Bottle Tricks—Old and New
An image should appear at this position in the text. To use the entire page scan as a placeholder, edit this page and replace "{{missing image}}" with "{{raw image|Popular Science Monthly Volume 90.djvu/22}}". Otherwise, if you are able to provide the image then please do so. For guidance, see Wikisource:Image guidelines and Help:Adding images. |
The uninitiated might sit a long time examining the bottle in the picture above to find a false bottom through which the crosses were inserted. The secret lies in the fact that the arms of the cross are adjusted after insertion
If you let an uncooked egg stand in vinegar for about twenty minutes, you can elongate it enough to get it into a small-necked bottle. Pour in cold water and the egg will return to its original shape
At left below is shown the manner of straightening out the crosses until they are as easily inserted as an ordinary stick would be. A pull on an attached string will restore them to the proper shape after they are inside
The ship in the bottle below is inserted in the same way. Hold the string in the hand and the weight of the ship will cause the adjustment