Popular Science Monthly 



201 



A Luminous Life-Belt for Rescue 

 at Night 



TWO electric Hash lamps wrapped in 

 a casing inipcr\icnis to water can he 

 attached to an\' one o{ the several t\ pes 

 of life-prescr\ers and be made to liglit 

 a iierson in the water at nij;ht antl thus 

 facilitate rescue. Furthermore, the lamps 

 may be so constructed that in case it is 

 desirable to throw overboard any type of 

 buoyant life-preserver, the lights may 

 be switched on immediately before cast- 

 ing on the water, so that a person in 

 danger of drowning can see his way. 



The preser\er may be fitted with one 

 or more lamps, as desired. Surrounding 

 the holder is an impervious sack or 

 pocket, preferably of rubber, and pro- 

 videti with an elastic beaded mouth 

 adapted to be tightly fitted around the 

 lamji-holder below the lens in such man- 

 ner that water will not enter. On the 

 sides of the pocket are formed loops 

 acting as securing means for straps 

 provided with buckles and tongues. 

 Once the straps are firmly clasjicel 

 around the preserv^er the lamps are held 

 rigid. An open space is allowed so that 

 the lamp switch may be operated. 



The life-belt consists of a preserver with 

 one or more lamps rigidly fastened in position 



Where landings are particularK- dan- 

 gerous at night motor-boat parties ii.ive 

 used the luminous life-belt to illuminate 

 the water and determine the safest place 

 to dock. The belt is thrown oxerboartl 

 when the boat approaches a landing place 

 and serves admirably as a buoy light. 



Seeing Yourself as the Oil Well 

 Sees You 



T' 



^HIS photograph of an oil derrick is 

 about as unsolvable a puzzle pic- 

 ture as is often seen. Were it not for tiie 



Wc leave this to you. Is this photograph 

 upside down or not? 



grass and shadow of the lake bank in the 

 foreground it would be impossible to tell 

 which was the top and which the bottom 

 of the picture. Or, if the picture of 

 the smaller or more distant derrick to 

 the right is considered alone, r.o one can 

 tell the realit>' from the reflection. The 

 reason for this absolute perfection in re- 

 flection is that the lake is of oil. 



In the great southern California oil 

 fields, where gushers are being struck 

 which flow from ten thousand to sixty 

 thousand barrels of oil a da\', and flow 

 continually even,' minute of the day and 

 e\ery minute of the night, the only 

 possible way to sa\-e the oil is to quickly 

 throw up an emergency earthen dam 

 across some convenient ravine and turn 

 the oil flow into the reser\"oir formed. 



