Miscellany, Nov. 2, 1942

Presence of Mind. In Maplewood, NJ., Patrolman Richard Schneider was suspended for neglect of duty. His landlady had waked him up, told him a prowler was outside. Patrolman Schneider had immediately phoned for the police.

The Nature of Americans. In Atlanta, a woman returning home from the post office discovered she had left her piggy bank behind, went back for it, found it on the counter, heavy with donations.

Quiet Meal. In Mitchell, Ind., a man entered the home of Mrs. Wayne Chastain, tied her to a chair, gagged her, opened the refrigerator, fed a while, departed.

The Crust Continues Cracking. In

Oak Park, Ill., high-school boys took to bleaching odd patterns in their hair without quite knowing why.

For 1943: Dodson? In Athol, Mass., 67-year-old Fannie Abernathy Dodson, who had divorced Tennyson B. Dodson to marry Henry O. Willard, then divorced Willard to remarry Dodson, changed her mind again, remarried Willard.

Old, Sweet Sure-Fire. At the University of California, Assistant Music Professor Frances A. Wright examined 2,000 Latin American folk songs, discovered that every one of them sang of 1) el amor, 2) la luna.

Water Daughters. In Framingham, Mass., Grace Pond and Annette Rivers joined the WAVES, went off to train at Stillwater, Okla.

Man’s Literal Friend. In Birmingham, a passerby investigated a rustle in a curbstone wastebasket marked PLACE LITTER HERE, uncovered a dog and her litter of four.

Privacy in Vermont. In East Pittsford, Vt., James Gimonds, separated from his sister since 1902, found she had been living in adjoining Pittsford for 15 years, was the wife of a friend.

$99,999.98 Comment. In Manhattan, a jury awarded two gamblers who brought a $100,000 suit for false imprisonment damages of a penny apiece.

Folklore. In Kansas City, Dr. Richard H. Freyberg, researcher in arthritis, declared that aches in the joints were no good as weather forecasters. In Midland Park, N.J., Henry John Mulder, who had always gone to bed at 6 p.m., risen at 5:30 a.m., reached the age of 100, healthy and in his right mind, but still not wealthy.

Dog-of-the-World. In Syracuse, a police dog got separated from his master in traffic, promptly made his way to the office of the S.P.C.A. to await developments.