Murphy, a dishonest lawyer, bribed a man on his client's jury to hold out
for a charge of manslaughter, as opposed to the charge of murder which was brought by the state.
The jury was out for several days before they returned with the manslaughter verdict.
When Murphy paid the corrupt juror, he asked him if he had a very difficult time convincing the other jurors to see things his way.
"Sure did," the juror replied, "the other eleven wanted to acquit."
Electric race-track amusement patentIn 1899, black American inventor, Granville T. Woods was issued a U.S. patent for an "Amusement Apparatus" (No. 639,692). Woods, as the most prolific African-American inventor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, has been called the black Edison. His numerous inventions included a steam-boiler furnace, telephone, telegraph system, electric railway and automatic air brake for railroad safety. This patent design was for small scale or large scale electrically-driven cars on a closed track, such as a figure-8 layout . If carrying persons, Woods claimed that it was suitable for amusement "use at summer and other resorts, at fairs, &c., and in or out of doors." The track could cross at different levels, or on the same level.« |
