158. Today in 1920s Turkey: 24 March 1928 (Mechanized Man, aka Proto-Android)

(News blurb, Resimli Gazete or “Illustrated Gazette,” 24 March 1928, no. 238, page 12.)

English
This real man which was given shape by an American engineer possesses the twentieth century’s most perfected mechanized device. The engineer claims he will have this man functioning like a living human. According to the engineer’s statement the man’s entire [قرۀ فرسبه یه] has come from this machine.

Türkçe
Bir Amerikalı mühendis tarafından vücuda getirilen bu sahi adam yirminci asrın en mütekamil makine cihazına maliktir. Mühendis bu adama canlı bir insan gibi iş gördürteceğini iddia etmektedir. Mühendisin beyanatına göre bu makineden adamın ikmali [قرۀ فرسبه یه] gelmiştir.

Comments:
The last page of this weekly illustrated gazette is dedicated to short news stories from around the world. These often “sensational” stories are often accompanied by a photograph which acts as “proof” of the validity of their claims. Like many of its kind, this recurring feature is heralded with a standardized heading that runs across the top of the page. In the case of today’s example, the heading is picked out in red ink and reads “A Bird’s Eye View of World Events” (Dünya Vukuatına Kuş Bakışı). The international scope of the page is reinforced with the inclusion of a globe and map that flank the red title plate as well as pictures of several men hailing from different geographic regions.

(“Dünya Vukuatına Kuş Bakışı,” Resimli Gazete or “Illustrated Gazette,” 24 March 1928, no. 238, page 12.)

One of six global stories on the page, today’s “robot” piece is allotted the greatest space. However, while it possesses the largest picture, it happens to also contain the smallest amount of text. The star of the show, the photograph bears witness to the existence of a robot on the other side of the world in America. According to the claims of its creator, this robot will one day function just like a regular man. The robot appears to be roughly (human) life-size. Its mechanical core corresponds to its torso to which crudely constructed arms and legs have been affixed. A cube-ish head with angular, rudimentary facial features crowns the entire contraption. A far cry from modern conceptions of animation and AI, this proto-android would have captured the imaginations of 1920s-readers wondering what the limits of automation, science, and technology might be.