DISCOVERY 



A MONTHLY POPULAR 

 JOURNAL OF KNOWLEDGE 



Vol. Ill, No. 27. MARCH 1922. 



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DISCOVERY. A Monthly Popular Journal of Know- 

 ledge. 



Edited by Edward Liveing, B.A., Rothersthorpe. 

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Editorial Notes 



The news of the sudden death of Sir Ernest Shackleton 

 came as a grievous blow not only to those interested 

 in polar exploration, but to the whole nation. Appar- 

 ently, from the report of Captain Hussey, meteorologist 

 to the expedition of the Quest, the little vessel during 

 its voyage from Rio de Janeiro to South Georgia came 

 very near to perishing on account of engine trouble 

 in a storm that lasted for several days and was in the 

 late explorer's own estimate " the worst storm he had 

 ever known." Several other serious misfortunes over- 

 took the small crew of the Quest, not least of which was 

 a shortage of water, and the intense anxiety caused by 

 these, together with the fact that Shackleton had spent 

 two sleepless nights and days on the bridge, though he 

 had only recently recovered from an attack of influenza, 

 must have had their effect in depri\dng the expedition 

 of its leader on January 5. 



***** 

 Shackleton was one of those rare spirits who have 

 followed in the wake of Raleigh, Drake, and Frobisher. 

 He was an ideal leader of men, for in addition to the 

 durable courage and imagination of an explorer, he 

 possessed a sympathy which urged him never to give a 

 subordinate a job which he would not do himself, and at 

 the same time showed him instinctively the occasions 

 on which stern discipline was needed. His mantle 



could not fall to a worthier successor than Commander 

 Wild, a fearless, unselfish sailor, with a wide knowledge 

 of Arctic and Antarctic waters. Such a knowledge 

 is particularly demanded in the work on which the 

 Quest is bound. The detection of islands in the 

 Southern Ocean has baffled some of the most able 

 mariners. It is not surprising that many islands have 

 been " found " and " lost " again when one takes into 

 account the poor \'isibility, the high seas and storms 

 prevalent, and the presence of icebergs apt to be con- 

 fused with " real " land. The possibilities of new or 

 "lost" lands being discovered in this ocean will be 

 discussed by Dr. R. N. Rudmose Brown, who has had 

 personal experiences of the difficulties involved, in the 

 next number of Discovery. 



***** 

 In a recent number of our contemporary^ Nature, 

 a curious physiological phenomenon, to which attention 

 was lately directed at a meeting of biologists at Strass- 

 burg, is described by Mr. F. C. Dannatt and discussed 

 by Professor Graham Brown. It is illustrated by the 

 following experiment, which may serve as an interesting 

 " parlour trick " : 



With arms hanging relaxed, stand about eighteen 

 inches to two feet from any solid structure, such as a 

 wall, and face the direction parallel to the wall. Stiffen 

 the arm next the wall and move it away from the body 

 until the back of the hand comes in contact with the 

 wall ; stand firm and press the wall as hard as possible 

 with the back of the hand for about fifteen seconds. 

 Now relax the arm, step away from the wall, and this 

 is what win happen : 



To the observer's astonishment, his arm will slowly 

 rise, without his making any voluntary effort, until it 

 reaches an approximately horizontal position ; it wiU 

 remain there for a few seconds and then fall back. 

 WTiilst the phenomenon is taking place, the observer 

 has the sensation that his arm is raised by an exterior 

 force which is quite independent of volition. 



We should add that, in order to obtain the fuU effect, 

 one should, whilst pressing the wall, press inwards 

 and upwards with such %'igour that one can " feel " 

 the muscles of the upper arm. A similar result may 

 be obtained from pressing the back of the hand with 



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