Popular Science Monthly 



231 



This merry-go-round furnishes great en- 

 joyment for bathers who must have water 

 sports of a more or less reckless variety 

 It is operated by an electric motor, and 

 splashes the bathers in the water as it 

 whirls them about 



A Merry-Go-Round in the Water. 



FOR the entertainment of its 

 patrons, who enjoy water sports 

 of a more or less reckless variety, a 

 recreation park on Lake Erie near 

 Cleveland, Ohio, installed last summer a 

 revolving mechanism for bathers which, 

 in the form of pleasure it offers closely 

 resembles the familiar merry-go-round, 

 or carousal, of the state fair. 



An iron framework similar in de- 

 sign to an oil well derrick supports 

 revolving arms to the outer ends of 

 which cables are attached- The bath- 

 ers swing and splash in the water as 

 the arms revolve. An electric motor 

 on a platform a few feet above water 

 level is connected by gears to an up- 

 right rod through which power to re- 

 volve the arms is applied. 



Motion Pictures on the Firing Line 



A LETTER from the War Front in 

 Europe gives an interesting descrip- 

 tion for a motion picture theater near the 

 firing line in Flanders. This theater is 

 operated by several British army officers 

 to provide relaxation and amusement 



for the troops when off active duty. 



There are usually two performances 

 each evening, with a four reel program. 

 The soldiers pay twelve cents admission, 

 while the officers are charged a double 

 amount. The expenses are very low, 

 since most of the work is voluntary, and 

 all profits are devoted to charity. The 

 operator and pianist were both formerly 

 employed in the same capacity at mo- 

 tion picture theaters in London. The 

 power for the lights and the machine is 

 obtained by fastening a dynamo to an 

 automobile. 



At first all the films were obtained 

 from Paris, but the cost was so high 

 that the theater was being operated at 

 a loss. The lieutenant in charge of the 

 theater then went to London to attempt 

 to rent the films at a more reasonable 

 price. When he had explained his de- 

 sires to the officials of a prominent 

 motion picture concern he was offered 

 sixteen thousand feet of film monthly 

 until their supply was exhausted. 



It is said that it is by no means un- 

 usual to hear the reports of shells while 

 the performance is progressing, as the 

 firing line is but a short distance away. 



