A Trail Without A Trace

Toward the end of the 19^th century, Frenchman Louis Le Prince boarded a train in Dijon headed for Paris. A pioneering inventor, he’d taken many trips to America to secure coveted patents on his latest inventions, and planned to return to finalize his patent pending on the first true Moving Picture Camera – before he vanished.

Le Prince was not on the train when it stopped in Paris, nor were any of his belongings. It was as if he’d never boarded in the first place, except that, as a person of notability, people had seen and talked to him. Though the entire train was searched and every passenger questioned, even Scotland Yard was baffled.

There was, however, plenty of speculation. Had Le Prince committed suicide by jumping off the train? Along with all of his belongings? Had his brother murdered him with an elaborate magic trick? Had his family requested his disappearance due to financial difficulties? Those in the industry had different ideas.

The competition was fierce in the cinematography field and none more so than one American trailblazer who actively obstructed every U.S. patent Le Prince ever sought.  In return, Le Prince assisted in the sharing of pertinent information belonging to the trailblazer to a highly interested group of European patent seekers.   

Consequently, with Le Prince out of the picture (no pun intended), the American trailblazer got the pending patent and possibly many more that might have belonged to Le Prince. Nonetheless, the trailblazer undeniably made quite a name for himself with prior and subsequent inventions of his own; which the world still appreciates today, but eventually Le Prince was all but forgotten.

Until 2008, when a graduate student perusing a timeworn book by Thomas Edison on motion picture history in the New York Library archives found this astonishing handwritten note in the pages, dated September 20, 1890:

“Eric called me today from Dijon. It has been done. Prince is no more. This is good news, but I flinched when he told me. Murder is not my thing. I am an inventor and my inventions for moving images can now move forward.” 

What do you think happened to Louis Le Prince? 

"Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in people." - David Sarnoff, Pioneer of American Commercial Radio and TV   

References:

cracked.com

sciencedirect.com

Dauntless Departed

With 400 miles of coastline; dotted with captivating harbor towns infused with impeccable New England charm, it’s difficult to imagine Rhode Island as the smallest state in the nation. More so, the fact that sixty percent of the state is densely burgeoning forest land. It’s important to note that in this state, no one may bite off the leg of another, and the throwing of pickle juice on a trolley is prohibited. 

  

In 1907, when whiskey magnate Edson Bradley first built his 40 thousand Sq. Ft. home in Washington, DC, he called it Aladdin’s Palace. Covering nearly a full city block and, among many other impressive attributes, sporting a chapel big enough to seat 150 people. What caught the attention of “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” was when he moved it to Newport in 1923! Incorporating the massive home into an existing mega mansion called Seaview Terrace, he, along with wife Julia, lived out their lives in the idyllic “Cottage” by the sea. Mrs. Bradley, they say, loved the place so much her Esty organ can still be heard on quiet windswept nights, along with footsteps, jiggling door handles and soft voices. Though the sprawling mansion had fallen into sad disrepair by 1974, it was purchased by Milton and Millicent Carey; who began immediate restorations and renamed it Carey Mansion.

If the image brings to mind Dark Shadows, it’s because it was indeed the (exterior) setting used for the fictional Collinwood Mansion. 

Connecticut, Bridgeport

While traveling through the birthplace state of the Frisbee, and Noah Webster (Hartford) you might want to keep in mind that it’s illegal to cross a street while walking on your hands, you may not educate dogs and kissing your wife on Sunday is prohibited.

Decommissioned since 1986, the old Remington Arms Factory is far from abandoned. Aside from migrant homeless and passing fugitives, there are more than a few who haven’t left the building since they died there.  Dating back to WWI, this was the site of what the New York Times dubbed the “greatest small arms and ammunition plant in the world”, boasting well over 17,000 employees with an implicit emphasis on production rather than safety; which led to an extremely high mortality rate among workers. In 1905 three men were killed when an explosion blew one the 38 buildings to literal pieces. Lead dust from the accident filled the factory and resulted in the slow demise of many with prolonged contact. Demand for munitions was still high in 1914 when the workers staged an uprising in protest of the dire conditions, which was quickly and forcibly quelled by Remington Security in accordance with local Police forces. But it was yet another explosion and subsequent fire in a munitions building that blew bullets into adjacent buildings and nearby neighborhoods that signaled the inevitable end to one of the most dangerous industrial transgressions in history when 7 workers were killed and 80 more injured. These days; according to locals and those on security patrol, the building remains quite alive with the disgruntled spirits and disembodied screams and voices of those who are not.

Did you watch Dark Shadows? Is there a pie plate in your cupboard? Would you visit these places?

Thanks for coming along!

Friends of the Famous - Z

ReneeZellweger was still in college and intending to bring home a cat from the local shelter when a collie-golden retriever mix bounded from within a jumble of kittens and puppies to rest his little head on her foot. The dog basically named himself, she says of Dylan, by preferring to take his puppy-naps on the face of Bob Dylan, featured on a Rolling Stone magazine cover.  Later, with no formal dance or voice training, Zellweger learned what she needed to know for the stage production of Chicago during ten months of rigorous training and by watching her co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones, who by the way, has her own furry sidekick (a Coton de Tulear) named Figaro, who likes things his way. For instance, a ramp is brought in because ‘Figgy’ refuses to climb stairs and an impetuous spirit once prompted him to bark during one of Zeta-Jones’ performances of “Bring in The Clowns”! 

After a little more than two years training together, Marine Cpl. Jose Armenta and a German shepherd service dog named Zenit served in Afghanistan. As a team they worked ahead of their troops, identifying IED’s – except for the one Jose stepped on.  Waking up back in the states, Jose was dismayed to find that Zenit had been given another handler and re-deployed. While many wounded soldiers seek separation and closure, Jose felt incomplete.  Between many surgeries and throughout a lengthy recovery, Jose filed paperwork and petitions necessary for the retrieval of his canine friend.  When at last Jose picked Zenit up at the base, a three hour drive from home, the dog had no problem recognizing Jose in his wheelchair and drenched him with wet kisses.

In case you’ve ever wondered how a Zoo doctor’s day might go, Denise Rodgers has a few thoughts:

The Elephant Has a Bad Earache
The elephant has a bad earache.
The centipede stubbed all his toes.
The giraffe has developed a nasty sore throat
and the rhino can't breathe through his nose.

The mockingbird has an unclear ache.
The lion's so hoarse he can't roar.
The hog cannot eat, as his tummy's upset
and the parrot can't talk anymore.

The doe has a pain in the deer ache.
Just what should the beast doctor do?
The duck is so sick she can't possibly float.
It's a really bad day at the zoo.
by Denise Rodgers

Has a pet ever embarrassed you? Would you have kept Zenit too? When is the last time you visited a Zoo?

A to Z complete - Yay!

Thanks, everyone!