In London or NYC? Check out the Telectroscope!

Back in the Victorian era, an English engineer named Alexander Stanhope St George got the idea to create a device that would allow people to see through a very long tunnel (say, across the Atlantic Ocean), which he called the “Telectroscope.” So, well this story is actually not true, but there was an 1898 article about what such a device might be like, and an English artist named Paul St. George came up the idea to actually create such a thing. With the support of a number of partners including the British government, he has in fact created the Telectroscope in the form of two Victorian-looking 11-foot high telescope-like viewers, one on the South Bank of the River Thames and the other at Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn, that let people look in one scope and see what is happening in real-time through the other scope. Although the idea of looking through a tunnel all the way across the ocean is cool, the Telectroscope actually takes advantage of modern fiber-optic networks to make the connection.

So, if you are in New York or London, definitely get over to the Telectroscope locations and check it out. And, if you can, get some pictures and send them to us! Also, the organizers are hoping that people will utilize the scope for all kinds of meetups, including actual meetings, reunions, or even a marriage proposal. But hurry, the Telectroscope will only be around until June 15th!

Via CNN and NY Times