May 26, 2014
Irish practical joker Horace de Vere Cole orchestrated his
masterpiece in 1910: He dressed four friends as Abyssinian princes
and inveigled a tour of a British battleship. One of the friends,
improbably, was Virginia Woolf disguised in a false beard and
turban. We'll describe how the prank was inspired and follow the
six through their tension-filled visit to the HMS
<em>Dreadnought</em>.
We'll also examine the value of whistles to Benjamin Franklin and
present the next Futility Closet Challenge.