M&D to 360 (spoilers)

[Michael McAulay]

Steven L. Bender wrote:
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> so...
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> a few weeks ago, the back page of the times book review featured excerpts from
> an anthology of bad poetry.  one of the poems featured was an 18th century
> piece "on viewing the giant cheese". so tp didn't invent this octuple
> gloucester that provides the occasion for mason meeting his wife!
> 
> since the cheese really existed, i can't help but wonder if anyone is aware of
> a historical precedent for the amorous mechanical duck? (not to mention the
> learned english dog).

Dunno about the dog.  But Vaucanson is a historical figure who really
did contrive an ingenious mechanical duck - the Canard digérant.  See
for instance:

http://atdmac11.let.kun.nl/ATD/HomePages/H.Schotel/Vaucanson-eend.html

Or:

http://shr.stanford.edu/shreview/4-2/text/mazlish.html

whence the following:

"In the eighteenth century, one of the most skilled technicians was the
Frenchman Jacques de Vaucanson. He produced a duck which, we are told,
"drank, ate, digested, cackled, and swam-the whole interior apparatus
of digestion exposed, so that it could be viewed; [a] flute player who
played twelve different tunes, moving his fingers, lips and tongue,
depending on
the music; [a] girl who played the tambourine, [and a] mandolin player
that moved his head and pretended to breathe." 

-- 
Mike McAulay
Sr. Engineer
3DO