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March 15th 2011: Musee Mecanique


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Miscellaneous
Along Embarcadero, we spotted and entered Tcho, a chocolate factory newly established in one of the old warehouses along the piers.
By Fisherman's Wharf, I think these compact boats with their bright color edging look like model/toy boats.
Along Embarcadero, we spotted and entered Tcho, a chocolate factory newly established in one of the old warehouses along the piers.
By Fisherman's Wharf, I think these compact boats with their bright color edging look like model/toy boats.
Musee Mecanique
The Musee Mecanique, housed in a warehouse-like space on a pier by Fisherman's Wharf.
Inside Musee Mecanique, mechanical and electronic devices of all sorts.
From the pier behind the museum, one could see Alcatraz through the gentle drizzle.
This machine, Rajak The Mystic Oracle, read my palm and told me my future career will be as a grease monkey.Many machines in the museum claimed they could predict the future.
The Musee Mecanique, housed in a warehouse-like space on a pier by Fisherman's Wharf.
Inside Musee Mecanique, mechanical and electronic devices of all sorts.
From the pier behind the museum, one could see Alcatraz through the gentle drizzle.
This machine, Rajak The Mystic Oracle, read my palm and told me my future career will be as a grease monkey.
Many machines in the museum claimed they could predict the future.
Another common machine purpose: basically, put in a quarter, put your eyes to the viewfinder, and watch a series of photographs of women parading around in lingerie.
Some machines measured attitudes, whether things the machine could measure directly, such as strength, or things it can't measure at all. This machine told me "the thrill of my kiss" is "burning." And, no, I didn't put my lips to the machine anywhere!
The machine that measures strength. Note the warning: "This machine has superhuman strength. It can be dangerous. You must start with fly weight and work your way up from there. Please be careful. You assume all risk of injury when using this machine." I guess in the older days, machine makers felt no need to put safety measures in their machines.
The only steam-powered motorcycle in existence, made around 1912.
Another common machine purpose: basically, put in a quarter, put your eyes to the viewfinder, and watch a series of photographs of women parading around in lingerie.
Some machines measured attitudes, whether things the machine could measure directly, such as strength, or things it can't measure at all. This machine told me "the thrill of my kiss" is "burning." And, no, I didn't put my lips to the machine anywhere!
The machine that measures strength. Note the warning: "This machine has superhuman strength. It can be dangerous. You must start with fly weight and work your way up from there. Please be careful. You assume all risk of injury when using this machine." I guess in the older days, machine makers felt no need to put safety measures in their machines.
The only steam-powered motorcycle in existence, made around 1912.
A large model carnival. I put in some quarters and everything became active! The carnival plays music, and nearly everything in this model moves, as you can see in this movie. There are a lot of little movements to notice, such as the guy standing in front of the left-most booth and simply fanning a paddle. There were a number of displays like this, though this one was the largest.
A quick movie of the other side of the model carnival. Even the gorilla moves.
A movie of another animated scene, this time a street fair. I especially like the nice touch of the guys peeking out the window of the Last Chance Saloon.
Another example of the detailed models where everything moves (once you put money in). This one looks like it's made out of matchsticks.
A large model carnival. I put in some quarters and everything became active! The carnival plays music, and nearly everything in this model moves, as you can see in this movie. There are a lot of little movements to notice, such as the guy standing in front of the left-most booth and simply fanning a paddle.
There were a number of displays like this, though this one was the largest.
A quick movie of the other side of the model carnival. Even the gorilla moves.
A movie of another animated scene, this time a street fair. I especially like the nice touch of the guys peeking out the window of the Last Chance Saloon.
Another example of the detailed models where everything moves (once you put money in). This one looks like it's made out of matchsticks.
This was another model that, when you put money in, something happened. I don't know what this does; I simply took a picture of this to show how disturbing some of the scenes are.
Watching people get killed was another common mechanical motion display. In this machine, English Execution, the doors open and one sees a man kneeling before a priest and then getting his head chopped off.
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An interactive machine, where one is supposed to use the wheel to keep the model car on the road. The wheel isn't very responsive. I played and was given the assessment of "needs practice." On the other hand, maybe this simulation was accurate for the time it was built, before power steering.
This was another model that, when you put money in, something happened. I don't know what this does; I simply took a picture of this to show how disturbing some of the scenes are.
Watching people get killed was another common mechanical motion display. In this machine, English Execution, the doors open and one sees a man kneeling before a priest and then getting his head chopped off.
Another common mechanical motion theme was showing people the happenings in a place most people wouldn't ever visit, such as the actions in an opium den.
An interactive machine, where one is supposed to use the wheel to keep the model car on the road. The wheel isn't very responsive. I played and was given the assessment of "needs practice." On the other hand, maybe this simulation was accurate for the time it was built, before power steering.
Another interactive machine, where you actually fire little pellets at the figures sliding back and forth in front of you. It's neat that the whole thing, including the scoring, is mechanical, not electronic.
Another interactive machine. I liked this better than the previous two. This was all about timing. You're trying to get the balls to the top level. The wheels rotate. If you get a ball in the right slot in the wheel, it'll get deposited on the next level. If you don't, it'll be tossed back to the bottom. You have to release the balls at each level at the right time to get it in the correct slots. Simple, hard, but not too hard. It reminded me a bit of Donkey Kong (timing jumps, timing wheels).
This simple game was also fun. Rotate the little golfer, pull the lever to control the strength of the putt, and try to sink the ball. The rightmost hole was definitely the most challenging.
One of the most-complicated-looking music-playing machines in the museum. Look at the number of holes in the feeder paper below.
Another interactive machine, where you actually fire little pellets at the figures sliding back and forth in front of you. It's neat that the whole thing, including the scoring, is mechanical, not electronic.
Another interactive machine. I liked this better than the previous two. This was all about timing. You're trying to get the balls to the top level. The wheels rotate. If you get a ball in the right slot in the wheel, it'll get deposited on the next level. If you don't, it'll be tossed back to the bottom. You have to release the balls at each level at the right time to get it in the correct slots. Simple, hard, but not too hard. It reminded me a bit of Donkey Kong (timing jumps, timing wheels).
This simple game was also fun. Rotate the little golfer, pull the lever to control the strength of the putt, and try to sink the ball. The rightmost hole was definitely the most challenging.
One of the most-complicated-looking music-playing machines in the museum. Look at the number of holes in the feeder paper below.
A movie of another elaborate music-playing machine. This one has pipes, four drums, and a bell! Like all the other movies, this one has sound.
The oldest machine in the museum, and one of the rare machines with an informational plaque.
The information label attached to the arcade game Galaxian. (Yes, there are some arcade games in the museum, as representatives of what the mechanical games evolved into.) The version of Galaxian that I played growing up on my Atari in the 1980s was one of my favorite games.
An informational sign about Sutro Baths. (No, this wasn't connected to any machine.) I took a picture of it because of its long list of astounding statistics.
A movie of another elaborate music-playing machine. This one has pipes, four drums, and a bell! Like all the other movies, this one has sound.
The oldest machine in the museum, and one of the rare machines with an informational plaque.
The information label attached to the arcade game Galaxian. (Yes, there are some arcade games in the museum, as representatives of what the mechanical games evolved into.)
The version of Galaxian that I played growing up on my Atari in the 1980s was one of my favorite games.
An informational sign about Sutro Baths. (No, this wasn't connected to any machine.) I took a picture of it because of its long list of astounding statistics.