The pouring and pattering of rain and the beating of hail require four different contrivances. The most novel of these is a wooden box, about twelve feet long and six inches square, inside of which are numerous slanting sheets of tin, punctured with small holes. A number of peas are rushed continuously up and down the box, rolling over the punctured tin and tumbling from one sheet to the other in a manner like that described of the iron balls in the thunder box.

Richard Dunwoody . . . did however perform one minor miracle; managing to eat a bowl of cereal on horseback while looking at the camera and still finding his mouth with the spoon without spillage.

For instance, some merchants suppress the names of “serial returners”; basically, customers who repeatedly buy products that they quickly return after using them once.

He gazed around until on the lid of a spinet he spotted a promising collection of bottles, […] a meerschaum pipe and a jar half-full of wasps and apricot jam. He found some glasses which didn't look very clean and polished them on a chintz window curtain.