SWINGLE, in the fire-works in England, the wooden spoke which is fixed to the barrel that draws the wire, and which,
(A) An interesting question occurs here, which deserves to be considered. Since the body, when spread upon the surface, can be supported with so little exertion, and frequently without any at all, as in swimming on the back, how comes it to pass that a person when drowned sinks and frequently rises again some time afterwards? The reason is this: In the act of drowning, the lungs are filled with water, and consequently the body, being specifically heavier, sinks. It is well known that the human body contains a great quantity of air: this air is at first compressed by the water; and while this is the case the body remains at the bottom: but as soon as the air by its elasticity endeavours to disengage itself from the compression, the body is swelled and expanded, becomes specifically lighter than the water, and consequently rises to the top.
Switz, which, by its being forced back by the cogs of the wheel, is the occasion of the force with which the barrel is pulled.