h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: How to Prevent a War Using Ordinary Household Objects - Jean-Robert Houdin and the Marabouts - A87579968
Author: Dmitri Gheorgheni - U1590784

I know, I know: we've all got lots to do this week.

If you have a minute, though, take a gander at this little story and let me know what you think.

Jean Robert-Houdin was the fellow Harry Houdini (ne Ehrich Weiss) took his stage name from.

DG

Well, I learn something new everyday here!

I was so engrossed I didn't notice if anything needed editing

lil x

Thanks, lil.

The existence of this entry is due to a mistake I made in googling. It started like this...

I wanted to know something about Charles Dickens. Eejit that I am, I googled 'David Copperfield' without thinking.

Then, of course, I had to read up on Mr Copperfield, who made the Statue of Liberty disappear and suchlike. I won the bet I made with myself that his real name would be Eastern European.

The Copperfield entry mentioned Robert-Houdin. Aha, says I, I always wanted to know...

Then, when you find out the guy was in Algeria playing with the flying-carpet brigade, well, you can't resist reading his memoirs...

I still haven't gone back to Charles Dickens. In fact, I forgot what the original question was.

The almost unnoticed little snippets can open up a world of wonder to an enquiring mind.

You have found some really interesting snippets over the years


lil x

Bless you, lil, thanks.

I guessed the author of this from the title.

This is an interesting story and well told, Dmitri, but I'd like a little more explanation of the magic involved. I didn't understand your explanation of how the trick with the bullets worked:

- The Marabout shot a wax bullet at Robert-Houdin; what happened to the wax bullet?
- When the smoke cleared, the Marabout was seen with the marked bullet between his teeth. How did it get there?

Mirandising - I don't know what this means.

I think the reference to Lamarckism in the footnote is unnecessary. It only confuses things.

Two tiny points:

the link to Vodou has a space in it, just before the A number of the entry, which is preventing it from working.

The name Eugene should have a grave accent (&egrave rather than an acute one (&eacute.
(mentioned only because the sub-editor might not spot it)

Yes, this Entry's title has Dmitri's name all over it A fascinating story again



"They were even more impressed when Robert-Houdin switched on the battery attached to the brass handles of the box. As soon as the would-be strong man was released from the current, he fled the theatre in terror."

I might be just tired but... What happened here? What did switching on the batteries achieve?




The hyphen in Jean Robert-Houdin's name is misplaced in the title.

Link on "vodou ceremony" (A1019666) doesn't work, due to extra space before the A-number.

Thanks for the proofreading, guys. I'll get it tidied up, and try to be more explanatory.

I hate to lose that footnote, Gnomon - but I guess you're right, it's just an unnecessarily snarky joke.

It's debatable, anyway, because recent discoveries seem to show that some acquired traits _can_ be inherited. Better to keep away from that discussion.

Okay, I changed/updated/elucidated everything you mentioned, I hope.

I changed Mirandising to catechising. Will that work for everybody?

The reason Mirandising was confusing, I suspect, is that it's an Americanism, which is a good reason to remove it. Just FYI, in case anybody is curious:

The Supreme Court decision Miranda v Arizona (1966) led to the police litany 'You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say...etc, etc. Do you understand this?' Colloquially, any form of pre-interaction information and questioning can be referred to as 'Mirandising'. (Radio's 'Car Guys' call it 'Carmen Mirandising', but they're like me - old, and fond of obscure jokes.)

Some German Researchers assure me that this Miranda business is so well-known because of tv shows like 'Law and Order', that Germans have been known to complain that they were not properly Mirandised by the local cops.

Oh, good call, Gnomon. I'll take the whole footnote out.

I thought it was a tinfoil hat idea - because of Arthur Koestler's 'Case of the Midwife Toad'. That'll teach me.

This post is just to change the spelling in the header.

Ah, i did the same thing as others - too much reading, not enough watching to see what had to be edited :S

I'll come back later and try to look at it without getting distracted

Looks good as an entry if it can do that in any case, (i'm sure its probably magic...or science, perhaps)

Thanks.

Ah, I see the mistake I made when reading the description of the potentially fatal mistake. When you said "The French Marabout", I read this as "The Marabout", and thought that it was the guy who had shot the bullet who had the bullet in his teeth, which didn't make any sense.

It's far clearer now.

Great.

Brilliant! Yet another entry to file under -things I had vaguely heard of, but this explains it so much better than I had ever imagined- !

What a great yarn.

I loved it.

Really a great Entry.