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P.T. 巴纳姆:奋斗与胜利·补录 372

P.T. 巴纳姆《奋斗与胜利》· Struggles and Triumphs · 领导

On my first return visit to America from Europe, I engaged Mr. Faber, an elderly and ingenious German, who had constructed an automaton speaker. It was of life-size, and when worked with keys similar to those of a piano, it really articulated words and sentences with surprising distinctness. My agent exhibited it for several months in Egyptian Hall, London, and also in the provinces. This was a marvellous piece of mechanism, though for some unaccountable reason it did not prove a success. The Duke of Wellington visited it several times, and at first he thought that the “voice” proceeded from the exhibitor, whom he assumed to be a skillful ventriloquist. He was asked to touch the keys with his own fingers, and after some instruction in the method of operating, he was able to make the machine speak, not only in English but also in German, with which language the Duke seemed familiar. Thereafter, he entered his name on the exhibitor’s autograph book, and certified that the “Automaton Speaker” was an extraordinary production of mechanical genius.

出处: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50115
定位:Additional excerpt 372 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录

白话

巴纳姆聘请德国老人法贝尔制造了一个真人大小的自动说话机,用琴键操作能清晰说出英德语句子。在伦敦展出时,威灵顿公爵起初以为是腹语,亲自操作后大为赞叹并签名认证。但这项发明商业上并不成功。核心是:技术新奇不等于市场成功。做法是:再惊艳的发明,也要考虑观众是否愿意持续买单;可以借名人背书提升可信度,但别把宝全押在单一噱头上。

上下文

巴纳姆在自传中回忆他展出自动说话机的经历,威灵顿公爵的认证是亮点。

今日一问

你见过哪些技术很酷但没人用的产品?为什么?

公版传记;原文逐字取自 Project Gutenberg,仅摘录段落并附全书链接。

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