Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Monday. Happy Labor Day.
In the year following the close of WWII the children of the Soviet Union gave the United States Ambassador a wooden item. It was such a terrific gesture from our ally of WWII that it was placed in a prominent place in the diplomatic mission in Moscow. What was the item? What became of it? Bonus Star: How is it related to 1930�s concert in Carnegie Hall? Happy Labor Day.
Re: Monday. Happy Labor Day.
A Woodwind?
Not in the traditional sense...
you may or may not know how close you are. Think of the time period.
Re: Monday. Happy Labor Day.
The first thing that comes to mind regarding this is that it might have been a bit "buggy" but not in the sense of transportation.
FNelson
Under clear skies in Eastern Missouri
Hint:
The item was highly detailed. Avril (Averell) Harriman was the Ambassador--a great Stalin hater. (who in turn hated Harriman because of loose ties to German industry in WWII.) The item was a work of art complex beyond the capability of Americans. In the long run it cost more to the Americans than it did the Russians who made it.
While I was composing a hint
you became an entomologist.
Re: Monday Answer.
Mr. Nelson gets one gold star. The wood item was a two foot diameter, inch thick Great Seal of the United States (one of SEVERAL HUNDRED given by the Soviets). Beneath the Eagle�s beak above the curve of the right wing was a secret hollowed out portion where a �bug� was placed. The Seal was accepted and placed in the office of Ambassador Harriman who talked through six years of U.S.-Soviet happenings at the height of the cold war. Who knows how many people were killed in Lubyanka when the KGB got information directly from the Ambassador in his office. To be fair, the item was ingenious and was passive which meant that it had to have a signal sent to it for activation. It required no power and sat idle except when the Ambassador was known to be working there. It was cued by a van or car parked in the street that sent a high frequency signal. It was found when George Kennan was Ambassador in 1956. No one is saying where the original is, (probably Great Britain) but a accurate copy is in the Cryptologic �Spy� museum at Fort Meade, Maryland. The bug was so good it took the better part of two years AFTER one was found to discover how it worked. Pictures are under the �1946 Great Seal Bug Story.�
The relationship to Carnegie Hall was that the inventor Leo Sergevich Terman (Leon Theremin in the west)- a very, very, smart guy - of the bug was also the inventor of an electronic music device named Theremin that was patented in 1928 in the U.S. It was featured in a concert at Carnegie Hall in 1932. Rumor has it the inventor was forcibly taken back to Russia from the United States (who did nothing about it as he was a Russian citizen) and was part of the Stalin purges. Eventually he found work in television and electro machanics and ultimately the spy business.
This story can go on for a long time if you want to pursue. You can see information under Great Seal Bug, or get information about Theremin and his invention and music by looking up his name. One interesting note is that �Good Vibrations� by the Beach Boys is supposed to feature the sound of a Theremin, but alas even though Brian Wilson wanted a Theremin a substitute was used. If you remember the opening the electronic sound in the background can give you an idea of the sound. Try: www.spybusters.com/Great_Seal_bug.html
Dig in.