Paterson, N. J., July, 1905.

CONTENTS

Preface
THE SEVEN FOLLIES OF SCIENCE
PAGE
Introductory Note[1]
ISquaring the Circle[9]
IIThe Duplication of the Cube[30]
IIIThe Trisection of an Angle[33]
IVPerpetual Motion[36]
VThe Transmutation of Metals—Alchemy[79]
VIThe Fixation of Mercury[92]
VIIThe Universal Medicine and the Elixir of Life[95]
ADDITIONAL FOLLIES
Perpetual or Ever-burning Lamps[100]
The Alkahest or Universal Solvent[104]
Palingenesy[106]
The Powder of Sympathy[111]
A SMALL BUDGET OF PARADOXES, ILLUSIONS, AND MARVELS (WITH APOLOGIES TO PROFESSOR DE MORGAN)
The Fourth Dimension[117]
How a Space may be apparently Enlarged by merely changing its Shape[126]
Can a Man Lift Himself by the Straps of his Boots?[128]
How a Spider Lifted a Snake[130]
How the Shadow may be made to move backward on the Sun-dial[133]
How a Watch may be used as a Compass[134]
Micrography or Minute Writing. Writing so fine that the whole Bible, if written in characters of the same size, might be inscribed twenty-two times on a square inch[136]
Illusions of the Senses[149]
Taste and Smell[150]
Sense of Heat[150]
Sense of Hearing[150]
Sense of Touch—One Thing Appearing as Two[151]
How Objects may be apparently Seen through a Hole in the Hand[156]
How to See (apparently) through a Solid Brick[158]
CURIOUS ARITHMETICAL PROBLEMS
The Chess-board Problem[163]
The Nail Problem[164]
A Question of Population[165]
How to Become a Millionaire[166]
The Actual Cost and Present Value of the First Folio Shakespeare[168]
Arithmetical Puzzles[170]
Archimedes and His Fulcrum[171]

THE SEVEN FOLLIES OF SCIENCE

he difficult, the dangerous, and the impossible have always had a strange fascination for the human mind. We see this every day in the acts of boys who risk life and limb in the performance of useless but dangerous feats, and amongst children of larger growth we find loop-the-loopers, bridge-jumpers, and all sorts of venture-seekers to whom much of the attraction of these performances is undoubtedly the mere risk that is involved, although, perhaps, to some extent, notoriety and money-making may contribute their share. Many of our readers will doubtless remember the words of James Fitz-James, in "The Lady of the Lake":