Science: Figure-Killer

When Louis J. Zerbee is not turning out garden and rumpus-room furniture in his Bellefontaine, Ohio factory, his thoughts rise far above such earthly pursuits. They soar to the stars. Seventeen years ago he went off on a vacation to his summer home at Indian Lake, where there was no telephone, and studied astronomy for relaxation. He didn't enjoy all the figuring, and when he lay on his back in the yard at night, and watched the stars sailing over Ohio, he felt sorry for seagoing navigators who must plot their ships' position by means of platoons of figures.

For 17 years,...

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