Welcome aboard Pink Monorail. I'm your pilot, Michelle Vaya D'Aolid, and next to me is my co-pilot, Noah Vaya D'Adead.

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to manufacturing the magic. This is the series, part where we talk about

the mechanics of magic. Last episode, we talked about dark rides. This episode

we're going to talk about early versions of animatronics called automaton. Ancient Greeks invented the

automaton, animatronic without electronics. China was doing so at the same time as was ancient Egypt.

These were very primitive. There is evidence that they built an eagle and a dolphin for early Olympic games.

Archithaeus, who lived from 428 to 347 BC, made little working birds. Other automata were dedicated to weaponry, like Phylon of Bat Byzantine, who lived from 280 to 220 BC, and is repeating crossbow.

Classical Wisdom.com says the Hellenistic period had many automatons, and the city of roads displayed them in the city square.

The book on automaton making by mathematician and engineer Hero Alexandria, talked about mostly practical uses,

like fire engines and self-driving wagons, etc.

Also in Alexandria, there was a theater peopled entirely of automaton's on its stage,

like an early country bear jamboree.

You can read more about Hero, who may consider the father of Atomaton at the madmuseum.co.

UK.

Hero built a water basin in Alexandria with birds that sang and an owl who turned its head

to look at the birds.

When it did so, the birds became quiet.

One of his most popular inventions was a windwheel. It was the first time

humans had harnessed wind power outside of the sea, and they don't kill whales.

No, they also were supposed to kill birds that are just flying by. Oh yeah. No, they don't.

Ketiscus catacitus was a student of pneumatics, which were used in first-generation Disney

animatronics and created a pneumatic water clock.

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