68 



Popular Science Monthly 



With Adjustable Stilts a Boy Can Grow 

 Up in a Minute 



NO one remembers who invented the 

 first pair M stilts. Fathers, grand- 

 fathers and as many "great-greats" as a 

 youngster might ask, would all admit that 

 it was before their tirne. Yet the charm of 

 the stilts is as insistent as eyer, especially in 

 the spring-time. Perhaps it is the desire for 

 quick growth which even the plant-life 

 is feeling, which makes them so popu- 

 lar. But often the ability to walk on. ^ 

 very high stilts must be gradually 

 acquired. 



This pair illustrated is adjustable, 

 so that the boy or girl may learn to use 

 them at just a slight distance from the 

 ground, and then increase the height 

 at pleasure. The supports 

 for the feet are firmly fixed 

 in the sockets made for 

 them, so that there is no 

 danger of accidents from 

 their loosening. The 

 sockets make half a dozen 

 different adjustments pos- 

 sible, and if a boy's am- 

 bition soars still higher, 

 other holes may be easily 

 made. 



nication is sent for a supply of moisture. 

 The eyelid then comes down with a tear 

 inside it to wash clean the front of the 

 eye. This is the most gentle and perfect 

 washing in the world. 



Every Time We Wink We Give 

 the Eye a Bath 



EVERY few seconds we wink both our 

 eyelids at once, although not pur- 

 posely. If we stop winking, our eyes become 

 uncomfortable and gradually cease to work 

 as they should. When the eye 

 is open the front of it is exposed 

 to dirt and dust and is apt to 

 become so dry that a pain- 

 ful stinging sensation re- 

 sults or would do so if 

 constant moisture were not 

 provided to cleanse and 

 soothe the tissues. 



As a matter of fact 

 each time we wink we 

 wash the eye. Up above 

 each eye is a tiny water 

 bag called the tear 

 gland, and all the time 

 we are awake it makes 

 tears. When the front 

 of the eye feels itself 

 becoming a little too 

 dry or dusty a commu- 



UPHOlSTtRtD^ 

 LAYtR 



A Wrestling Dummy Which Welcomes 

 Rough Handling 



WILLIAM P.ARMSTRONG 

 of Washington, D. C, has 

 invented a wrestling dummy 

 which will find favor with wrest- 

 ling teams. At the present time 

 there is no gymnasium apparatus 

 available with which wrestlers 

 can practice. With the dummy 

 illustrated they can go through 

 many of the movements they 

 would assume in tackling and 

 throwing a living opponent. 

 The figure is shaped so 

 that no protruding points 

 will injure the one prac- 

 ticing with it. The 

 head portion of the 

 figure is nearly round, 

 the arms are stubbed, 

 and the base, although 

 heavy, is padded and 

 upholstered. The en- 

 tire body CQnsists of 

 ^ , . ,. a canvas suit fitted 

 ov^r raw cotton, excelsior, hair or any other 

 yielding material. The device is supported 

 oh an upright board embedded securely in 

 the base of heavy wood. 



In order to throw the figure to the 

 floor the wrestler must se- 

 cure a hold on it and exert 

 considerable force before 

 it will yield. The 

 dummy is light 

 enough to be 

 used at home. 



The foot supports are fastened securely 

 in sockets and strapped to the poles 



The figure is padded and covered with canvas so that it 

 can be pounded vigorously without any harm being done 



