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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
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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