LETTER X.. Mechanical Inventions of the Ancients Few in Number--Ancient

Mechanical inventions of the ancients few in number--Ancient and modern feats of strength--Feats of Eckeberg particularly described--General explanation of them--Real feats of strength performed by Thomas Topham--Remarkable power of lifting heavy persons when the lungs are inflated--Belzoni’s feat of sustaining pyramids of men--Deception of walking along the ceiling in an inverted position--Pneumatic apparatus in the foot of the house-fly for enabling it to walk in opposition to gravity--Description of the analogous apparatus employed by the gecko lizard for the same purpose--Apparatus used by the Echineis remora, or sucking-fish 244