] The Turk was a famous hoax which purported to be a ] chess-playing automaton first constructed and unveiled in ] 1769 by Wolfgang von Kempelen (1734-1804). It had the ] appearance of a maplewood cabinet 4 feet long by 2 feet ] deep and 3 feet high, with a mannequin dressed in cloak ] and turban seated behind it. The cabinet had doors that ] opened to reveal internal clockwork mechanisms, and when ] activated the mechanism appeared to be able to play a ] strong game of chess against a human opponent. It could ] also perform the knight's tour (a puzzle which requires ] the player to pass every square of a chess board once) ] with ease. However, the cabinet was a cleverly ] constructed illusion that allowed a man to hide inside ] and operate the mannequin. Saw this off a link for a /. story. The URL is for the Wikipedia Story |