The San Francisco call. [volume], August 05, 1906, Page 7, Image 7

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
SCIENCE BIDS
FOR
GIANT'S
BRAIN
.^ V > — <to EL£# me your brain."
S^slDu said the British Mv-
jP scum to the bipgest
man In the world and
Machnow, the giant, fled in terror.
•Til give you three thousand dol
lars for your brain," is the offer of Dr.
Carleton Simon of New York. But
Machnow has not heard of thia latest
proposition. His -wife, his physician
and his manager united in keeping the
news from him, because it would throw
the giant into an agony of terror.
The biggest nun in the world, who
5s also the biggest coward In the world
Is hiding away from the doctors be
cause he thinks they want to kill him
and examine his brain and his skele
ton. This unfortunate creature, 9 feet
2 inches in height and weighing 360
pounds, is so afraid of every stranger
that he would cry and run away and
fall down helpless from fright if the
smallest and slimmest doctor in the
world should try to talk to him.
Machnow is a coward because he is
a giant. It seems to be a well settled
law of nature that the bigger a man Is
the less energy, pluck or force there
shall be in proportion to his frame.
Giants are peculiarly lethargic and a
prey to melancholy, Just as little men
are, as a rule, full of importance, hope,
self-conSdence and "high spirits.
Machnow Is such a scared creature
that he is afraid to show his face In
the streets; afraid to go anywhere
. without his friend and patron. Dr. de
Kerschimenski; frightened as a little
.child, it his . wife is away from him.
.Everything new scares him into abject
terror. He is the most conservative
man in the world. The average man
•who meets Machnow feels an almost
irresistible temptation to Jump up and
maul him just to impress upon his
logy mind that he ought to be ashamed
of his cowardice and learn to use his
limbs for defense and not for Sight.
But nothing in the world can give
this big fellow self-confidence. He
cowers whenever he hears that a
stranger wants to talk to him. He
shuffles away and hides if the stran
ger approaches. It was necessary to
have nine men capture him and drag
him aboard the ship that brought him
to this country, and then it took nine
more to drag him ashore In New Tork.
His cowardice Is no mere press agent's
device to arouse Interest in him. Peo
ple generally don't like cowards. But
they really ought to pity this one, be
cause he is the champion coward of
the world. Dr. Carleton Simon tells in
a scientific way Just why the giant Is
so full of fear. He can't help It.
Machnow was born twenty-six years
ago, on the estate of Count de Kerschl
menski. In Kustoki, Central Rusla. He
was normal In size until he was 12
years old, and then, in obedience to an
abnormal impulse from the pituitary
Kland, a remarkable bit of the brain,
which Dr. Simon describes, he suddenly
"began to grow at a tremendous rate.
. When Machnow was only 6 years old
he. was very strong. He could carry
with ease a sack of flour weighing 100
pounds. When he was 9 years old he
could pick up a pony weighing 450
pounds and toss it over his shoulder.
But after that he soon shot up toward
his present enormous 6ize, and the more
he grew the less energy he had left.
•Today little Terry McGovern could
outwalk, outrun, outjump. or outlift the
giant. The only direction in which
Machnow shows any great ability to
day is in eating and in smoking cigar
ettes.
During every moment of his life at
present Machnow is either eating,
sleeping or smoking cigarettes. He
does not drink anything alcoholic but
he consumes many gallons of tea every
. -day.
When Machnow reached his 20th year
and his' height of nine feet two inches,
his friends persuaded him that he could
make more money showing himaelf as
a "freak than by sticking to his voca
tion of chopping wood. It took six year*
to impress this simple idea on his dull
brain, but after long argument he
finally consented to travel, on these
conditions.
That his wife should go with him to
protect him from fairies, goblins,
spirits, witches, etc. \[ .-'./-.
. That his friend and patron, the Count
•*c Kerschlmenski, who Is also a doi
tor. should go with him to keep all
other .doctors away. "•
Even under the protection of his wife
and his patron. po6r Machnow is still
a quaking hulk of terror. '.*
Over in London the officers of the
British Museum offered him 11500 for
his skeleton. Instead of appreciating
.tiie delicate compliment, be roared and
"ta'wled In an agony of fear. To this
day, if he hears any one utter the
word "skeleton" He will run away.
"Skelet! Skelet!" he cries as he tries
to hide his huge bulk.
. It pays to be a giant, but It Isn't
much fun.
Why I Waht
Machnows Drain.
DV DR. CARLETOX SIJIO-V.
WHY have I offered J3500 for.
Machnow's brain? Because I
believe there is a possibility of
discovering in it. by a post-mortem ex
amination, facts of the highest value
to the human race.. The worth of the
brain of a giant of this character can
not be estimated in dollars, for it will
be simply invaluable to science, aside
from the obliquities it will show' and
various phenomena as yet unnoted. \u25a0'\u25a0\u25a0
I am especially anxious to obtain the
brain of. Machnow because of the light
It may throw on the mystery of growth*
and on the origin of cancer. It Is upon
the latter possibility that I ascribe so
high a value to Machnow's brain. ' ',
In spite of the uncontrollable terror
which now obsesses this greatest giant
In the world, tha desire to examine his
brain fof the benefit of humanity is
perfectly reasonable. He probably will
not live . many years. Giants seldom
live to great age. A few attain middle
age, but the great majority die young.
Machnow, therefore, has a reasonable
expectation of only a short time to
live. ' \u25a0 •, '\u25a0, ••-.••;::•-\u25a0\u25a0" . - ; \u25a0.\u25a0.-.:
The state of panic' ln which he con
stantly is found; ls not ,worth' noticing
except that it ".is ;- 'a '.characteristic of
giantism. 'The giants of legendary lore
are bold.! powerful, cupping, malicious,
fierce , and 1 v courageous — veritablq
sources of terror. The hundreds of
giants who have been actually, known
and. studied by ,man -are.; physically
weak, quite. amiable and never strong
of mind. •. .'. '-.''.'' / / V;l;;'
Nature: seems to "have overnourished
the physical* bulk '"of these poor crea
tures at the' expense 'of their strength,
of their vital force. - ' > I -\u25a0-.
What is-' vital force? We do not
know. We know that the brain Is the last
part of.. the : human. organism to die. and
we believe .that- the vital force, which
keeps us alive .and" directs: all 'bur ac
tivities, has Its abode iri the brain. But
THE SAN FRANCisGO': SUNDAY -CALi:.
what the vital force itself is we can- 1
not tell. By careful observation of the'
pirtger Nails in Fv&et arid Pancy
IT is. said in Europe that American
: women of wealth and leisure are
more particular about the care of
their finger nails than any other
women' on the' face of -the globe.
Among themselves English women re
gard, it aa .a vulgarism to polish the
nail. Their: own are Invariably.: spot
less and, well cut, and since they . par
take Of the v national vigor they are
na.tura.lly smooth arid pink. . It. is but
seldom that .the finger.^ nailß of Van
English woman show signs of contin
uous poor health or high strung nerves,
v. Jn ' Scotland there is an eld supersti
tion stating that:, '•"'. |
A* man .-lied better fne>r been born,-- .
„ Than unxe his nails 6a Sunday' shorn.' ".'.-'
:.In> England the old Saxon formula
taught' to every lisping child runs as
follov/a: . \u25a0 ' ' ' . - \u25a0 ,::. ""•\u25a0" •.
Cut them on ' Monday, ' cut them for health.^ :
• Cut " tbem on Tuesday, - cut thenj for wealth, j
', Cut them -, on, Wednesday,, cut for a letter. \u25a0\u25a0
• Cut them on Tliursclaj', for : something better.
_Cut thorn on Friday, you cut: fur: a wife. ' '.
' Out fipin on Siturtlay, cut for Ions; Hfp. -
\u25a0.Cut- tbeni '\u25a0 ou Sunday, you cut them' for veylJ.'
•For "all. of. that week; you'll be,ruied by: the
devil.; • \u25a0• - - : "- i- .-.-.\u25a0;\u25a0'. ' " •_ ' '. :- - \u25a0 ;:'
Indeed; the cutting of. the finger, nails
brains of giants we hope to get some
further insight into the hidden nature
is one of .the little tasks, from which
mankind, is released only by the grave.
Men. who have, observed them with
assiduous care 'have computed; that
their average growth Is 1-82 of an inch
a week Or;a little more : than an inch
and a half a year. .This rate of growth
moreover is not: the' same for all the
fingers. 1 ! the thumb and . the little finger
being the ones whose nails grow more
slowly . than the others, and • the middle
finger being the most rapid, of all in
It 4 growth. During the j summer 'they
have been observed to grow more
quickly than'iln the winter, and sev*'
erar authorities hold that the nails of
the right hand grow quicker than those
of the left ;• In either, case they grow
with 'four 'times the rapidity of. the
nails of -the toes.'. \ '.%.
\u25a0 This growth of (he nails continues
oven during periods of severe sickness;
although the part Vof the nail .then
formed is thin and laoklrig in strongth.
It -is for this j. reason that <deep trans
verse "grooves are sometimes seen .on
the nails,, since the thin. portion formed
in sickness cannot .hold itself 'on a
level with the thicker and more health-,
ful parts. -\u0084;-. "^ . L- -
•Extreme nervousness and. grief , have
of that principle which commutes life
itself and whose derangement, or dis
tortion, as many -doctors now believe,
may be regarded as the cause of can
cer In the human body. # To discover
the cause of cancer will be a long ad
vance' toward finding the cure of can
cer* It Is easy to destroy in the light
th» enemy we cannot see in the dark.
To make clear why the brain of
Machnow can help the investigation
into the origin of cancer it will be
necessary to give some details con
cerning the origin of giantism.
There is at the base of every normal
human brain, just back of the nerves
of the eye as they cross in order to
pass out of the skull, a small round
the sarre effect on the nails as physical
disease. ' A man who has broken his
right arm will bear this evidence In
the ridges on the nails of that hand,
while they will probably be entirely,
lacking on the nails of the left hand.
The more acute the pain and illness
that have been suffered. the mere pro
nounced | naturally will be the ridges.
This condition of things exists because
with the coming on of Illness the nutri
tion of the body cedses. Indeed, the
nails; are more enduring* evidences of
disease than even; the falling out and
renewing of the hair.
Very paie nails belong usually to
people who -are v unusually subject to
illnesses. Martial men are generally
credited with having red nails. Lead
colored nails are said to indicate
melancholy people. ' •
... Other..*^common thoughts 'about the
nailsl'-inrnicj) perhaps haVe been accen
tuated., in' Itho last few years by stu
dents of palms are that people with
broad nails are likely to hav*o gentle,
timid and bashful • natures; that those
-with; narrow nails are .< ambitious and
quarrelsome; that small- nails 'indicate
littleness" of' mind,* -obstinacy and con
ceit, .and' that round' -nails belong to
substance, about as large as a pea.
called the pituitary gland.
We believe that this gland la an or
gan which separates from the blood
some substance that has an Important
use in the building up and maintenance
of the body. When the pituitary gland
is destroyed the body wastes and
icrowth ceases; when the gland is en
larged and overactlve excessive growth
occurs. The gland occurs In all ver
te^rat* animals, but In this avt!cs<»
only the Influence upon the human be
ing need be considered.
Inasmuch as wo know that the stato
of the pituitary gland controls growth, ;
It Is evident that a perfect knowf-d?«
of Its functions may throw much light
on the origin of cancer, which dosetors
now believe to be an abnormal form
uf life within ourselves, originating:.
»•: in a foreign germ or microbe taken j
Into the btood. but In scmij miadirec- '
tlon of the principle of life and growth
beglcilng within our own bodies. .
That is to say, cancer *3 bloo-3 off our
blood and -flesh of our fl>sh driven by
some impulse. a» y^t undiscovered, to
form a growth within ourselves that.
preys upon our lives. -. "
What Is growth? Briefly. It Is In-.
crease. From infancy to maturity our '
bodies grow In obedience to some in
voluntary mental Impulse which causes ,
the body to abstract from food, air and
water more tissue than It uses in its
activities. The surplus substance -
which we thus unconsciously accumu
late Is the cause of growth.
At middle age the* processes of waste
and. of repair — of catabolism and meta-
bolism — are about e^ual in force/ At
length th« tide ebbs. Little by little
the wastage exceeds tha' repair. Tha
difference increases: at last waste pre
vail*: the subject dies.
I have said that the Influence of tha
pituitary gland upon growth has been
weJl established. We knaw that In Its
normal state 'it causes a healthy
growth. Examination of tho brains of ;
many giants has shown that the pitui
tary gland was very large and had
been very active, thus accounting for
the subject's giantism.
So far &a we know, then. It fsl th*
pituitary gland that directs growth,
force, energy, the course of the .vital
principle In the Individual. When It la
abnormally active the Indlvdiual grows
abnormally large. It is not extrava
gant, then, to hope that In some other
departure of the pituitary 'gland from
the. normal we shall. find the source of
that scourge of the human race
cancer.
One can easily see how important It
Is that we should examine every giant's
brain in the search for the hiding placo
of cancer. Poor Machnow. unable even
to read or write, Is too Ignorant to un
derstand the real service he might thus
render to humanity; too timid and
melancholic to keep from believing
that all doctors are conspirators eager
to kill him in order to get possession of
his brain' and hl3 skeleton. If those
who have most influence over him can
overcome his silly fears and persuade
him' to dispose of his brain as science
requests they will confer a boon upon
the human race.
lovers of knowledge, holding liberal
sentiments. r« \u25a0
Nails growing into the flesh at the
sides are said to belong to people with
luxurious, extravagant* tastes. A white
mark on the nails Is thought by the
superstitious to bespeak .misfortune,
while those of equal authority aver It
is . caused by some disarrangement of
the stomach. ' . .
.To free them from! stains and In
crease their feeling of smoothness
there- is.no simpler means than the
use of lemon Juice and salt one* or
twice a week. Indeed, a small covered
bowl holding the Juica of a lemOn and
half a .teaspoonful of salt should find
a place \u25a0'\u25a0 on : every washstand. It be
comes a matter of no moment then to
dip the fingers In. the lemon juice after
washing and before they are qultedry.
They then should be rubbed, briskly
with a pollssolre. free, however, from
either powder or paate. To keep tho
cuticle soft and capable ". of being
pushed down so. that . the half moon
of the nails will become prominent
they need-only to be, cabbed a little
before going to bed with cold cream,
glycerine, sweet almond oil or what
ever grease is on tha toilet table.;