296. Which is the “City of Magnificent Distances”?
This popular designation is given to the city of Washington, the capital of the United States, which is laid out on a very large scale, being intended to cover a space four miles and a half long and two miles and a half broad, or eleven square miles. The entire site is traversed by two sets of streets from seventy to one hundred feet wide, at right angles to one another, the whole again intersected obliquely by fifteen avenues from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and sixty feet wide.
297. Which is the heaviest metal?
Platinum was long considered the heaviest metal, but it is now an established fact that both osmium and iridium are heavier than platinum. The most recent authorities differ as to which of the two is the heavier, but there is only a very slight difference. Both metals are used for pointing gold pens. Osmium does not fuse at 2870 degrees Fahrenheit, the greatest heat yet produced, and is as yet infusible. In some of its combinations it is said to be the most poisonous substance known.
298. Which is the lightest metal?
Lithium. Its specific gravity is only 0.5936, but little more than half that of water. It is a soft, ductile, white metal, susceptible of being welded and drawn into wire, but has less tenacity than lead. It burns brilliantly, and floats upon water and naphtha. It was supposed to be a very rare substance, but Bunsen and Kirchhoff have shown by spectrum analysis that, though sparingly, it is widely distributed.
299. What was the origin of “Old Scratch”?
It has been suggested that the origin of this term must be sought for in the Scrat, Schrat, Schretel, or Schretlein, a house or wood demon of the ancient North.
300. Which is the “Prairie State”?
Illinois is so called in allusion to the wide-spread and beautiful prairies, which form a striking feature of the scenery of the State.