Letter: Prior cartoon

From Peter Hall

I believe there is something about there being “no prior art” for a patent to be
successful. The patent for a system that will tell you what your pet or baby is trying to say
(This Week, 23 May, p 11) certainly has prior
art—literally.

In 1992 an episode of The Simpsons cartoon show entitled “Brother,
Can You Spare Two Dimes”, was first aired in the US (it was repeated on BBC2 a
few months ago). In the episode, Homer Simpson’s brother, Herb, invents a device
called a Baby Translator.

As Herb says: “It measures the pitch, the frequency, and the urgency of a
baby’s cry, and then tells whoever’s around, in plain English.” The cartoon also
made clear that Herb spent a good deal of time building up a “library” of cries
so that the machine would function correctly.

In the cartoon, the machine was a great success and restored Herb’s fortune
(which had been lost by Homer).

Darlington, County Durham