Digesting Duck (nonfiction): Difference between revisions
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[[File:Vaucanson Automata.jpg|thumb|All three of Vaucanson's automata: the Flute Player, the Digesting Duck, the Tambourine Player.]]The '''''Canard Digérateur''''', or '''Digesting Duck''', was an automaton in the form of a duck, created by Jacques de Vaucanson and unveiled on May 30, 1739 in France. The mechanical duck appeared to have the ability to eat kernels of grain, and to metabolize and defecate them. While the duck did not actually have the ability to do this—the food was collected in one inner container, and the pre-stored feces were "produced" from a second, so that no actual digestion took place—Vaucanson hoped that a truly digesting automaton could one day be designed. | [[File:Vaucanson Automata.jpg|thumb|All three of Vaucanson's automata: the Flute Player, the Digesting Duck, the Tambourine Player.]]The '''''Canard Digérateur''''', or '''Digesting Duck''', was an automaton in the form of a duck, created by [[Jacques de Vaucanson (nonfiction)|Jacques de Vaucanson]] and unveiled on May 30, 1739 in France. The mechanical duck appeared to have the ability to eat kernels of grain, and to metabolize and defecate them. While the duck did not actually have the ability to do this—the food was collected in one inner container, and the pre-stored feces were "produced" from a second, so that no actual digestion took place—Vaucanson hoped that a truly digesting automaton could one day be designed. | ||
Voltaire wrote in 1741 that "sans la voix de la le Maure, & le canard de Vaucanson, vous n'auriez rien qui fit ressouvenir de la gloire de la France." ("Without the voice of le Maure and Vaucanson's duck, you would have nothing to remind you of the glory of France.") | Voltaire wrote in 1741 that "sans la voix de la le Maure, & le canard de Vaucanson, vous n'auriez rien qui fit ressouvenir de la gloire de la France." ("Without the voice of le Maure and Vaucanson's duck, you would have nothing to remind you of the glory of France.") | ||
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== Fiction cross-reference == | == Fiction cross-reference == | ||
* [[Gnomon algorithm]] | * [[Gnomon algorithm]] | ||
* [[Gnomon Chronicles]] | * [[Gnomon Chronicles]] | ||
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== Nonfiction cross-reference == | == Nonfiction cross-reference == | ||
* [[Jacques de Vaucanson (nonfiction)]] | |||
* [[Didacus automaton (nonfiction)]] | * [[Didacus automaton (nonfiction)]] | ||
Latest revision as of 08:30, 30 May 2019
The Canard Digérateur, or Digesting Duck, was an automaton in the form of a duck, created by Jacques de Vaucanson and unveiled on May 30, 1739 in France. The mechanical duck appeared to have the ability to eat kernels of grain, and to metabolize and defecate them. While the duck did not actually have the ability to do this—the food was collected in one inner container, and the pre-stored feces were "produced" from a second, so that no actual digestion took place—Vaucanson hoped that a truly digesting automaton could one day be designed.
Voltaire wrote in 1741 that "sans la voix de la le Maure, & le canard de Vaucanson, vous n'auriez rien qui fit ressouvenir de la gloire de la France." ("Without the voice of le Maure and Vaucanson's duck, you would have nothing to remind you of the glory of France.")
The Duck is thought to have been destroyed in a fire at a museum in 1879.
In the News
Fiction cross-reference
Nonfiction cross-reference
External links:
- Digesting Duck @ Wikipedia