Taking a break from editing… Andrew (@grimm1152) suggested that Walt could have used a proposed nuclear fusion generator to power something. It reminded me of a paper I saw in Grandpa’s World’s Fair folder — a brochure for a nuclear fusion demonstration, which I’m pretty sure is not a thing. At least not a real thing, thing anyway.
Then I noticed this scribbeldygook on the cover. It looks like it might be Grandpa’s handwriting, but it also looks like it was written by a spider who’s had one too many. An alien language, maybe? He was a sci-fi guy, after all…
Found this tucked inside the glossy “Your Tour of Progressland” brochure.
Can we see the inside of the brochure please?
No doubt that this was being considered to power Epcot in it’s “city” form. Everything Walt did at the fair was to test east coast response.
Shorthand?
That handwriting is definitely hard to make out! haha “scribbeldygood” is a great word for it. Maybe the 11:30 and 3:30 were showtimes…or meeting times? The dot-dash after the 11:30 made me thing of Morse Code for some reason – but dot-dash just means ‘A’ , and doesn’t really help with the rest of the scribbles (though a single dash means ‘T’ …if T + X means anything??) The word in the second line sure looks like how I would write “code” if I were in a hurry!
Not sure if any of that helps AT ALL haha – I may just be reading too much into things…blame my Nancy Drew and Harriet the Spy addiction as a child!
Oops – sorry for the typos! It should have said “scribbeldygook” and made me “think” of Morse Code.
If someone knows shorthand then we could transcribe it. Otherwise begin here: http://gregg.angelfishy.net/gsd.pdf
It definitely looks like shorthand – good catch! Looking around on google it actually looks more like Pitman Shorthand than Gregg Shorthand (both were used around the same time in the 60s) ?
I totally agree! It looks like shorthand.
I think the first symbol is ‘conference’ on pg. 39 of the Gregg book.
I agree. It’s not exactly the same but it makes sense. For the second line it’s close to ‘blackberry’ but the suffix is more like ‘brighten’. ‘Brighten berry doesn’t make as much sense.
Sorry, the prefix looks like brighten
Definitely looks like this word starts with a ‘b’. The loop then comes over the line (not under), this detail might help in the search.
Also the suffix has similarity to “burner” or “bury”.
It does look like it’s probably shorthand, but that dictionary is really overwhelming! I tried looking at it for a while, but the differences in the symbols is sometimes so minute it’s hard to tell what they’re supposed to be! But I agree with Stephen, I thought that the first symbol looked like conference.
BTW I found this webpage about the Nuclear Fusion Demonstration, it looks like it might even be what’s on the inside of that brochure! http://www.nywf64.com/genele08.shtml
its definitely intriguing, von braun, hughes bradbury and Walt could have dreamed up amazing things together, especially if they had a working fusion reactor as a power source. And fusion reactors are very real things, the only only problem is they cannot be sustained for more than a few thousandths of a second. But if they got one working….I cant even begin to imagine what they could have done with it. the possibilities are nearly limitless
Good find! Yes I think it is what is in the brochure. You can see ‘The promise’ and if you play with the contrast even see that GE was replaced by ‘our’.
After looking at the Gregg shorthand… On the bottom line, I’ve got the first 2 symbols as “Many People”… found on pages 132 and 161 of the Gregg link. Can anyone verify this?
Probably not helpful, but I thought the second half of the symbol that looks like it starts with a 6 looked like the word carburetor, which seems unlikely since it’s part of the 6 symbol
It actually looks more like teeline shorthand over gregg or pitman. Here’s a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teeline_Shorthand
I can see that… but the dot next to the symbol resembling the “R” on the 3rd line is throwing me off, as I can’t find the dot in the teeline alphabet.
Interesting writing. A mystery indeed. A few days ago, I put on a photo this blog (http://storyorbit.fans/more-of-64#comments) that talked about the fusion demonstration. Like I said in that comment, your grandfather could of been the one who wrote what was in the brochures. The one brochure you found could be some of his writing.
That’s right, D.Z. You might have been onto something, even then. Still not sure what exactly, but anything seems possible at this point.
Have you sent out the records?
Another poster wrote of “Our Friend The Atom”. While it is a bit scary for the rather cavalier attitude toward human proximity to radioactive material, Walt and Heinz Haber presented a really cool look at the possible use of the fuel. The animation and narration made nuclear power understandable to the layman, even 50 years ago. My girlfriend found me a rare copy of the book that accompanied the film. Was Carlos aware and involved in the pioneer effort with Disney?
Not a hundred percent positive. But I’d be surprised if Grandpa wasn’t at least aware of it.
The 2nd and 3rd word on the last line could be, “matter” and “to”
I’m sorry. I’m worthless at the shorthand research. However I read the brochure at the World’s Fair history website. I went on and read about theta pinch fusion devices as mentioned in the brochure. I wonder if the strange symbol in the TAM and Lincoln posters is referencing this fusion device. Here is the website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinch_(plasma_physics). Look at the picture that shows the first one dimensional configuration. A theta pinch has the magnetic field going in one direction with plasma circuit going around it. I know it may be a stretch…. But our strange symbol is like two intersecting axes with an current going around an axis. Thoughts?
Maybe the dot and a line and the parenthesis and a line after the times are am and pm
Meaning there could be 3 times 11:30 am, 1 pm, and 3:30 pm
I don’t know if it was said before or not, but even the original EPCOT logo looks like a nuclear atom! And the symbol in the middle is what is on the world on the “IASW” poster on http://www.disneycartography.com
First agree first word is conference, and agreed with the am pm find!
If it is Gregg the first word last line looks to be “My” and third word last line “to” “too” or “two”
Looks like that first word on last line could also be May (as in the month)
Also worth noting: http://gregg.angelfishy.net/5000musf.pdf
Has words not included in the other book I listed.
Might the first symbol of the 3rd line be, “accessible” or “access”?
I really think my brain just exploded. But yes, shorthand. A colleague uses it all the time: her notes do the same thing to my head.
You should enlist your coworker to help us decipher this puzzle!
Almost tempted, but she’s a little too quirky – if you catch my drift.
I have been trying to translate this brochure using the site http://www.alysion.org/handy/handywrite.htm
So far I have t/d … 11:30AM…ba..er…3:30PM… mn…talk…ther
I asked my grandma if she knew shorthand and she said the last line might be “may need to reschedule” i looked up “schedule” and it looks exactly like that, i haven’t found the other words yet. Hopefully this will help
I think she is right I have found may and need and they both match. And I definitely think the 1st ling is “Conference 11:30 am”
I agree with “conference” and “may need to reschedule”
Here is what I have so far! You guys are doing great I have really only put down words people already said and a couple that I thought could fit.
(http://imgur.com/SN7xlop)
Awesome, so that gets us to:
Conference 11:30 am
___ 1pm
a _ 3:30 pm _ _
may need to schedule
I just found a site that said that the X is a Question Mark.
Also, My grandma says it says “Bradbury at 1″ Ray Bradbury was a consultant for the American Pavilion at the 1964 worlds fair
Bradbury wrote the script for Scaceship Earth.
So it isn’t alien handwriting?
Seriously, I thought whoever wrote this fell asleep after the first letter. Thanks for taking this on, everybody! You all rock!
Where’s the Like button for this post!
Alien writing LOL!
My mom was a secretary and can read shorthand. She said this is what it translates to:
“Werner 11:30 a.m.
Bradbury 1 p.m.
Howard 3:30 p.m. + .
May need to reschedule”
Hope this helps guys!!!
That is great Reid! I photoshopped your translation next to the original.
Awesome!
You grandma is awesome!
Ray Bradbury was very supportive of the monorail system…
They first met in 1963. Check this out: http://www.mouseplanet.com/10001/Walts_Friend_Ray_Bradbury
Updated one-
Blue is the translation. Red is just my speculation.
Both Von Braun and Ray Bradbury have solid connections with Disney. Bradbury was very involved with EPCOT and this article http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/vonbraun/disney_article.html is about “The Disney-Von Braun Collaboration and Its Influence on Space Exploration”
Very interesting. The other day I was emailing MT Lott, asking about Operation Signal Flag, Mark 0 Project and the other redacted items.
Lott’s reply: “I didn’t work on anything to do with rocket ships.”
I then asked for clarification, whether he was serious or joking because those redacted items sound like science fiction.
Lott’s reply: “I think I’ve told you all I’m going to about that.”
My head spins.
Reid is right, Thanks for that. We were really stumped with “Werner”
The real credit goes to my mom! But no problem!
No wonder we were having trouble! They are names! (except for the last line… which I was WAY off on). Nicely done everyone!
I KNOW! I had something really good going about a haberdashy….
Wow, that’s so great that we were able to find someone who could read it! Nice work Reid and of course Reid’s wonderful mother! It’s great to have another piece of the puzzle!
This is cool how these important men are involved: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Moonliner
this could help someone posted this somewhere on another site I also posted the link on where i got the picture https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Is-PH_ASc-um6jDD-BdS5wPNnuZ5fcayci_mRd2Yb5Y/edit?pli=1
LOL I posted that below and then went and posted it over at that Google doc.
Werner Von braun
Von Braun was also a large subject in “October Sky”. Great film.
More info about the Moonliner: http://www.disneyhistoryinstitute.com/2012/07/old-tomorrowland-month-twa-rocket-to.html
Ray Bradbury
This is, as Amelia might say, Awesomesauce. My theory right now is that (as Bradbury, Von Braun, and Hughes all connect to “spaceships”) Spaceship Earth is not all it appears to be. Considering that the Lott Company talked about “spaceships” in it’s last e-mail and that many of the themes of the Worlds Fair were Travel, Time, and the Future, it makes perfect sense that it all culminates in the creation of some sort of giant time-travel… thing. And I don’t think “Orbit” is a character in “Orbit’s Story”, I think it has much more to do with the Orbit of the earth. Perhaps an orbiting space station that was to be the original city of EPCOT, the honoring of the Earth’s constant orbit via Spaceship Earth’s story of communication, or some machine (as in the back of Small World) that uses the principles of orbit, legitimate “small (microscopic) worlds”, to create… something… like energy, or time travel? Maybe Spaceship Earth is an actual Spaceship in disguise…
And it’s not really a clue, but Amelia must have gotten her love of the sciences from SOMEWHERE!
Yes!
I’m also thinking that Wallace (from the cartography site) might be a traveler from the past … or at least a participant or eyewitness to what what was taking place in the back of IASW. He knows way too much by placing the codes/symbols/dates in his artwork (among other things).
TAM = 0826
.
What do you mean?
I was curious about that too. What’s that in reference to/for?
I think it is “Tam” like the Tam O Shanter.
Of course that’s TAM. But the number itself; where from and what for?
The codes on the Disney Cartographer poster and on Table 31 seem to be based off of the number to letter conversion on a telephone. If you were to type TAM into the phone it would be 826.
Thanks for the confirmation; I had a feeling, but I just didn’t think to check. Go figure. I’m more curious as to the why in bringing it up.
Wow, here I thought they were formulas. I would never have recognized the shorthand. Good job to those who recognized and worked it out; wish I could have picked up on that.
I hope this inspires you all to research all the backgrounds and beginnings that occurred around Walt during this time. He was involved with many amazing individuals, many most don’t realize. You never know what may come up!
Well it’s been a very long time since I used shorthand but I completely agree the last line says “may need to schedule”
Great job with the short hand!
I found some interesting articles about Von Braun and Bradbury.
This article talks about Von Brauns connections to Disney and NASA: http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/vonbraun/disney_article.html
This article is about Bradbury and his love of Disney: http://io9.com/5902137/ray-bradbury-on-how-disneyland-humanized-robots
I am not sure if these articles while help, but I found them very interesting.
Unfortunately, my research on Howard not as fruitful . . . Didn’t find much at all.
I hope what I did find will be helpful!
I found an anecdote that he was portrayed in the 1991 version of the Rocketeer, but not sure how much that helps.
I also found this link here: http://thettc.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/rocket_to_the_moon/
which has more info here: http://www.disneyhistoryinstitute.com/2012/07/old-tomorrowland-month-twa-rocket-to.html
Very… rocket-y
The introduction of Werner is pretty interesting. I don’t know if any of you guys have been following Jim Hill lately, but: http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2012/03/05/the-quot-ufos-are-real-quot-documentary-that-walt-disney-studios-almost-made.aspx – Is definitely one of the more…interesting…connections to all of this. That during the 50′s, Werner went to Ward Kimball (Granted, Ward had an affinity for…flourishing…his stories), to make a documentary to “prepare” the world for the announce that UFOs were real.
I can’t help but think if Jim’s original though that the upcoming Tomorrowland film was connected to this element (http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2013/02/07/is-brad-bird-s-quot-tomorrowland-quot-movie-about-that-quot-ufos-are-real-quot-tv-show-that-walt-disney-productions-almost-made-back-in-the-1950s.aspx) could be accurate, especially because the original Tomorrowland “teaser” was a suitcase very similar to some of Carlos’ pieces, which included a copy of August 1928 Amazing Stories, which included the very first appearance of the character that would become Buck Rogers, often cited by Bradbury as one of his greatest influences (as he became a Buck collector as a kid).
In any case, Carlos’ connection to similar content seems to fall in a very similar space.
I’m curious if the scratches in the one picture of the table at the Tam found h”ere:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wanderlust_traveler/sets/72157634599505043/
(Between the “Primeval World meet 01BC” and “Contact Carlos…” images)
Is shorthand as well?…
I’m starting to think the scratches under the globe on the record might be shorthand as well.
The diamond shapes on the picture look like the outside of the geosphere at EPCOT. Also, the picture that looks like the a turtle holding up the world like in discworld and a lot of other stories, could be the precursor to the legs that now hold up the geosphere.
I actually think the diamond shapes were someone doodling the pattern on the tams windows. If you look at the pictures where you can see the windows its the same pattern. it bugged me for a while until I noticed that.
the table
and the window with table 31.
Agree but it is awfully close to the geosphere pattern…here http://instaprints.com/featured/epcot-geosphere-james-roberts.html
Maybe the one inspired the other.
Well dang- I go to bed early and miss all the fun. You guys are incredible at figuring this stuff out. Good job!
I was away most of the day, just wanted to say great work, everyone!
As far as Hughes is concerned there isn’t much. He did a lot of work for the World’s Fair 1939 but nothing of record for 1964. As far as Walt Disney was concerned Hughes bought RKO records to give Walt cash, and also sponsored the moonliner, which mentioned before was created with von Braun’s help, through TSA until he ended it and sponsorship passed along.
However, remember this is alternate history, something else may have arisen involving Hughes. Maybe further space or aeronautics work with von Braun.
Hi, first thought about Hughes– the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (est 1956) was founded with the goal of understanding the “genesis of life itself”. With the double helix imagery, it seems possible that Bradbury, Hughes and Von Braun could have been working on this “special project” with Walt– perhaps something more technologically advanced than we thought possible at that time?