PARADOX IV. Curious Paradoxes. There is a certain place of the earth, where a fire being made, neither flame nor smoke would ascend, but move circularly about the fire; moreover, if in that place one fhould fix a finooth or plain table, without any ledges whatfoever, and pour thereon a large quantity of water, not one drop thereof would run over the faid table, but would raise itself up in an heap. ANSWER. This place muft alfo be the center of the earth, for the reafons mentioned in the last. PARADOX v. There is a certain place on the globe, of a confiderable southern latitude, that hath both the greatest and leaft degree of longitude. ANSWER. This may either mean the South Poles, which bath not only the leaft but greateft, and all intermediate de-. grees of longitude, all which meet in the poles. Or all places that lie under the first meridian, have both the least and greatest degree of longitude, as at noon is the greatest and leaft number of hours; because then and there we begin and end our reckoning. Thus Trinidada is in latitude fouth 20 degrees, and under the first meridian, with them who reckon from St. Michael's, or Tristam da Cunba, is in thirty-fix degrees fifty-four minutes fouth latitude, and the fame longitude with Teneriff; all which, according to the old way of reckoning longitude, are not only in the beginning of the first degree, but also in the end of the three hundred and fixtieth degree of longi. tude. PARADOX VI. 483 There are three remarkable places on the globe that differ both in longitude and latitude, and yet all lye under one and the fame meridian. ANSWER. By the globe, may be meant the artificial globe, and by the Meridian may be meant the Brazen Meridian, belonging to it, which may be five degrees thick; then fuppofe three places, A, B, C, A to be Dublin, in latitude fiftythree degrees and an half, and longitude twenty degrees; B, to be Lisbon, in latitude thirty-eight degrees and an half, longitude eighteen degrees; C, to be the Ifle of Paxaros, in latitude eight degrees, and longitude two hundred degrees, all which, though they differ both in longitude and latitude, yet may they all lie under one and the fame Brazen Meridian. Or without equivocation, fuppofe one place under the pole, a fecond on this fide, and a third on the other under the fame meridian circle, fo may they all differ both in longitude and latitude; for the pole contains all degrees of longitude. PARADOX VII. There are three remarkable places on the continent of Europe, that lie under three different meridians, and yet all agree both in longitude and latitude. ANSWER. Divers geographers begin their first meridian at divers places; thus Ptolo my at Cape Verde (formerly one of the fortunate iflands) Mercator at St. Michael's in the Azores; Bleau at Teneriff, one of the Canary illes, &c. Now if EXAMPLE II. No. in right hand, No. in left hand. 18 2 36 36 21 Another Method of difcovering a Number thought on. AFTER the perfon has fixed on a number, bid him double it, and add 4 to that fum; then let him multiply the whole by 5, and to that product add 12; defire him alfo to multiply this fum by 10, and after having deducted 320 from the product, to tell 57 fum of the pro- you the remainder, from which, if you cut off the two laft figures, the 4 num Curious Recreations. any rum THE perfon having chofen ber in his mind, from 1 to 15, bid him add 1 to it, and triple the amount Then 1. If it be an even number, let him take the half of it, and triple that half; but if it be an odd number, he must add to it, and then halve it, and triple that half. 2. In like manner let him take the half of this number, if it be even, or the half of the next greater, if it be odd, and triple that half. 3. Again, bid him take the half of this laft number, if even, or of the next greater, if odd; and the half of that half in the fame way; and by observing at what steps he is obliged to add 1 in the halving, the following table will fhew the number thought on: 485 at the first step, or halving, either 4 or 8, was the number thought on; if there was a neceffity to add 1 both at the first and second steps, either 2 or 10 were the numbers thought on, &c. And which of the two numbers is the true one, may always be known from the last ftep of the operation; for if I must be added before the last half can be taken, the number is in the fecond column, or otherwife in the first, as will appear from the following examples. Suppofe the number chofen to be To which if we add The fum is 9 Then the triple of that number is 30 1. The half of which is The triple of 15 is *2. And the half of that is The triple of 23 is *3. The half of that is And the half of that is 15 45 23 69 35 *2. And the half of that is 8 *3. The half of that is 26 6 14 1 15 Thus, if he is obliged to add 1 9 7 only And the half of that is 13 486 The Blind Abbefs and her Nuns. ble, the number thought on is either 6 or 14. And as the last number required no augmentation before its half could be taken, it, follows alfo, by the above. rule, that the number must be in the dent, that in this cafe alfo, there will ftill be nine in a row, as before. V. first column; and confequently it is 6. Any Number being named to add a figure to IV. A curious Recreation, ufually called the it which fhall make it divisible by 9. ADD the figures together in your mind, which compofe the number named; and the figure which must be added to this fum, in order to make it divifible by 9, is the one required. Suppofe, for example, the number of its figures is 23; and that 4 being named was 8654; you find that the fum added to this fum, will make it 27; which is a number exactly divisible by A BLIND abbefs vifiting her nuns, who were 24 in number, and equally diftributed in 8 cells, built at the four corners of a fquare, and in the middle of each-fide, finds an equal number in 9. every row, containing three cells. At a fecond vifit, fhe finds the fame number of perfons in each row as before, though the company was increased by the acceffion of four men. And coming a third time, the ftill finds the fame number of perfons in cach row, though the four men were then gone, and had each of them carried away a nun with them. You therefore defire the perfon who named the number 8654, to add to it, and the refult, which is 658, will be divifible by 9, as was required. by your specifying, before the fum is This recreation may be diverfified, named, the particular place where the number divisible by 9; for it is exfigure fhall be inferted, to make the actly the fame thing, whether the figure be put at the end of the number, or between any two of its digits. Let the nuns be first placed as in fig. 1. 3 in each cell; then when the four men have got into the cells, there must be a man placed in each corner, and two nuns removed from thence to each of the middle cells, as in fig. 23 in which cafe there will evidently be ftill nine in each row; and when the four men are gone, with the four nuns with them, each corner cell must contain four nuns, and every other cell 1, as in fig. 3. it being evi VI. A perfon having made Choice of feveral Numbers, to tell him what Number will exactly divide the Sum of those which he has chofen. PROVIDE a small bag, divided into two parts; into one of which put feveral tickets, numbered 6, 9, 15, 36, 63, 120, 213, 309, &c, and in the other part put as many different tickets marked with the number 3 only. Draw a handful of tickets from the firft part, and, after fhewing them to the company, put them into the bag again; and having opened it a fecond time, defire any one to take out as many tickets as he thinks proper. When he has done this, open privately WHICH HAD BEEN FOUND ENTIRELY CONVERTED INTO HAIR, À CONSIDERABLE TIME AFTER IT WAS BURIED. ABOUT forty-three years ago, a woman was interred at Nuremberg, in a wooden coffin, painted black, actording to the cuftom of the country. The earth wherein her body was depofited was dry and yellow, as it is for the molt part in the environs of that city. Of three bodies buried in the fame grave, this woman's was laid deepest in the ground; and there being an occafion to make room for a fourth body, the grave was dug up anew; but, to the great furprize of the digger, when he had removed the two uppermoft coffins, he perceived a confiderable quantity of hair that had made its way out through the flits and trevices of the coffin. The lid being taken off, there appeared a perfe& refemblance of a human figure, the eyes, hofe, mouth, cars, and all other parts, being very diftinct; but from the crown of the head to the foles of the feet, it was covered with very long, thick, and frizzled hair. The grave digger, after examining it for fome time, happened to touch the upper part of the head, but was more furprized than before, on seeing the intire body fhrink, and nothing at laft remain in his hand but a bundle of rough hair, which infenfibly affumed a brownish red colour. The learned Honoratus Fabri, Lib, 3, de Plantis, and feveral other authors, VOL. 1. are of opinion, that hair, wool, fea thers, nails, horns, teeth, &c. are no thing but vegetables. If it be fo, we need not be furprized to fee them grow on the bodies of animals, even after their death, as has been frequently ob ferved. Petrus Borellus, Hift. and Obf. Med. Cent. I. Obf. 10, pretends, that these productions may be tranf. planted as vegetables, and may grow in a different place from that where they firit germinated. He alfo relates, in fome of his obfervations on that fub ject, among others, that of a tooth drawn out, and tranfplanted, which may appear pretty fingular. Though the external furface cf bodies is the ufual place for the growth of hair, it has, notwithstanding, been fometimes found on the tongue, in the interior of the heart, and on its surface, in the breafts, and kidnies: and in other glandular and muflar parts: but there is no internal part where it is oftener found than in the ovarium of females. This has been obferved in three different fubjects by Dr. Tyfon, as we find it related in the Philofophical Collections of Mr. Hook, who alfo tells us, on the teftimony of Mr. Arnold, that a man hanged at Tyburn, for a theft was found, in a very fhort time after he was taken atvay from the gallows, covered over in a very extraordinary manner with hair: 3 C LIVES |