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100 YEARS AGO Major Jameson was found lying on his face in a field quite dead. Around him, in a radius of several yards, were his clothes and boots, which had been torn and scattered about
in an extraordinary manner. The lightning appears to have struck him on the right side of the head, tearing his cap to pieces and burning his hair off. It then passed inside his collar down
the front of his body and both legs into his boots, which were torn to pieces, and then passed into the ground, making a hole about eighteen inches in circumference and three inches deep.
His collar was torn to pieces, the front of his shirt was rent into ribbons, the jacket and under-vest were literally torn to shreds, and the knickerbockers he was wearing were literally
stripped from him and scattered on the ground. His stockings and gaiters were similarly torn to pieces, and on the boots the lightning had a remarkable effect. They were burst open, some of
the brass eyelet-holes were torn out, the nails were forced out, and the soles torn off. The skin had been torn off the chest, and the right leg was torn and blackened; blood was issuing
from the mouth and right ear. It is difficult to account for these appalling effects, or to explain why the electric discharge should produce widely different results upon different
occasions. From _Nature_ 9 September 1897. 50 YEARS AGO Observations in the field have shown that mosquitoes become affected after making contact with D.D.T.-treated surfaces in rooms and
may make their escape through open doors and windows. Kennedy has shown in the laboratory that sub-lethal doses excite mosquitoes, and that when activated they move preferentially to light.
For residual spraying in houses to be successful in reducing the incidence of malaria, it is essential, therefore, that the surface deposit applied shall be lethal to mosquitoes after only a
brief contact. The type of surface most common in African houses are the mud wall and the thatch roof. Laboratory tests have been conducted to determine the efficacy of various D.D.T.
formulations on mud. From _Nature_ 13 September 1947. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE 100 and 50 years ago. _Nature_ 389, 125 (1997).
https://doi.org/10.1038/38121 Download citation * Issue Date: 11 September 1997 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/38121 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able
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