Ear-ring: A very ancient form of personal adornment worn by both sexes in Oriental nations. In Anglo-Saxon times ear-rings were worn in Britain, but from the tenth to the fifteenth century were out of fashion. In Elizabethan days they were revived, and have since continued to be used, more or less. In early Victorian days they were common, then they fell out of fashion again; but there has been a revival of them to some extent in recent years.

Edison, Thomas Alva: One of the greatest inventors of our age. His mother was Scotch, his father Dutch; his education was acquired mostly by persistent reading. He early developed a passion for chemistry, and being then a newsboy on the Grand Trunk Railroad, established his first laboratory in an empty car. He became an expert telegraph operator and finally an inventor with an experiment station at Menlo Park and a laboratory at Orange, New Jersey. His inventions are all of practical utility, and number something over 700. Among the most important are the phonograph, electric fire-alarm, megaphone, the kinescope, vitascope and incandescent electric lamp. His latest achievement is the storage battery for the propulsion of street cars and auto-vehicles.

Education: The word implies eliciting the highest ability of the individual; aiming to make the best and not the worst of him, this is the highest duty and ambition of family and State. It is entirely different from memorizing or instruction. Plato said, “Good education is that which gives to the body and the soul all the perfection of which they are capable.” The Greek had no printing and few books, but he knew his notes, sang national noble hymns in inspired chorus; men and women danced gracefully, proudly, in honor of gods and heroes. Eyes were trained by the most perfect forms and colors of art; only beauty was allowed in the presence of a pregnant woman. Every child knew the resounding majesty of Homer, the lyric praise of noble ancestors, the tragedies which told the duty of man, and the destiny and hope of mankind; he heard the philosophy which spoke of the dignity of the soul. The great study of the Roman was oratory and law; the power of swaying the minds and will and lives of others, of advancing the destiny of eternal Rome. Modern education prepares for healthful and happy life, respect of God and man; the greatest good of the greatest number. It teaches self-denial, forethought, duty, loyalty, devotion, temperance, the laws of the seen and the unseen, the possibilities of the race. It develops health, mirth, song, strength, temperance, self-reliance, filial, parental and social obligation. It teaches the practical, finds the most natural and useful sphere of life, and should prepare hand, eye, thought for a life of usefulness.

Evil-eye: A faculty attributed by the superstitious and ignorant to certain persons, the cross-eyed particularly, who inflict injury or bring ill-luck, it is believed, to those they look upon. The sign of the cross with the fingers is supposed to ward it off.

Exhilarating gas: Laughing gas.

•Taken from the 1912 Standard Illustrated Book of Facts.

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Dancing: In a general way, dancing may be defined as the expression of inward feelings by means of rhythmical movement of the body, especially of the lower limbs, usually accompanied by music. It may be said to be almost as old as humanity, prevailing among savages as well as among the most highly civilized nations. It was originally a constituent of religious rites. Among the Romans, dancing at a private entertainment was restricted to professional dancers, and this is still the custom in the East. With us it is a favorite form of entertainment, especially among young people. It is doubtless liable to abuse but not more so than other forms of social intercourse.

Drowning: Life often exists after apparent death, and no efforts toward resuscitation should be neglected. Turn the body on the face, life the stomach and gently shake water from the mouth; or roll on a barrel. Lay on the back, gently draw the tongue forward. Imitate breathing by lifting the lower ribs every few seconds, while raising and lowering the arms. Repeat this for hours. Rub hands. Apply hot water bags or bricks to stomach and feet and between thighs. If symptoms of life appear lay in a warm bed with plenty of air. Give teaspoons of brandy, and allow repose.

Drunkenness: In law drunkenness cannot be pleaded to avoid a contract. Coke held that the drunkard had invited the devil which possessed him, and was responsible for its consequences. In criminal law it is no justification for battery, trespass or defamation; if burglary is charged it may be shown that the premises were entered without intent to steal.

Ducking-Stool: The name of an old English instrument of punishment, consisting of a chair suspended by a pole over a sheet of water. It was used for “common-scolds,” the virago being tied in the chair and dipped in the water.

Dwarfs: These deformed creatures were mentioned in Libya by Herodotus and were discovered by Du Chailu (1858), and Stanley (1888). They are small, wild, shy, cunning, hunted by stronger races into the deepest forests, living almost like animals, as the wreckage of a prehistoric race in arrested development, The Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert are also stunted. The dwarf races are found in the Andaman Islands, Malacca, and the Philippines, where the United States government is trying to develop them. Abnormal dwarfs among well formed nations exhibit a defect in the development of the bones, such as is found in rickets. Giants are slow and stupid, dwarfs sensitive, suspicious, jealous, shrewd and observant. A dwarf 21 inches high, 25 years of age, was presented to Henrietta of France in a pie, and this was the height of Francis Flynn at 16; the woman, Hilamy Agyba of Sinai is 15 inches high.

•Taken from the 1912 Standard Illustrated Book of Facts.

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