Wednesday 3 April 2019

EGRESS

@pixabay


Phineas Taylor Barnum, an American showman, politician, author and businessman, was born on July 5, 1810.

Also called The Greatest Showman, he is remembered for many things.

In 1841, he purchased Scudder’s American Museum and renamed it to Barnum’s American Museum.

He upgraded the building by adding exhibits of stuffed animals.

He added live acts of dwarfs, jugglers, magicians and exotic women.

Models of cities and famous battles were displayed in the museum.

To attract the visitors he introduced hoaxes.

In 1842, he made live his first major hoax.

It was a creature with the head of a monkey and the tail of a fish, known as ‘Feejee’ mermaid.

Then he introduced a dwarf called ‘General Tom Thumb’ (the smallest person that ever walked alone).

But the person wasn’t a dwarf; he was a four years old boy who was trained to imitate grown-ups. General Tom Thumb imitated people from Hercules to Napoleon with ease.

Barnum justified his hoaxes. To him, the hoaxes were advertisements to draw attention towards the museum.

“I don’t believe in duping the public, but I believe in first attracting and then pleasing them.” 
- P.T. Barnum.

 And indeed, people were pleased.

His museum was a hit.

People from different corners of the world visited Barnum’s museum.

The visitors would spend their entire day drifting in the museum awing the exhibits.

This frustrated Barnum.

The profits were taking a hit because it became difficult to squeeze in more visitors.

To permit more visitors inside the museum, they have to make space.

But how?

Barnum devised a plan.

At every corner, he posted signs that read ‘This way to the Egress’.

The visitors thought that this is another startling attraction.

So they kept following the sign.

And before they knew, they were out of the museum.

If you google Egress, you will find that it means – ‘the action of going out of or leaving a place’

Or simply, Exit.

Many of the visitors were not aware of what Egress means.

To them, it was just another attraction.

And they couldn’t enter the museum again without paying the entry fees again.

Did Barnum cheat his visitors?

Or it was just a clever trick?

Tuesday 19 February 2019

The Pink Tie

In 1915, the great novelist P.G Wodehouse created a character called REGINALD JEEVES. 
Jeeves is an intelligent and infallible valet of Bertie Wooster.
We have already covered the brilliance of Jeeves in the past - Solve It Like Jeeves and There Is Always a Way. Now it's time for the third installment.

One fine day, Lady Malvern and her twenty-three-year-old son, Lord Pershore (nicknamed Motty), drops at Wooster’s place in NewYork.
Lady Malvern, a writer, is a close pal of Wooster’s rich aunt Agatha.
The purpose of Lady Malvern’s visit is simple.
For a month, she is touring prisons of America to collect the material for her new book. And while she is away, she wants Wooster to take her son in his company.
She assures Wooster that there won’t be any trouble from her son.
'My son is a home bird, a true vegetarian and teetotaler. Give him a nice book and he will be contented.' Lady Malvern says while looking at Motty, who is sitting with his mouth nuzzling the walking stick.
Wooster is not in favor to babysit Motty. But he agrees because of Aunt Agatha.
Lady Malvern thanks Wooster, and takes Motty with her to see a few of the sights before her train leaves. She promises Wooster that she will send Motty back early in the afternoon.
That night, upon returning from a social gathering, Wooster asks Jeeves, 'Lord Pershore gone to bed?'
‘No sir. His lordship has not yet returned.’
‘Not returned? What do you mean?’
‘His Lordship came in shortly after six-thirty, and, having dressed, went out again.’
Then, they hear a thud outside the front door. It was Lord Pershore who fell on the mat. He was in a state of inebriation and grunting in pain.
This was only a teaser.
Nights after nights, Lord Pershore got indulged in reveling parties, eating meat and drinking wine.
Wooster becomes worried. If anything happens bad to Lord Pershore the blame would come on him.
So he confronts Lord Pershore and demands an explanation behind his actions.
And Lord Pershore proudly gives an explanation – ‘The only excitement I get at Middlefold, is when one of the choir-boys is caught sucking chocolate during the sermon. Now I’m in New York for a month, I want to store a few happy memories for the long winter evening.’
Wooster is bewildered.
So he asks Jeeves for help. But Jeeves pays no attention to his sufferings.
And there was a reason behind Jeeves callousness.
Jeeves wasn’t in a favor of Wooster’s pink tie.
‘What’s wrong with the tie?’
‘Too ornate, sir.’
‘Nonsense! A cheerful pink. Nothing more.’
‘Unsuitable, sir.’
‘Jeeves, this is the tie I wear!’
‘Very good, sir.’
Meanwhile, the activities of Lord Pershore continued.
There were also some nights when Lord Pershore came with his bunch of young friends and made hullabaloo till the sun came out.
Finally, Wooster decides to take Lord Pershore with him every night. He thought that by keeping Lord Pershore in his company, he can stop him from getting involved in barmy activities.
But he was wrong.
One night, at a party and in the presence of Wooster, Lord Pershore started throwing soft-boiled eggs at an electric fan.
Unable to cope up with the silence of Jeeves and madness of Lord Pershore, Wooster decides to go away for a few weeks.
‘Jeeves, I’m going away – tomorrow morning by the first train. I shall go and stop with Mr. Todd in the country.’
‘Do you wish me to accompany you, sir?’
‘No.’
‘Very good, sir’.
But Wooster got bored in the country and came back within a week.
Upon his return, Wooster finds out from Jeeves that Lord Pershore is in prison.
‘Why?’
“He assaulted a constable, sir.’
‘Lord Pershore assaulted a constable!’
‘Yes, sir.’
Wooster becomes worried. What he will explain to Lady Malvern and Aunt Agatha?
But Jeeves assures him, that Lord Pershore will come out before Lady Malvern arrives.
And what if Lord Pershore is still sitting in the prison and Lady Malvern pops in.
‘I should inform her ladyship that his lordship has left for a short visit to Boston.’ 
Why Boston?’
‘Very interesting and respectable center, sir.’
‘Jeeves, I believe you’ve hit it.’
‘I fancy so, sir.’
Things went on comfortably and peacefully for a week. 
Then came the bomb.
Lady Malvern turns up while Lord Pershore is still in prison.
‘I hope Motty wasn’t in your way, Mr. Wooster?’ she asks.
‘Rather not! Great pals. Hit it off splendidly.’
‘You were his constant companion, then?’
And Wooster presented a pile of lies on how he and Lord Pershore had spent quality of time together.
We had a great time, I was awfully sorry when he went away to Boston.’
But Lady Malvern threw a dart and busted Wooster’s balloon of lies.
She tells Wooster, that she visited Blackwell’s Island prison yesterday to secure some material for her book, and saw Lord Pershore in a striped suit, sitting beside a pile of stones with a hammer in his hands.
‘So this is how you have looked after my poor, dear boy? So this is how you have abused my trust?
Before Wooster can utter any word, a soft voice spoke. It was Jeeves.
He explained to Lady Malvern, that Mr. Wooster was unaware of Lord Pershore’s movements as he was away, visiting a friend in the country. And it was him who told Mr. Wooster that Lord Pershore is in Boston.
Why?
‘It might have been hard for Mr. Wooster to believe that his lordship had gone to prison voluntarily.'
‘Voluntarily?’ Lady Malvern goggles at Jeeves.
And then Jeeves played his trump card.
He tells Lady Malvern that Lord Pershore wanted to help her out. As she was writing a book on American prison, Lord Pershore decided to make a personal examination into the prison system of the country- from within.
Lady Malvern’s anger melts away and she apologizes to Wooster before leaving.
On the breakfast table, a happy Wooster asks Jeeves if he needed anything.
Jeeves replies that he needed fifty dollars to clear the debt of honor.
‘I owe it to Lord Pershore.’ Jeeves says.
‘You owe Lord Pershore fifty dollars?’
And Jeeves narrated the incident that had put Lord Pershore behind the bars.
On the night when Lord Pershore got arrested, Jeeves met him on the street.
Being in an inebriated state, Lord Pershore mistook Jeeves for a friend of his. Sensing an opportunity, Jeeves took the liberty of wagering him fifty dollars that he would not punch a passing policeman in the eye.
Lord Pershore accepted the bet and won it.
Wooster takes out his pocket-book and counts out a hundred.
‘Take this, Jeeves, fifty isn’t enough.'
So Jeeves had used his power of creativity and freed his master from the clutches of Lord Pershore. He also saved him from the fire of Lady Malvern and Aunt Agatha.
But what happened to that pink tie?
Well, Wooster requested Jeeves to burn it down.
And Jeeves did it happily.

Monday 11 February 2019

The Sticky Hunting Trip

Year: 1941


The dog uttered a squeal. 
George de Mestral, a Swiss electrical engineer in his mid-thirties gave the dog an unfriendly stare.
“What’s up buddy, haven't you enjoy our hunting trip?” George asked while unbuttoning his gray overcoat.
The dog made another squeak and shook his entire body. 
“You didn’t like the alps, old boy?” George raised his arm to throw the overcoat on the chair. But he stopped abruptly.
“What the hell is this?” George murmured. He was staring at his overcoat. Little brown burdock seeds where clinging everywhere on his overcoat.
He sat next to his dog.
“Oh my goodness!” He gasped, caressing the hairy body of the dog. “They are on you as well. So that’s why you were so anxious old boy”.
George gave the dog a bath. But he couldn’t forget those tiny brown burdock seeds.

He collected a few seeds from the overcoat. “Old boy, ready for some excitement?” George said to his dog.
After a few minutes, the Swiss electrical engineer was examining the brown burdock seeds under a microscope.
“Hmmmm…..interesting….w…wait”.
George had a light bulb moment.

A couple of days later, inside the office of a textile industry.
“No.” The executive nodded his head left to right. “George, you are an electrical engineer, stick to your occupation. You are just wasting your time here”.
 “You are not getting the point, Mr. Executive,” George said softly. “I had examined these burdock seeds under the microscope. These seeds have hundreds of tiny hooks that can stick to almost anything.  They can stick to clothing, hair, fur, on my dog. If…”
 “You are wasting my time”. The executive interrupted.
But George's excitement was on another level. He continued his pitching.
“If these seeds can cling to almost anything, then I’m sure that we can find a material that can be stick together in a similar way.”
“And?” The executive yawned.
“We just need to figure how we can make the hooks and loops on the material. We just need to imitate the property of the seeds. And…”
“Sorry George, I have a meeting to attend, kindly leave”. The Executive said, pointing towards the door.
A disappointed George walked away.
George took his idea to many industrialists. But none of them became interested. For the next few days, his ears became familiar to -
“That’s sound nice, but we don’t have time to do this Mr. George”.
“Are you kidding George”.
“It ain’t work”.
“Sorry George”.
After many rejections, a weaver in Lyon took some interest in George’s experiment.
“Isn’t this fantastic?” The weaver said in excitement. He was holding two strips of cotton cloth. On one strip were tiny hooks and on the other were loops.
 “Let’s do this”. George's eyes gleamed with happiness.
The weaver then placed the hooks of one strip on the loops of the other strip.
“It is working”. George said.
The weaver nodded in agreement.
Kkkkkrrrriiiissshhh, a sound clung in the small room as the weaver pulled the two strips apart.
“It is working”. George said in happiness.
But George’s happiness was short-lived. The cotton cloth wore out quickly. But he didn’t give up. After a series of experiments, he settled on nylon.
“Old boy...” George glanced at the dog and then lifted a piece of nylon from the table. “When nylon is sewn under hot infrared light, it forms hooks.”
  “Just like this old boy”. He picked another piece of nylon, but this was different. It had several tiny hooks on one surface.
“But something is still not in line”. George said while scratching his hand.
And he was right.
George had figured out how to make the hooks, but he had to still make the loops. After several days of hard work, he made the loops. When the nylon was woven in loops and subjected to heat, it was retaining its shape. But-
“This is not good old boy. The loops…how can the loops mate perfectly with the hooks?” George groaned. But the dog wasn’t paying any attention.
“I will give up. I’m tired”. George threw the piece of nylon on the table. His eyes smothered with sorrow. “I give up”.
Then an idea popped up in George’s mind that changed his life.
He took a pair of shears and trimmed the tops of the loops.
“Look, old boy, just look”. George said happily to his dog. “The hooks are mating perfectly with the loops”. The dog waived his tail. 
George has just invented Velcro.
It took another ten years for George to create a perfect Velcro. In 1951, he submitted the idea for patent in Switzerland. The patent was granted in 1955.
Velcro became famous in the early 1960s when it was used by astronauts to move in and out of their heavy suits. Soon the scuba, marines and skiers, realized the significance of the unusual... Kkkkkrrrriiiissshhh...sounding sticky material.
Let's give our thanks to George De Mestral and his dog for taking up that hunting trip in the Alps.

Note: The incident is real, but the scenarios and dialogues are fictional (for entertainment purpose).

Tuesday 14 August 2018

What is Freedom?

What is Freedom?

Indian freedom fighters came from different Religions, Castes, Regions and Occupations.

In Ayodhya, in 1857, Maulana Ameer Ali and the priest of Hanuman temple Baba Ramcharan Das were prominent leaders of the freedom struggle. 

In the district of Faridabad, Raja Devibaksh Singh army was led by Acchan Khan and Shambu Prasad Shukla.

Literary experts and mathematics lovers, Muneer Beg and Hukumchand Jain from Hansi town (now Haryana) were revolutionary leaders of the Bahadurshah Zafar government.

In Madhya Pradesh, there was an association of Maulvi Fazal Haq, Tatia Tope, Rao Sahab, Laxmi Bai, and Feroz Shah.

In Delhi, Khan Bahadur Khan was appointed as the viceroy of Mughal emperor on May 11, 1857. His deputy was Khusi Ram. 

In Muzaffar Nagar district there was a team of 28-year-old Asha Devi and 45-year-old Asghari Begum. 

The above freedom fighters won many crucial battles against the British army and gave sleepless nights to the Lords and commanding officers.

However, this friendship and unity were undigested by stooges who cheated their own and reported the whereabouts of these brave fighters to the Britishers. 

As a result, many of these revolutionaries were caught and punished to death. 

Baba Ramcharan Das and Maulana Ameer Ali were captured and hanged side by side on a tamarind tree at the Kuber Teela in Ayodhya. 

Acchan Khan and Shambu Prasad Shukla were taken into custody and publicly subjected to serious torture and finally executed. 

Muneer Beg and HukumChand Jain were caught and hanged together on the same tree. To create a rift between Hindu's and Muslim's, Muneer Beg was cremated and HukumChand Jain was buried by the British government.

In the battle at Ranod, that happened on Dec 17, 1858, Moulvi Fazal Haq sacrificed his life to save Tatia Tope, Rao Sahab and Ferozshah from the sudden attack of British troops. 

Khan Bahadur Khan and Khusi Ram were captured and hanged along with hundreds of supporters outside Kotwali on March 20, 1860. 

Asha Devi was also hanged while Asghari Begum was burnt alive. 

Despite these executions and punishments, the struggle of Independence continued. 

The unity of freedom fighters was so strong that a senior British officer Thomas Lowe quoted,” the infanticide Rajput, the bigoted Brahmin, the fanatic Mussalman, and the luxury loving, fatpaunched ambitious Maharattah [sic], they all joined together in the cause; the cow- killer and the cow-worshipper, the pig-hater and the pig-eater, the crier of Allah is God and Mohommed [sic] his prophet and the mumbler of the mysteries of Brahma”. 

This unity was a hurdle for Britishers and they understood that to rule India they had to break this friendship that existed between the different communities.

They planted the seed of two nation theory in the minds of Indians. India got its freedom in 1947, but the seed of separate nation also grew into a ripe fruit and India and Pakistan got separated. 

Freedom is Unity.




Pic Courtesy: http://www.taxsutra.com/experts/column?sid=830

Monday 19 March 2018

The Box of Candies


How will you sell a box that plays an irritating music every time it is opened?


You can’t go on saying that – hey look, this is an amazing candy or cigar box that plays an irritating music whenever it is opened. Buy this.

You will probably make zero sales.

Because no one wants to hear that irritating piece of sound.

So you will report to your boss – hey look, I can’t sell this box because nobody wants to get irritated.

You may also request to remove that music and make it an ordinary box.

But your boss is a tough nut to crack.

He will simply say that either sell the box or get out.

Now you are stuck.

Your job depends on that irritating piece of box.

So how will you sell that box?

You can sell it by being a little creative.

Let’s assume that the box is used for keeping the candies.

Everyone knows that eating lots of candies can make a person gain weight.

Now target those specific people. 

People who eat lots of candies, and people who are obese and still keep on eating candies.

You can say them – hey look, there is no doubt that we all love eating candies. But sometimes we overdo it and it is tough to keep a count of the candies that we eat every day. And this habit of eating candy after candy leads to weight gain.

The customer will probably agree with you.

Now as you have their attention it’s time to make a pitch.

But not anymore. This box will help you in keeping a count. Every time you open this box it will play a music that will irritate your ears. Actually, it is a message, “Too much candy, be careful”.

Will it sell?

Hmmm… it can.

At least you will get a candy for thinking out of the box.

This trick was used by Klara Novak (Magaret Sullavan) in the move ‘The Shop Around the Corner’.

Watch it yourself.









Thursday 8 June 2017

Why Sherlock Holmes was a Master of Simplicity



Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson arrive at King’s Pyland to investigate the disappearance of the super racehorse ‘Silver Blaze’, and the murder of its trainer, John Straker.

The horse belongs to Colonel Ross.

John Straker was a long time associate of Ross and Silver Blaze was a favorite horse for an upcoming race.

To protect Silver Blaze, Ross had appointed a watch-guard Ned Hunter and a dog to keep an eye on the stable.

On a frightful night, Ned Hunter was drugged by a sedative added to his dinner.

And before these incidents of crime took place, a sheep on Ross farm had got lame.  Why? Nobody knows.

John Straker’s body was found in a desolated location far away from the stable.

The investigations revealed that he was hit hard on his skull which caused his death.

A cataract knife was found at the crime scene and Staker’s coat was found draped over a bush.

And a cravat was found in Straker’s hand which belongs to a bookie named Fitzroy Simpson.

On the day of this ugly incident, Simpson had come to King’s Pyland to gather information about Silver Blaze and other horses.

He was arrested by Inspector Gregory of Scotland Yard on the criminal charges for kidnapping Silver Blaze and the murder of John Straker.

Inspector Gregory theory was –
Simpson had stolen Silver Blaze from the stable.
While he was running away, Straker caught him on the moor.
A scuffle took place, and Simpson hit Straker on the head with his heavy stick.
Then he ran away with the horse and hid it someplace.

But Sherlock Holmes was not satisfied with Gregory's theory.

He started his investigations from a different angle.
He came to the conclusion that it was John Straker who was kidnapping the horse.

But what caused John Straker to betray his master?

John Straker was in debt because his secret second wife was a heavy spender.

To repay the loan he took hefty money from a rival party to injure Silver Blaze.

He took the horse to an isolated location to make Silver Blaze lame by cutting him with the cataract knife.

He had earlier tried this experiment on the sheep that made it lame.

But his plan backfired.

Before he can inflict the wound, the horse kicked him on his head.

Straker died on the spot and the horse ran away.

The horse was captured by a neighboring stable owner who painted it to make it look like one of his own.

What Sherlock Holmes did was that he asked a simple question.

The guard Ned Hunter was drugged and unconscious; so he could not take any action when the culprit came to the stable to kidnap Silver Blaze. But the DOG did not bark and alarmed its owner (Ross) and other employees. Why?

The dog was not drugged.

The dog did not bark, because it knew John Straker.

Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”
Holmes: “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”

Gregory: “The dog did nothing in the night-time.”

Holmes: “That was the curious incident.” Silver Blaze by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

We often ignore or overlook the simple facts because we find it useless.

We are hypnotized by complexity.

But the simple facts are the key to solve complex problems. 

And Sherlock Holmes was a master of simplicity.

5 Best Examples of Creative Thinking

What is creative thinking?
A way of looking at problems or situations, from a fresh perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions.

Nasreddin Hodja was a Turkish scholar of the 13th century.

He was also called as Mullah Nasruddin, Nasreddin Hoca and Nasreddin Hodja.

He is known for his satirical style, blunt mannerism and anecdotes.

One day Nasreddin’s neighbor came to him for an advice.

The neighbor lived in a small house with a large family.

It was uncomfortable for him to live in a tiny house with his wife, mother-in-law and three kids.

He wanted Nasreddin Hodja to help him out.

Nasreddin knew that this man is asking for something that is beyond his reach.

He was not a magician who can cast a spell and make the house big.

But he had humor and wits.

So Nasreddin asked his neighbor, how many chickens he had in the barn?

The neighbor replied that he had 5 chickens.

Nasreddin told him to bring all the chickens in the house.

The neighbor was shocked and surprised.

But he did not question Nasreddin’s wisdom.

Next day the neighbor came back.

He complained that the situation had gone bad.

With the 5 chickens, it was difficult for him and his family to live in the house.

Nasreddin was calm as a summer sea.

‘Do you have a donkey?’ Nasreddin asked his neighbor.

The neighbor replied with a ‘Yes’.

Nasreddin advised him to bring the donkey in the house.

The neighbor was bewildered.

Nasreddin assured him that bringing donkey in the house will solve his problem.

Next morning, the neighbor returned with a gloomy face.

He complained that the last night was horrible.

The donkey and the chickens took the entire living area.

Nasreddin was not moved by the plight of his neighbor.

‘You have lambs, don’t you?’ inquired Nasreddin casually.

‘Yes I have two’, the neighbor answered.

‘Bring those two lambs in the house’, Nasreddin said to the neighbor.

The neighbor protested this time.

But Nasreddin assured him to have faith in his advice.

The next morning the neighbor returned in a miserable condition.

His sunken eyes revealed that he had a sleepless night.

He complained to Nasreddin that with the lambs, the chickens and the donkey in the house, his family could not even breathe.

His mother-in-law had threatened to kill him.

And his wife had threatened to leave him.

‘Why had you done this to me?’ the neighbor bemoaned.

Nasreddin was calm as usual.

‘Now, it’s time to take all the livestock out of the house’, Nasreddin said to his neighbor.

The next day the Neighbor returned with a winning smile.

Now our house is spacious. We can sleep peacefully, and the kids can play comfortably. Everyone is happy.

Nasreddin had solved the problem creatively.

He knew that his neighbor cannot buy a spacious house, nor he can throw some of his family members out of the house.

Even if he gets a bigger house, his wants will never be satisfied.

Human wants are unlimited.

The only way to solve this problem was to make him realize, that his present house has enough space to live a comfortable life.

Nasreddin used his creative powers and gave his neighbor what he wanted.

Don’t give them what they want, give them what they need. — Joss Wheldon

2) The Foxy thinking of Sam Zemurray

Sam Zemurray was born on 18th January 1877, to a poor family, in Kishinev- Russian Empire.

At the age of 14, he migrated to America.

He did not receive any formal education.

To fight poverty, he entered the banana trade at an early age.

Before Sam, things were different in the banana trade.

The bananas that ripened in the commute were disposed upon arrival at the port.

Sam bought these ripe bananas cheaply and sold them to the local grocers.

This technique bought Sam success and fame.

He earned the nickname “Sam the Banana Man”.

By 1911 he founded his own fruit company.

In 1915, Sam wanted to acquire five thousand acres of land located in the jungles of South America.

But there was a problem.

A renowned and powerful fruit company ‘United Fruit’ was also interested in this piece of land.

Neither Sam nor United Fruit was able to buy the land yet because it was in a dispute.

Two different locals were claiming the ownership of this plantation.

United Fruit dispatched a team of cunning lawyers, high profile businessmen, and experts to solve this issue.

They wanted this piece of land desperately and money was not an issue for them.

The team of United Fruits was leaving no stone unturned to find out the real owner of this land, and to close this deal before Sam makes any move.

But ‘ Sam the Banana Man’, was not so rich and powerful to hire expensive lawyers and negotiators.

But he was also desperate for this piece of land.

So he had to find a solution to this problem.

And he did something bizarre.

He met separately with both the locals who were claiming the ownership of the plantation.

And he bought the land from both of them.

Indeed, he paid twice for the land.

But he won over his rich and powerful competitor without getting into the mud fight.

Sam- a man with no formal education had check-mate the experts of the United Fruit.

Without any arguments or legal battles, Sam solved the problem with his creative thinking.

3) The out of box thinking of Josep Von Sternberg

Josep Von Sternberg was a renowned Austrian-American film director.

In 1925, he directed his first film The Salvation Hunters, which is considered as the first American Independent film.

In 1930, he received an invitation from Berlin, to direct a film featuring world-famous German actor ‘Emil Jannings’.

Being previously worked with Jannings, he knew that the actor is talented but he also a disruptive person.

Jannings would do everything to disturb the flow of production.

He would throw his stupid ideas towards the director and other unit members.

These poking would soon turn into an unhealthy argument, and at last, the directors had to kneel down before him.

But Sternberg was a man of discipline.

The only thing mattered to him was successfully completing the film.

So he devised a strategy.

He prepared himself for the games that Jannings will play.

Jannings demanded that the director should visit his dressing room every morning to see how interested he is in this movie. Sternberg did this without any complaints.

Jannings demanded that the director should take him on free lunches and should hear his ideas. Sternberg did this without showing any resistance.

When Sternberg showed his affection for other actors, Jannings would spark a jealous fit.

So he became extra affectionate towards Jannings.

Jannings assumed that everything is in his control.

But he was wrong.

Sternberg was only playing his game.

When Jannings delivered his dialogues in an unnecessary high pitch tone, instead of correcting him, Sternberg congratulated him for his tone by saying that he is the only person in the film to talk like that.

Fearing that this will make him out of the league, he will drop his tone to normal.
Sternberg would torch the hottest set light on the back of Jannings neck whenever he refused (for no reason) to pass through a certain door to make his entrance into the scene.

This would make Jannings uncomfortable and he would pass through the door.

Whenever Jannings refused to come out of his dressing room, a word would be spread that the director is bestowing attention on other actors.

On hearing this, Jannings would become jealous and he would come out of his dressing room.

Throughout the shooting, Sternberg used the useless tantrums of Jannings against him.
Without any arguments or explanation, he made Jannings to do what he desired.

And Jannings assuming that everything is in his control gave the best performance of his life.

The movie was complete without any disruption.

It became the blockbuster of that era.

The movie was ‘The Blue Angel’.

Using the power of creative thinking, Josep Von Sternberg solved all of his problems.

4) Creative thinking can turn the game into your favor.

George Walbridge Perkins was born on 31st January 1862, in Chicago.

After completing his high school education, he joined New York Life Insurance Company as an office boy.

With his exceptional problem-solving skills and hard work, he became the vice president of New York Life Insurance Company in 1989.

In 1905, he joined JP Morgan and negotiated many complex deals.

But his real test of skills came in 1912.

In 1912, he was the campaign manager of Theodore Roosevelt.

Roosevelt was trying hard to win the presidential nomination in 1912.

To promote Roosevelt and his party, George Perkins decided to distribute a pamphlet.

The pamphlet will have Roosevelt’s photo on the cover, and inside it will have the transcript of his speech called “Confession of Faith”.

All was going well until a worker noticed a line on the photograph: Moffett Studios — Chicago.

The photo was copyrighted by Moffett Studios.

The unauthorized use of this photo may result in paying millions as a fine.

And they cannot go back at this time and change their campaign plan.

They had to negotiate for the photograph with Moffett studios at any cost.

Further investigations revealed that Moffett was a tough case when it came to money.
And he was also planning to retire soon.

So it was assumed that he will ask tons of money for this photograph.

The clever George Perkins stepped into this matter.

He did not ask Moffett how much they should pay him to use the photograph.

Instead, he landed him in a tricky situation.

He telegrammed him the following message.

“We are planning to distribute millions of pamphlets with Roosevelt’s picture on the cover. It will be great publicity for the studio whose photograph we use. How much will you pay us to use yours?”

Moffett was unable to understand this tactic.

And he replied innocently to George.

“We have never done this before. But under the circumstances, we’d be pleased to offer you $250.”

George accepted the offer of $250.

With his exceptional skills and creative thinking, George has not only solve the problem but also made Moffett pay them for using the photograph.

Creative thinking can turn the tables.

5) The road of creative thinking
John Steinbeck published his realist novel ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ in 1939.

It depicts the plight of the families of tenant farmers and immigrants during the Great Depression.

It also revealed the darker side of the banking system and farming corporations.

‘The Grapes of Wrath’ became the bestselling book of 1939.

It also won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

Later in 1962, Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for ‘The Grapes of Wrath’.

But with the flowers came the thorns.

Both the leftists and rightists called Steinbeck a propagandist and socialist.

Banks and farming corporations accused Steinbeck of spreading lies.

The novel was banned and burned by landlords.

Steinbeck even received death threats for writing this novel.

Despite all the controversy surrounding it; Hollywood director John Ford decided to make a movie on this novel.

He signed the versatile actor Henry Fonda to play the lead role of Tom Joad.

The budget for making this movie was $800,000 and 20th Century-Fox was the distributor.

But there was a problem.

John Ford knew that there would be many objections if he announced that he is making a movie on the controversial ‘The Grapes of Wrath’.

There was a high chance of some organizations destroying the movie sets, interrupting the shooting and harming the film crew.

John Ford did not want to put himself and his crew in danger, but he also wanted to make this movie at any cost.

So he came out with a creative solution.

He gave the movie a fake working title — “Highway 66’’.

And he picked this idea from the novel itself.

Highway 66 is the main migrant road in ‘The Grapes of Wrath’.

“66 is the path of a people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors and shrinking ownership, from the desert’s slow northward invasion, from the twisting winds that howl up out of Texas, from the floods that bring no richness to the land and steal what little richness is there. From all of these the people are in flight, and they come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads. 66 is the mother road, the road of flight.” — — The Grapes of Wrath.

John Ford finished the shooting without any disturbance.

On 24th January 1940, the movie was released with the original title ‘The Grapes of Wrath’.

No doubt there were protests after the movie release.

Farming corporations called for a boycott of all 20th Century-Fox films.

But the protest did not have any major impact.

The movie was well received by the cine-goers at that time.

And today it is remembered as one of the greatest American films of all time.

“Highway 66” was the road of hope for John Ford to make this masterpiece.

John Ford creative thinking helped him to make this movie without any fuss.

So that’s all from my side. What are the examples of creative thinking that you know?



EGRESS

@pixabay Phineas Taylor Barnum, an American showman, politician, author and businessman, was born on July 5, 1810. Also called ...