New Glider’s Propellers Worked by Foot Power
A glider now being built in Germany is equipped so that it can be propelled by human power. When the pilot turns pedals located beneath his seat, power is transmitted to a propeller by means of bicycle chains and reduction sprockets. Although the propelling force developed is not great, it is expected that the glider will be easier to control than one that is flown without power, and as a result, its inventor says it can be kept in the air for a longer time.

Canned Libraries Open New Vistas To Readers

ALL of the reading material in the vast Library of Congress may be housed in a few small filing cabinets! To anyone who has seen the thousands of massive volumes in this great building, such a statement seems fantastic. But it remains a fact. Through recent developments in microphotography and the perfection of a new type of micro-grain film, the contents of two 10×15 inch pages can be reduced 400 times to occupy but three-fourths of a square inch of film.

Read the rest of this entry »

Three batteries, just for the radio?

Radio Equipment for Autos Brings Broadcast Programs to Motorists

RADIO, it seems, is destined to be installed in everything that flies, runs on wheels, or floats on water. The fast moving auto is the latest vehicle to be invaded by radio’s onward march.

Equipment has recently been placed on the market for installation in automobiles. As shown in the photo below, the control dials are installed on the dashboard, while the apparatus occupies a small space up under the cowl. The location of the loud speaker is optional, the space under the cowl being preferable. The antenna is ordinarily strung up in the roof, but many cars are equipped with built-in and invisible antennas, especially in the de luxe models of expensive makes.

ROCKING-HORSE TRAINS BRITISH RIDERS
Mounted on rocking-horses, recruits of the British cavalry are now receiving preliminary training in horsemanship. At the Army Equestrian School, at Weedon, England, the wooden horses were recently installed to give rookies the feel of the saddle and practice in mounting and dismounting before they tackle the spirited animals stabled at the school. In advanced horsemanship, the wooden horses are also employed in teaching acrobatics and trick riding. They are said to be especially useful in helping riders acquire the right balance when a horse takes a hurdle. Dismounting from one of the rocking-horses, by means of the spectacular neck-roll, is being demonstrated in the photograph by the chief instructor.

It’s been a long time since writers who mentioned a penguin had to explain what one was.

Penguins Move Enmasse on South Sea Isle to Guard Eggs

COVERING every available piece of land on a small island in the South seas, hundreds of thousands of penguins, strange aquatic birds shown above, tend their eggs during the period of incubation. The birds have a general elliptical shape with a neck of moderate length. Their heads are small with a comparatively long bill. They have no quills in their wings, which are useless for flight. However, their flippers move freely from the shoulder joint, making good paddles for swimming.

Still waiting…

Postpone Irrigation of Sahara
PLANS for turning the Sahara desert into a rich agricultural territory by means of diverting waters of the Mediterranean sea into depressions of the wasteland have been postponed for some time due to the death of the man whose idea and capital furnished the incentive. Dwight Braman, prominent American financier, was recently stricken with heart attack and died. It was his intention to begin the work of letting the sea into the desert this fall. American engineers and machinery were to be used, and following his return from Algeria before his death, Mr. Braman was highly enthusiastic of the possibility of making the “Sahara blossom like a rose.” Some of Mr. Braman’s friends are considering taking over the plans for the project.

view additional pages

GIANT JUNKERS AIR LINER Designed for Ocean Trade

FOLLOWING closely on the heels of the successful flights of the giant Dornier “DO-X” comes the announcement that Professor Junkers, the seventy-year-old German pioneer airplane builder of Dessau, has made highly pleasing test flights with his “Goliath G-38.”

Although not a true “flying wing,” the Junkers monoplane has adopted many of its features in order to cut down parasite resistance. The four engines have been placed in the leading edge of the single unbraced wing while the fuselage is extremely small for a plane of this size, being not much more than a strut to hold the tail assembly after the trailing edge of the wing has been passed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wrestlers Stage Underwater Battles

Submarine matmen are staging underwater wrestling matches in a swimming pool, as a novel attraction for vacationing visitors at an Atlantic seaside resort. Viewed through glass windows in the walls of the swimming tank, the wrestlers seem to be staging a slow-motion bout as they make and break holds beneath the surface of the water.

view additional pages

PLANE TALK

Edited by H.H. Arnold

Ten years of Commercial Aviation

TEN years ago the first aerial mail line had been in operation for a very short time. The war trained pilots were trying to make up their minds whether to take up aviation as a profession or to get jobs on the ground. The Army and Navy had hundreds of surplus airplanes which they were selling for almost nothing. There were then a few far sighted people who were convinced that air transportation must certainly come into its own some day and were struggling with short air lines. There were hundreds of gypsy pilots picking up a few dollars here and there as they flew around the country. Then there was the trans-continental air mail system operated by the U. S. Post Office Department.

Read the rest of this entry »

This ELECTRIC AGE

A Guest Editorial FARM drudgery must go. The application of electricity is eliminating needless human toil from industry. The heavy work in our factories—lifting and pushing and cranking—is more and more being turned over to electricity.

Electricity pumps water, runs great urban transportation and communication systems, and otherwise makes it possible to live comfortably in our complex metropolitan centers. The efficiency of the modern assembly line is a direct result of this widespread use of electric power.

Read the rest of this entry »

No More Wrinkles in Prunes
THE prune, long famous for its corrugated complexion, is to have itself beautified by means of a new picking device which has recently been put to use in California.

This new machine, which bears a striking resemblance to an enlarged lawn mower, has a cylinder studded with sharp spikes whose function is to roll over the ground and impale the prune-plums lying around, waiting to be harvested.

Plum prunes thus impaled are brought around to the top of the cylinder where they are removed by a set of grooves, as illustrated below. Customary handling of the prune plum is avoided during the picking process, so that wrinkling is prevented.

New Dry Shaver Uses No Electricity
Small enough to be carried in a vest pocket, a dry shaver just introduced operates without electricity. The shaving element consists of a perforated cylinder free to turn on a grooved core, within which a narrow, replaceable blade is held in contact with the inside of the cylinder. In use, the shaver is moved over the skin as shown. The rolling perforated cylinder, moving past the inner blade, shears off the whiskers. Extra blades of high-grade steel can be purchased at low cost.