellect, in the discoveries of science; and the wonderful operations of the skill, power,...

The host, when the traveller repeated his assertion, was staggered. He was certain that he must have come over the bridge, because there was no other way; but also knowing the s...

"In June, 1752, Mr. Robert Aikenhead, farmer, in Denstrath, of Arnhall, in the Mearns, about 5 miles north of Brechin, and 7 from Montrose, went to a market called _Tarrenty-fai...

The author of this account says, that he inquired of Mr. Tooth, a farrier, whether he ever knew of a similar accident; and that he told him "the circumstance was not new to him;...

We may learn from various instances in this chapter the value of perseverance; this will overcome difficulties, which at first appear insuperable; and it is amazing to consider,...

On February 17, 1773, in south latitude 58°, "a beautiful phenomenon (he says) was observed during the preceding night, which appeared again this and several following nights. I...

All are but parts of one stupendous whole, Whose body Nature is, and God the soul. That, chang'd thro' all, and yet in all the same; Great in the earth, as in th' ethereal frame...

We have already stated, that every magnet has two poles; that is, one end is called the north, the other the south pole: the former being considered as capable of attraction; th...

The approach to the springs lies up the valley of the creek. On the right of the valley rises the hot mountain, with the springs issuing at its foot; on the left, the cold mount...

"When the effects of the earth's rotation are taken into consideration, our reasoning must be as follows: the air over any part of the earth's surface, when apparently at rest,...

Remarkable and Astonishing PLACES, BEINGS, ANIMALS, CUSTOMS, EXPERIMENTS, PHENOMENA, etc., of both Ancient and Modern Times, on all Parts of the GLOBE: comprising Authentic Acco...

MAHOMETAN PARADISE.--The paradise of the Mahometans is said by them to be situated above the seven heavens, or in the seventh, and next under the throne of God; and, to express...

In Pliny's Natural History, we find a curious recipe for making the ROMAN FRIENDSHIP, a cordial that was universally esteemed in those days, and very few families of any credit...