No Payne, no gain for Varsity

The 8000 spectators who watched the match at Carisbrook on Saturday between Otago University (the winners of the local flag competition) and Old Boys (the winners of Christchurch flag competition) for the Payne Trophy were unanimous that they had seen one of the fastest, most spectacular games ever played in Dunedin, and that the best team had won. The game fairly sparkled at times with bright passing movements and spectacular solo runs, and both teams must have been very tired when the final whistle sounded. The play of the visiting forwards was quite an education to local footballers and followers of the game, as they not only played solidly in the tight work but started and came into many passing rushes. They were always up with the game, and when the passing of their backs broke down they would start it off again. Naturally enough the passing of the Whites broke down on many occasions, and instead of the Blues at once getting into the play they allowed their opponents to recover and start it going again. Maybe the Blue forwards had enough to do to cope with the White vanguard, but it cannot be said they displayed the same speed as the White forwards in following up, and their collaring was also weak at times. The Blue forwards started well, and hooked the ball from most of the scrums. It looked, indeed, as if they wore going to tire the opposition out with sheer pace, but once the visitors settled down they showed the greater speed in the loose work. The gate receipts came to about £450. Final scores: Old Boys 22 points, Otago University 10 points. Mr A. Eckhold was referee, but he failed to check offside play sufficiently.

Devising cars of the future

Mr Charles F. Kettering, president of the General Motors Research Corporation, is also actively connected with many other great industries in America. "Why must a man get out into the mud to crank his car?" Kettering asked himself. And out of that question came a revolutionary system of starting, lighting and ignition for automobiles. ‘‘One thing you can be sure of, the car of the future is going to be as much better than the car of to-day as the car of to-day is better than an ox-cart. Not everybody believes that. There are lots of folk with ox-cart minds." Kettering aims high, like the boy at the moon. "First of all, you've got to form the habit of thinking about problems audaciously, even extravagantly."

Sails, clouds reflect sound waves

There is a story told of a sailor who went aloft to reef the sails of a vessel far out at sea and reported when he descended that he had heard the sound of bells faintly but clearly. They were being rung for a celebration, he was sure. The captain knew that the ship was far from land. But he had a liking for curious things so he entered the story in the ship’s log. When he reached port he found that there had been rejoicings in a coast town, where all the bells had been rung lustily and long. The explanation proved simple enough. The mainsail, blown out by the wind, made a fine collector and focus of sound. Probably the sound waves of the bells were also reflected from the clouds, which were plentiful that day.  Clouds are first-class sound reflectors, as can be told from the rolling echoes in a thunderstorm. The unequal surfaces and varying distances of the cloud forms repeat the echo doubly and trebly. At sea the thunder sound is flung by the clouds to the sea and back again, so that tremendous echoes are produced and prolonged. — ODT, 1.9.1924

Compiled by Peter Dowden