She Took Mine

She Took Mine

Eager grade school students will keep waving their hands in the air even after a question has been answered.  So, when you call on one of the remaining hands, the student often says:  “She took mine!” There may have only been one possible answer—as obvious...
Bottled Sound

Bottled Sound

“Halloa! Halloa!  Mr. Phonograph are you there?” Chicago, May 1878   The call rang out in a Chicago Methodist Church as if they were contacting the dead in a séance, coaxing ghosts to speak.  With all eyes fixed on it, the machine distinctly repeated the call....
Palais Idéal

Palais Idéal

“What can you do when you always walk in the same setting, if not dream? As a distraction, in my dreams I built a fairy palace.”     — Ferdinand Cheval, the postman builder of the Palais Idéal   Ferdinand Cheval quit school at age 12 to be a baker’s...