Podcast:Hoax! Published On: Mon Dec 22 2025 Description: During the 18th century, as the industrial revolution picks up.... steam, people are dazzled by expertly constructed mechanical marvels: automatons. But Wolfgang von Kempelen brings something to the royal court in Vienna that people have never seen before: an automaton capable of playing chess. SOURCES:The Mechanical Turk by Tom Standagehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/debunking-mechanical-turk-helped-set-edgar-allan-poe-path-mystery-writing-180964059/Maelzel’s Chess Player by Edgar Allan Poe Last of a Veteran Chess Player by Silas Weir MitchellSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.