24: An 18th Century Robot That…Played Chess??

Wolfgang von Kempelen was unimpressed. Empress Maria Theresa had invited him to attend a magic show, hoping he’d tell her how the tricks worked. Instead, he told her – and everyone else in her court – that the tricks just plain sucked. He claimed he could do better. Stunned, Maria gave him six months off work to create something that would dazzle her court. So, six months later, Wolfgang von Kempelen showed up with what he claimed was an automaton chess playing machine. It would soon become known simply as “The Turk.” People were amazed. A machine that could play chess??? The Turk soon developed a life of its own. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from: The book, “The Turk: The life and Times of the Famous 19th Century Chess-Playing Machine,” by Tom Standage “How a phony 18th-century chess robot fooled the world,” by Evan Andrews for History.com “The mechanical chess player that unsettled the world,” by Ella Morton for Slate.com “Debunking the Mechanical Turk helped set Edgar Allan Poe on the path to mystery writing,” by Kat Eschner for Smithsonian Magazine “The Mechanical Turk: AI Marvel or Parlor Trick,” Britannica “Turkish Gambit,” by Dick Teresi for The New York Times Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.