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Chess: The Mechanical Turk
This 2005 article discusses how "during the 18th century, a chess-playing automaton held audiences in Europe and America in thrall" and how the machine was found to be a hoax in that "the Turk was actually manipulated by someone hidden in the cabinet during the performance." Includes details about how the Mechanical Turk operated and how Edgar Allan Poe almost discovered the truth. From the Credit Suisse online magazine.
http://emagazine.credit-suisse.com/app/article/index.cfm?fuseaction=OpenArticle&aoid=106274&coid=120&lang=EN
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