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En Garde, whole no. 17, April 1946
Page 24
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page 24. the pitch of a sound by means of a telegraph-wire---either an air-wire or submarine cable; so that, for instance, when the operator at one end of the wire sings or plays on an instrument any tune, as Yankee Doodle or Hail Columbia, it will be heard and distinguished plainly at the other end. This invention may, in its present state, have no direct practical application, but be a mere scientific, although highly interesting curiosity; but who can say that it does not contain the germ of a new method of working the telegraph, or some other useful practical purpose?" Egad, what balderdash! Immediately following this item was: PEROXIDE OF HYDROGEN FOR THE HAIR "This substance forms a colorless liquid, and is at present sold in this city as a preparation for the hair, which, upon application ((that's most essential!---nfs)), it turns a considerably lighter color." Which proves maybe that the preferences of gentlemen haven't changed much over the years. On the other hand, the following innovation just never seemed to catch on: "---good material for gas-making are the excrements of men and animals; and they have recently been used in India for that purpose under the patronage of the English government. The idea is not new, however, as in 1686 Dalvesius, in Paris, made illuminating gas from night-soil and dung. A better material still for gas-making are dead animals, dogs, cats, rats, etc., which are now lost to a great extent, and besides contaminate the air with foul odors if not disposed of in a proper manner. It has even been proposed lately to do away with potters-fields, and bury the bodies of the unknown poor, dying in our large hospitals, in the gas retorts of our city gas-works, where by applying the usual heat, each corpse would produce from 1,000 to 2,000 cubic feet of gas, worth from $3 to $6, while the distillation produces ammoniacal liquors and the remnant is a coke part of which is an excellent deodorizer, and all of which is an excellent fuel. There is nothing repulsive in the burning of the dead in place of planting them in the ground. It is well known that the ancients always burned their dead and preserved the ashes in urns; while the custom still prevails in Hindoostan and several other countries, only the method here proposed is more refined, and worthy of the utilitarian civilization of this country in the nineteenth century. No doubt that many individuals who die in our prisons and hospitals would be made more useful after their death by illuminating our streets than they had been before during their whole lives."
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page 24. the pitch of a sound by means of a telegraph-wire---either an air-wire or submarine cable; so that, for instance, when the operator at one end of the wire sings or plays on an instrument any tune, as Yankee Doodle or Hail Columbia, it will be heard and distinguished plainly at the other end. This invention may, in its present state, have no direct practical application, but be a mere scientific, although highly interesting curiosity; but who can say that it does not contain the germ of a new method of working the telegraph, or some other useful practical purpose?" Egad, what balderdash! Immediately following this item was: PEROXIDE OF HYDROGEN FOR THE HAIR "This substance forms a colorless liquid, and is at present sold in this city as a preparation for the hair, which, upon application ((that's most essential!---nfs)), it turns a considerably lighter color." Which proves maybe that the preferences of gentlemen haven't changed much over the years. On the other hand, the following innovation just never seemed to catch on: "---good material for gas-making are the excrements of men and animals; and they have recently been used in India for that purpose under the patronage of the English government. The idea is not new, however, as in 1686 Dalvesius, in Paris, made illuminating gas from night-soil and dung. A better material still for gas-making are dead animals, dogs, cats, rats, etc., which are now lost to a great extent, and besides contaminate the air with foul odors if not disposed of in a proper manner. It has even been proposed lately to do away with potters-fields, and bury the bodies of the unknown poor, dying in our large hospitals, in the gas retorts of our city gas-works, where by applying the usual heat, each corpse would produce from 1,000 to 2,000 cubic feet of gas, worth from $3 to $6, while the distillation produces ammoniacal liquors and the remnant is a coke part of which is an excellent deodorizer, and all of which is an excellent fuel. There is nothing repulsive in the burning of the dead in place of planting them in the ground. It is well known that the ancients always burned their dead and preserved the ashes in urns; while the custom still prevails in Hindoostan and several other countries, only the method here proposed is more refined, and worthy of the utilitarian civilization of this country in the nineteenth century. No doubt that many individuals who die in our prisons and hospitals would be made more useful after their death by illuminating our streets than they had been before during their whole lives."
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