217. Suppose it were possible for a man in Sydney to start on Sunday noon, January 1st, and travel westward with the sun, so that it might be in his meridian all the time, he would arrive at Sydney next day at noon, Monday, Jan. 2nd. Now, it was Sunday noon when he started, it was noon with him all the way round, and is Monday noon when he returns. The question is, at what point did it change from Sunday to Monday? 218. Start with 1 and keep on doubling for eight times, thus giving nine numbers, and arrange them in a square that when multiplied together, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, the product of each row will be the cube of the number which must go in the centre of the square. The happiest year in a man’s life is 40; for then he can XL. Bound to Win! 219. A certain gentleman, who was employed in one of our city offices, purchased THE DOCTRINE OF CHANCE, which he studied in his spare time, with the result that he sent in his resignation to the head of the firm in order to try his luck on the racecourse. At the first meeting he attended, there were only three horses in a race. His brother bookmakers were crying out the odds-- “Two to 1 bar one.” The odds on this latter horse which was “barred” he discovered to be 6 to 4 _on_. He determined to give far more liberal odds, and called out-- “Even money, 2 to 1, and 3 to 1.” How could he give such odds, and yet win £1, _no matter which horse wins the race_? [Illustration] AN INCH OF RAIN. How many people really consider what is contained in the expression? Calculated, it amounts to this:--An acre is equal to 6,272,640 square inches; an inch deep of water on this area will be as many cubic inches of water, which, at 277·274 inches to the gallon, is 22622·5 gallons. The quantity weighs 226,225 lbs. Thus, an “inch of rain” is over 100 tons of water to the acre. Extract from a small boy’s first essay:--“Man has two hans. One is the rite han an one is the left han. The rite han is fur ritin, and the left han is fur leftin. Both hans at once is fur stummik ake.” 220. Find the side of a square whose area is equal to twice the sum of its sides? “THE EVIDENCE YOU NOW GIVE, &c., &c.” 221. Smith, Brown, and Jones were witnesses in a law case. The first-named gentleman swore that a certain thing occurred; Brown, on being called, confirmed Smith’s statement, but Jones denied it. They are known to tell the truth as follows:-- Smith, once in 3 times Brown, " " 5 " Jones, " " 10 " What is the probability that the statement is true? When a man attains the age of 90 years, he may be termed XC-dingly old. Examination Gems. A school examination room might not to a casual observer seem to be a very likely place to find entertainment. However, the answers often given by pupils are sometimes excruciatingly funny, as is proved by the following:-- DEFINITIONS. Function.--“When a fellow feels in a funk.” Quotation.--“The answer to a division sum.”