Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Physics, Pneumatics, Chemistry, Gas Chemistry, Natural Law, Mechanics, Heat, Accidents

    Discusses a Manchester Examiner report of a 'lady's india-rubber bustle' which had exploded during a concert owing to the expansion of the air inside the garment. Having explained the 'law of nature' describing the effect of 'caloric' on 'gaseous bodies', and detailed the chemical composition of air, remarks that 'pop went the bustle!'. Believes that 'This is one of those interesting facts that sometimes occur' because it illuminates such questions as 'elastic properties of caoutchouc', the temperature of explosion of confined air, and the 'absurdity of inflamed petticoats'.