SO MUCH HAS BEEN said about the wonderful powers of teaching the deaf and dumb to carry on a wordless conversation by reading or interpreting the motions of the lips, that I propose to introduce a startling puzzle, which will at first appear almost incredible.
Here is a class of a dozen boys, who, being called up to give their names were photographed by the instantaneous process just as each one was commencing to pronounce his own name.
The twelve names were Oom, Alden, Eastman, Alfred, Arthur, Luke, Fletcher, Matthew, Theodore, Richard, Shirmer and Hisswald. Now it would not seem possible to be able to give the correct name to each of the twelve boys, but if you will practice the list over to each one, you will find it not a difficult task to locate the proper name for every one of the boys. The puzzle, of course, is to guess the names of the twelve boys correctly.
Out of the thousands of persons who were interested in the scientific feature of that curious lip-reading puzzle the ease and unanimity with which they picked out little Matthew as the first boy on the top row encouraged them to tackle the next, and by a large majority Matthew, Alfred and Kastman were located on the top row, Richard, Theodore, Luke and Oom on the second row, with Hisswald, Shirmer, Fletcher, Arthur and Alden below. From the many correct answers received it would appear to be an easier feat to read the motion of the lips than one would suppose.
2.
Speak only two letters and thus name the destiny of all earthly things? D. K.
Why is the north pole like an illicit whisky manufactory? Because it is a secret still.
Why is a very discontented man easily satisfied? Because nothing satisfies him.
Why is a short negro like a white man? Because he is not a tall black.
What does a blind dog become in the water? Wet.
In what way do women ruin their husbands? In buy-ways.
Why is a lady embraced like a pocket book? Because she is clasped.
Now, if you saw a peach with a bird on it, and you wished to get the peach without disturbing the bird, what would you do? Why—wait till he flew off.
Why is an orange different from a church bell? The orange is never peeled but once.
Why is a person bathing in the river at Paris like a madman? Because he’s in Seine (insane).
3.
To give the young folks a chance to exercise their cleverness we present the accompanying illustration of the Birdcatcher, and ask them to discover his nationality concealed in the description of the picture.
THE BIRD CATCHER lived in Erin.
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