Renoir;

I just have to add these two experiences.

1. Three engineers I knew were pondering over a problem. It seems one bought an outdoor vacuum cleaner to suck up leaves. They turned it on and exclaimed, “It does not work! It blows instead of having a vacuum”! Within an instant these three fellows decided, “We have to rewind the motor, as it is obvious that is the motor is wound backwards”!

I stopped them and stated I would take a look first. I found a small plate on the side was not closing the vent. Upon closing the vent the vacuum worked fine. Some engineers are dangerous.

2. At Ampex we had a third party in Switzerland build a “portable” Video Tape Recorder (professional studio type). It was delivered and worked BUT, the tape reels turned “backwards”. The five prima donnas (as we called these five engineers) stood there and stated, “We have to rewind the motor to correct the problem”!

A friend of mine and fellow engineer said, “Let me call the factory in Switzerland”! He did and was told, “We had no idea of the direction the tape reels should turn (convention), as we had never before seen or built a Video Tape Recorder”! So the new VTR (which became very successful) was allowed to run “backwards”. We still laugh about this. :)