Such a great ball of fire!
QUESTION Was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle once accidentally set on fire?
Sir ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE was an avid cricketer who made ten first-class appearances for Marylebone Cricket Club, though his debut didn’t come until he was 41. He was a solid batsman and was said to bowl a tricky, slow ball.
it is believed that the name of his most famous character, Sherlock Holmes, might have come from an amalgam of two Nottinghamshire cricketers, Mordecai Sherwin and Frank Shacklock.
On August 25, 1900, he took the wicket of W. G. Grace during a match against London County at Crystal Palace. The great man skied one of the author’s slow balls and was caught.
Conan Doyle commemorated the event with a 19-verse poem in self-celebration, including: ‘Once in my heyday of cricket / One day i shall ever recall! / i captured that glorious wicket / The greatest, the grandest of all.’
When MCC played Kent at Lord’s in 1903, the two doctors were team-mates. in the second innings of the match, Bill Bradley sent down a lightning quick delivery. The ball hit Conan Doyle on his thigh — and set him on fire!
Conan Doyle told the story in Memories And Adventures: ‘The ball had landed straight on a small tin vesta box in my trousers pocket, had splintered the box, and set the matches ablaze. it did not take me long to turn out my pocket and scatter the burning vestas over the grass.
‘W. G. was greatly amused. “Couldn’t get you out — had to set you on fire!” he cried.’ The only shame was that the ball wasn’t bowled by the Kent all-rounder Cuthbert Burnup.
Conan Doyle played for MCC till 1907. He finished with 231 runs at 19.25 and a solitary, but memorable, wicket.
Jim Braid, Crawley, W. Sussex.
QUESTION The Nazis used a yellow Star of David to identify Jews. What badges did they use for other groups?
MY LATE father, Leon, and his brother, Alexander, were russian Jews living in Hamburg before World War ii. in the November of 1938, they were arrested on
Reichskristallnacht (Crystal Night) and sent to a concentration camp.
Fortunately, Alexander had very good contacts in the UK through the company he worked for.
He arranged for both of them to come here as refugees before the outbreak of war. My father joined the British Army and became a sergeant in the intelligence Corps.
They told me of life in the camp. The Nazis, in their usual efficient way, had a system of triangular badges for just about every type of prisoner. it’s a long list: 1) German political prisoner: inverted triangle, red. 2) French political prisoner: inverted triangle, red with an F on it. 3) Spanish political prisoner: inverted triangle, red with an S on it. 4) Jewish political prisoner: Star of David. Yellow triangle with inverted red triangle on top. 5) Jehovah’s Witness: inverted triangle, mauve. 6) Emigre: inverted triangle, blue. 7) Special political prisoner (arrested for political unreliability): inverted red triangle with number across it. 8) Jewish emigre: Star of David. Yellow triangle, mauve inverted triangle on top. 9) Short-time convict: inverted triangle, green. 10) Long-term convict: inverted triangle, green with an S on it. 11) Jewish convict: Star of David. Yellow triangle, green inverted triangle on top. 12) ‘Asocial’ prisoner: Black inverted triangle. 13) Jewish ‘asocial’ prisoner: Star of David. Yellow triangle with inverted black triangle on top. 14) Labour disciplinary prisoner — described as a ‘loafer: Black inverted triangle with an A on it. 15) Jewish ‘race Defiler’ (probably a Jew who married a non-Jew): Star of David. White inverted triangle with yellow triangle on top. 16) Gypsy: Brown inverted triangle. 17) Political prisoner assigned to the penal company: inverted red triangle, black spot and number underneath. 18) Homosexual: pink inverted triangles.
The yellow Star of David was the only one used outside concentration camps. All other groups were only required to wear their symbols once they had been sent for detention or ‘re-education’.
Richard Sirot, Deal, Kent.
QUESTION Is gaffer tape carried aboard the International Space Station for any running repairs?
Further to the earlier answer, a lifesaving use of duct tape came during the rescue mission on Apollo 13 after an explosion on the way to the Moon.
Carbon dioxide was building up in the command module and the lithium canisters used to absorb it were inadequate. So it was decided to use the ones from the now-redundant lunar descent module.
However, the two sorts of canisters were not compatible, so they were joined by a collar, which used the tape very extensively.