The Wonder Book of Knowledge: The Marvels of Modern Industry and Invention, the Interesting Stories of Common Things, the Mysterious Processes of Nature Simply Explained
History
The Wonder Book of Knowledge: The Marvels of Modern Industry and Invention, the Interesting Stories of Common Things, the Mysterious Processes of Nature Simply Explained
Industrial arts -- History
Occasionally, however, intellectual efforts are made during sleep which
would be difficult to surpass when awake.
It is said that Condillac often brought to a conclusion in his dreams,
reasonings on which he had been employed during the day; and that
Franklin believed that he had been often instructed in his dreams
concerning the issue of events which at that time occupied his mind.
Coleridge composed from two to three hundred lines during a dream; the
beautiful fragment of “Kubla Khan,” which was all he had committed to
paper when he awoke, remaining as a specimen of that dream poem.
The best thought points to the fact that dreams depend on natural
causes. They generally take their rise and character from internal
bodily impressions or from something in the preceding state of body or
mind. They are, therefore, retrospective and resultant, instead of being
prospective or prophetic. The latter opinion has, however, prevailed in
all ages and among all nations, and hence the common practice of
divination or prophesying by dreams, that is, interpreting them as
indications of coming events.
What Makes Our Teeth Chatter?
When one is cold there is apt to be a spasm of shivering over which the
brain does not seem to have any control. The spasm causes the muscles of
the jaw to contract very quickly and as soon as they are contracted,
they let the jaw fall again of its own weight. This occurring many times
in rapid succession is what causes the teeth to chatter.
There are two kinds of spasms, “clonic” and “tonic.” In the former, the
muscles contract and relax alternately in very quick succession,
producing an appearance of agitation. In the latter, the muscles
contract in a steady and uniform manner, and remain contracted for a
comparatively long time.
The Story in a Honey-Comb[12]
When one thinks of honey one instinctively closes the eyes and a mental
picture of fruit trees laden with snowy bloom, of beautiful clover
fields, of green forests in a setting quiet and peaceful, comes before
the mind so realistic that the delicate perfume of the fragrant blossoms
is almost perceptible and the memory of the musical hum of the little
honeybee as she industriously flits from blossom to blossom, or wings
her homeward way heavily laden with the delicious nectar, rests one’s
jaded nerves. Into this picture fits closely the old bee master among
his old-fashioned skeps, with the atmosphere of mystery that has so long
been associated with the master and his bees that one is almost
reluctant to think of the production of honey as a great commercial
industry, employing great factories in the manufacture of beehives and
other equipment necessary for the modern beekeeper that he may take full
advantage of the wonderful and almost inconceivable industry of the
honeybee in storing the golden nectar of the blossoms.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account