New Britain Herald Newspaper, August 24, 1928, Page 23

Stomachs, ' Hearts, 4 Nerves, Feet and Minds by Foolish and Fantastic “Marathons.” THE wave of endurance contests, which recently swept the country, called forth wonder and some harsh criticisms on the part of physicians and the general public. The dance marathons were the most spectacular, causing many collapses among the partici- ants and some deaths. ut there were other con- tests — pole-sitting, egg- ng, golfing and so on. n the following article Dr. Clifton Harby Levy, noted writer on scientific subjects, considers the phenomenon in general and analyzes the varl- ous contests pictured on this page. By DR. CLIFTON HARBY LEVY. (Y do we have these freak endurance con- tests at all? Why should a man or woman want to sit up on a pole for days at a time, or eat more eggs than any other per- son, or drink more coffee, or dance longer than anyone ever did? psychologist tells us that these persons are moved by a desire for notoriety, want to see their names in the papers, and find this an easy way to get both money and, what seems to them, fame, - They are often assisted in attaining these ends by the promoters who are moved by no scientific purpose whatever, aiming merely at rt.horing whatever money can be collected 'rom 8 gullible public. And that public which pays money to see these freak performances is po less easy to understand. It is mere morbid curiosity, a * desire to see that person whose name was in the paper as about to perform some unusual feat, whether it be standing on his head for ten hours, or eating sixteen porter-house steaks in suc- cession. Science, as such, is interested chiefly in the d lhenomenon, first of the restless desire of the oyed-up, jazz-loving, general public for the bizarre spectacle, whether it demonstrates any- thing of value or not, and in the effects upon the men and women who take part in the freak contests. Many of these stunts demonstrate little more than the freakish imagination of those who project them, and p n waves. At one time we have eating contests; at another sitting-on- the-to) poles contests; at still another, dance marathons, lasting for weeks. Science i3 of course interested in ascertaining s S Marcells Meadows, Who Collapsea in the Chicago Dance Marathon, Shown Receiving a Check for $300 as Her Share of Second Prize Money. i the power of endurance of men and women. If these contests were conducted in a scientific ¢ way, they might really add some- thing to our knowledge of the power of the human system to overcome or withstand fatigue or any other strain. When Miss Bobby Mack sat on top of a pole for twenty-one consecutive days, at Los Angeles she exposed herself to many grave dangers. She was exposed to the elements, even though protected more or less by wraps. She must have exercised a very unusual power of self-control to be able to remain there for that length of time, with the limited ount of sleep that was pos- sible, and that broken by her consciousness of her' perilous Above, Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly. Who Clung to Flagpole in Newark. N. J, for Eight Days Without Food. Above, Sixty-seven-year-old alled the Human Cork, Shown After He Had Been Afloat for Fifteen Hours. Angelo Faliconi, Owen Evans, the Nineteen-year-old Washington, D. C., Bo) Who Holds the Eninru’le‘ Golfing Record With Seventeen Hours of Continuous Play. He used @ Flashlight to See the Ball After Dark. i nineteen position. When she came down at the close of this period she was presented with a loving cup and twenty-five hundred dollars whereupon she proceeded at once to escape loneliness by getting married. She may show np ill effects from her stunt, and agaid, it is quite possible that the nervous and physical strain may result in some kind of dis- order, or even a break-down, after the lapse of years. Immediate results are not always conclusive. The effects may appear only after several months, or even several years. When Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly sat upon a pole for nine days, fasting all that time, at Kansas City, he was tak- ing several risks. He not only placed a tremendous etrain upon his nervous system by the constant wakefullness necessary for remaining on his perch, but he added to the strain by abstain- ing from food. That he was weak- ened, at least temporarily, by fasting, goes without saying, and only s physical examination by an expert im- mediately after his stunt could have revealed the extent of the damage done him. Where these contests take place only a single time, the danger is not very great. Usually, however, they are re- peated at various places so as to reap the profit of the first national adver- tising, and then the danger is multi- plied. It is a repeated strain which undermines the human system, and no matter how great the resistance be, there is a limit beyond which it can. not be stretched. in the water, to demonstrate how easy it is, even if weights are tied to his body, he was taking great risks, especially for a man of his age. There was no danger of his drowning, for he knew exactly how to utilize the floating power of the human body, but the great danger was in the prolonged reduction of the temperature of his body by the water, always colder than blood-heat. No mat- ter how well preserved and vigorous Angelo was, the scale of his body-heat had long since inclined downm- ward, and the protracted expos- % ure to the chill water could not fail in effecting a decreased tem- Eerlt\ll" of his blood. The heart- eat has slowed down greatly since he was born, and each time he performed this feat, he short- ened the days of his life. Owen Evans, a youngster only years old. micht allow himself some liberties, even though playing golf over a stretch of seventeen hours, from 4:80 a. m. to 9:30 p. m., in put- ting his body to a very seve test. The presumption is that he did not stop to eat during his endurance contest, but “kept on walking” between strokes. If he really played golf all that time, he taxed heart and muscles ex- cessively, but because of his youth and light weight (be weighed only 115 pounds) he may have suffered no ill effects from this single performance. Now comes a different kind of freak exhibi- tion. Miss Kathleen Hayden consumed thirty-six raw-e| within eighty-five minutes, at a New York hotel. She seemed to accomplish this feat easily. sucking the contents of the eggshells through a straw. If anyone tries this will find that her purpose was to avoid tasting the eggs, which might have disgusted her very quickly if taken in any other w: But she exposed herself to ral dangers from the cansuminf of so many eggs in a brief Eeriod. The albumin of the white of the egg is roken up in the kidneys, but the girl’s system / must have had great difficulty in taking care of so_many ein at once. The yolks are laden with sulphur and other elements, which must be han- dled by the liver—that great chemical laboratory of the body. If Miss Hayden repeats the performance frequently many physical ailments may super- vene from the excessive labor to which liver and kidneys are put. Another woman, Miss Billie Pern, of New York, proved her prowess by drinking twenty- seven cups of coffee in succession. ghl could hardly have enjoyed the flavor after the first . three or four cups at most, and from that time Miss Billle Pern, of Now York, Winning Another Weird Marathon— “The Cotfee Drinking Crown,” Which Was Hers After She Downed 27 Cups. She Drank the Stimulating Liquid in & Very Short Time and Declared Afterward That She Feit No Il Effects. Ltas- on she was only adding to the stimulant which she poured into her system. When coffee is taken in such excess the caffeine in it acts di- rectly upon the heart. It would have been inter- esting to secure a record of the heart-beat at the close of the performance. When Miss Marcella Meadows. or any other of the men and women taking part in dance marathons keep stepping for a term ranging from 200 to 400 hours, with only fifteen min- utes’ rest each hour, science cannot estimate the extent of the strain to which the body and nerves have been subjected. It is not only the loss of sleep and lack of proper nourishment which may bring about very serious physical troubles, but also the strain upon the heart and Howpaper Feature Sarvies, 1922 Jazz—Typifying the Restless Spirit of Our Day in America, Which Dr. Clifton Harby Levy, the Author of the Accompanying Article, Believes Partly Explains the Varied Freak Endurance Contests. Pretty Miss Jewel Richman, of Los Angeles, Posed for This Photograph. T nerves is incalculable. In vain do the physicians who take the blood-préssure and heart pulsations assure e the public that no sirain is evinced. Every lay- man should know that a body strained to this degree will never be quite the same again, and that the five thousand dollars earned by the last couple remaining on the floor has been secured at the sacrifice of heaith and nerves. It will be most interesting to see what results will follow this present endurance-dance craze, and how many of these couples will suffer ill effects in after life. In a number of cases. however, scientists did not have to wait for the ill effects. they showed up while the couples were on the floor or im- mediately after they stopped dancing. A num- ber of couples collapsed on the floor while par- ticipating in San Francisco and Los Angeles en- durance contests, and in a Pennsylvania city one male dancer died & few days after the contest. Spectators often wondered why the dancers were often able to keep going until the contest ended and then suddenly collapse. The usual expression was to say that they “kept going on their nerve.,” but science has a different ex- planation. Anyone who enters an endurance contest of any kind is doubtless supported by the attention of the onlookers and the feeling that the con- testant is expected to make a good showing. This feeling is likely to become fixed as the nerves become more tired and taut until it is almost difficult to stop. This is particularly true of endurance dancers who are on their feet for so many hours at a stretch. The great sciatic nerve runs from the beel to the base of the spine, and as the dancers continue to foot it this nerve becomes affected and in turn affects the brain. At first the feeling is merely one of fatigue, then this may be followed by a feeling of false strength and exhileration. Finally a numbness {s likely to steal over the feet and legs so that Miss Kathleen Haydem Photographed in o New York Hotel in the Act of Winning the Raw-Egg-Eating Championship of the World. She Put Away Thirty-six in Eighty- five Minutes. les FI Days and 8o Hell”t‘h: W Championship—for a While. Her Name is Bobby Mack, and She Stayed Aloft » Day for Every Yoar of Her Age. The Girl Who Sat on for 21 the dancer is not conscious of exhaustion. At the same time the strange fantastic sense of lightness seems to affect the brain of the dancer. He goes on and on, and believes he can continue forever. (Ali these symptoms were re- vealed among the dancers at the New York en- durance contests, which ran for almost five hun- dred hours, with fifteen-minute rests periods at the end of every hour.) But once the dancer leaves the floor, knowing he is finished, the reaction starts. His worn-out nerves and muscles begin to avenge themselves. As for his heart action—well, its strength is likely to be permanently impaired. The reactions of the modern dancers that I have just enumerated undoubtedly explain & phase of the dancing orgies of the middle ages, which used to sweep Europe. Those dances were generally associated with religious super- stition—men and women saw visions and told others that the heavens opened to them. But they frequently died once they stopped dancing. While they were dancing they became light- headed and the easy prey of illusions, which frequently follow intense and continued fatigue. One phenomenon has presented itself during the dance contests which offers an interesting suggestion for the scientist. In many instances it was the feminine partner who preserved her nerve, and had to slap her male partner in the face to keep him moving. The women, with rare exceptions, manifested less hysteria than the men. This the physician really expects. For he knows that women have a far greater power of resistance than men, as well as a greater capacity for withstanding pain. This is somewhat in line with some experi- ments made in Germany lately, in an attempt to ascertain whether males or females, among animals, gnssesnd the greater power of resist- ance. A hundred mice were carefully selected, fifty males and fifty females of similar heredity. A small quantity of dilute ethyl alcohol, which is poisonous to mice, was injected under the skin of each mouse daily. The first to die, after only four days, was a male. The first female to suc- cumb did so after nine days. At the end of four- teen days only eight of the fifty males were alive while thirty-five of the females had sur- vived. Physicians are well aware of the fact that women pain far less than men. Women do not hesitate to go to the dentist. Men ucuall; wait, through fear of pain, until the need l absolute. Women are subjected to the inordi- nate pain of child-bearing, and seem to be en- dowed by nature with greater power of resist- ance just because of the need. Of an equal number of men and women whe pass the age of fifty many more of the women will attain the greater age. If they must have these freak contests, it would be interesting to see whether two women dancing together would not outlast two men.