Did you ever rub a cat in a dark room in the winter and see the sparks fly? Well this is one way to make electricity without apparatus though you need a cat125 to do it with.

122 Sets of lantern slides can be rented of the Charles Beseler Co., 131 East 23rd Street, New York City.

123 Many experiments with static electricity will be found in The Book of Electricity by the present author and published by D. Appleton and Co.

124 Complete instructions for making an induction coil will also be found in The Book of Electricity.

125 a. cat is not apparatus but only a kitten growed up.

The Electrified Papers

But you can make a lot of electricity by simply rubbing a newspaper if you know how to rub it and it is perfectly dry.126

Tear off a strip of newspaper, lay it flat on a table and rub it with your finger nails as shown at A in Fig. 122. When you try to take the paper from the table you will find that it sticks to it quite tenaciously. This is because you have positively electrified the paper when you rubbed it and the surface of the table under it is negatively electrified by induction.127 Now since positive and negative electricity attract each other, the paper and the table are pulled together.

A-Electrifying A Strip Of Newspaper

B-Electric Attraction

Fig. 122. The Electrified Paper

126 Winter is the best time to do experiments in static electricity.

127 The theory of induction is simply explained in The Book of Electricity by the present author.

How to Electrify a Person

128 This is an experiment that will make your gathering giggle just as school girls giggle when they have their tintypes taken - that is without any real reason except that the idea strikes their mental funny bones.

128 Since the paper is positively electrified the person must be negatively electrified.

To perform this experiment electrify a strip of newspaper as above and then hold it close to some one's face; instantly there will be a mutual attraction between them and the paper will be drawn to and stick to his or her cheek. Put an electrified paper on the cheek of each person present as shown at B and tell them they belong to the same club. This will get a laugh but it will not lessen their interest in the experiment in the least.