The Turk

by Tom Standage
Category: "Nature/Science"
Pages:247
Year of Publication:2002
Date Read:09/09/2002
Notes:In the late 1700s, people were building incredible automatons — mechanical ducks that could actually eat corn, mechanical men that could play instruments. Wolfgang von Kempelen claimed he could do better and soon presented his mechanical chess player. It toured all over Europe and won the vast majority of its games. When Kempelen died, the Turk was brought to America and toured until 1840. Many people tried to expose it as a fake without success.
My Rating: 8

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