[WikiEN-l] Eternal Ephemeral

Thu Oct 30 18:56:51 UTC 2003

Ray Saintonge wrote:
> I certainly think that there is a place in an encyclopedia for the
> offbeat and ephemeral.  They can be a source of endless fascination to
> the reader who discovers them and proceeds to introduce them at a
> dinner-table conversation with the words "Did you know that....?"
>  Articles about Jessica McClure, Bridey Murphey and [[Mike (headless
> chicken)]]  are all perfectly appropriate.
>
> In science and technology there are any number of attempts that might
> have worked but were superceded by a more practical idea that
> wasdiscovered before the old plan could be put into operation.  Thus the
> Collins International Telegraph Company scheme to lay a telegraph wire
> from New York to London via Alaska and Siberia, quashed by the undersea
> cable laid by the "Great Eastern".  Also the 1920s plan to put a series
> of floating airports as refueling stops across the Atlantic, which
> quickly lost its appeal after Lindbergh's famous flight.

Truly, it has been said: "Some of the best parts of history never really
happened."

I'm an avid observer of the obscure, the unusual, etc. Failed WWII
technologies (mile-wide zeppelins!) alone are many many books' worth. It's
definitely not the sort of thing to overlook... and sometimes they end up
influencing 'important' events in subtle ways.

-- Jake