Scuppers

In Los Angeles, Calif., Capt. John Olson of the S. S. Quinalt eyed himself in his mirror, removed his $500 diamond stickpin, detached his necktie, laid them on the shelf over the basin, shaved. Soon he gave a shout, raced from his cabin dived overboard, swam to the Quinalt's scuppers, trod water, cupped his hands beneath the pouring stream of wastage. His anxious frown became a glad grin when the $500 diamond stickpin tumbled out and he caught it.

Pinochle

In Manhattan, playing pinochle, one Frank Frankenthal, night watchman, picked up his cards for a hand; saw five aces, smiled; six aces, scowled; seven aces, gasped; eight aces, leaped from his chair, whooped, gasped, fell unconscious, died.

Poll

In Dortmund, Germany, Friedrich Sheller coldly eyed his 14-year-old Gertrude's new hair bob, led her to a barber, seized clippers, adjusted them to half a millimetre, grunted, "Let's do it thoroughly," sheared her poll.

Crackers

In Chicago, biscuit and cracker men held a convention. "There's an appropriate cracker for every time of day," they said, ". . . for every type of person from the baby to the dyspeptic." They showed one another 157 varieties of crunchable goodies, including a specially designed, round creation of which the crumbs were guaranteed soft enough to make the cracker safe to eat in bed.

Insane

In Detroit, Mich., citizens were indignant when the Automobile Club revealed, following investigation of a man arrested for driving at 45 m.p.h., that 17 of the 52 inmates of a local insane asylum had automobile driving licenses and used them during suspension periods. The 45-m.p.h.-man believed that at that speed his motor ran at no cost, being actuated by the power of a foreign spirit.

Persian

In San Mateo, Calif., wishing to attract attention at a friend's Persian ball, one George Pope Jr., poloist, dressed up as a Persian chief, mounted a white horse, rode to the friend's front door, asked for the butler, spurred up the steps past gaping guards, clattered through the reception hall into the ballroom. The band blared. Women squealed. The white horse slithered. Mr, Pope fell off.