Popular Science Monthly 



Vol. 92 

 No. 1 



225 West Thirty-ninth Street, New York City 



January, 1918 



^1.50 



Annually 



The Human Torch 



Enveloped in flames, a bold man dives from a fifty -foot tower 

 into a lake of gasoline, transforming it into a seething furnace 



IT is night time. On the top of a tower, 

 fifty feet high, stands a queer looking 

 figure, dressed in three suits. The 

 outside one is of cloth, the one under it, is 

 of rubber, and the one next to the skin is 

 of asbestos. On his head are three rubber 

 caps, over which is an asbestos cap that 

 comes down to his shoulders and leaves 

 two holes through which he can see. His 

 gloves, his wristlets, his shoes — all are of 

 asbestos. Directly below him is a square 

 area of water, fenced in with logs or 

 boards. The surface of this boxed-off 

 section is covered with gasoline. 



Suddenly an assistant steps up to the 

 figure and lifts a bottle, from which he 

 pours gasoline over the man's body. 

 Around the lake stand two thousand 



fci 



How the diver escaped without being burned 

 to death is shown above. At right, above, is 

 Jake Cox, the daredevil, dressed for the feat 



people, fascinated by the actions of the 

 two. In a moment, the assistant steps 

 back from the oil-covered figure and 

 shouts a signal to somebody below. Im- 

 mediately all lights are extinguished, 

 leaving the figure in darkness. Then the 

 stillness is broken by the report of a 

 revolver shot. The assistant has fired at 

 the diver, the sparks from the revolver 

 transforming him into a livid cone of 

 flame. With a shout, he leaps from the 

 platform and in a beautiful parabolic dive, 

 plunges into the lake below. As he flies 

 through the air, his body takes on the 

 appearance of a torch, long tongues of 

 flame traihng out behind him. Striking 

 the film of gasoline, he is enveloped in a 

 veritable inferno of fire, which erupts as 

 soon as his fingertips touch it. 

 But his work is only half 

 done. If he comes up in the 

 lake of fire he will be burned 

 alive. How does he escape? 

 He swims under water some 

 thirty or forty feet until he 

 has passed the burning gaso- 

 line, when he rises to the sur- 

 face, safely out of danger's 

 reach. This is no easy thing 

 to do, for his shoes and the 

 three heavy suits greatly 

 hinder his movements. Fur- 

 thermore, he dare not open 

 his mouth or breathe through 

 his nose while he is taking his 

 spectacular dive, lest the 

 flames suffocate him. 



It requires reckless cour- 

 age to be a "thriller de luxe." 

 If the slightest accident or 

 miscalculation occurred, the 

 "Human Torch" would be 

 extinguished for the last time. 



