User Reviews

Another one of John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series of shorts may have been the best I've seen. In this episode we learn about the discovery of the stethoscope and vulcanized rubber.

Strictly speaking, some of the facts included in this short are, shall we say, dubious. Another word might be nonsense. But, the general idea of the actual facts comes across despite the manufactured drama.

Although a lot of the Passing Parade series leaves me twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the minutes to pass, this one was quite fun to watch, and involved two subjects that were very important to mankind. The 10 minute running time flies by, and you'll learn a little something about both topics. Of course, you'll learn a whole lot more factual information if you Google either topic, but why quibble?

. . . asserts the narrator of THE SEESAW AND THE SHOES. I'm not sure that his supposition is actually factual. I frequently attend Major League Baseball games at a stadium within 35 miles of my home. Somehow the section in which my season tickets are located is within walking distance of a major urban hospital, which apparently doles out complimentary ducats to various staff physicians for the one or two rows directly behind my fixed location. Certainly I'm no eavesdropper, but these inebriated raucous loudmouths are vociferously indiscreet in recounting recent episodes when they "had to" pull the plug, or otherwise abuse a patient in their charge. I seldom if ever have heard a cheery, upbeat boisterous remark from these exhibitionists which smacked of any "suffering" on their part. Maybe the narrator of THE SEESAW AND THE SHOES really MEANT to say that the medical practitioners of the 1800's suffered a lot of mind anguish. Alternatively, perhaps his comment can be interpreted as implying that "good" docs are one in a million. On the other hand, I guess it's MY local metropolis that might be wholly lacking in empathetic oath-takers. At least my town is famous for harboring the World's Largest Tire, but I do not know whether it is a Goodyear.

I caught this snippet of a short at the end of something else on TCM, and I'm glad I did.

It's a nice little reminder that inspiration can come from anywhere. That's how French physician Rene Laennec invented the stethoscope -- after watching kids on a seesaw. (How quaint to see the old-school way of listening to a patient's heart!)

The second part, about Charles Goodyear's vulcanization of caoutchouc -- known as rubber after folks found it made a good eraser -- is more interesting in its characterization. If his wife ever suspected he was an obsessive nut, she never let on. Her forbearance sure paid off!