Slopfest #11 · 1937 · Vienna
Mirror, Mirror, Answer Confidently
Our magic mirror did not know who was fairest. It answered with great conviction anyway.

Museum status: On permanent loan to a museum that has not been informed.
- Venue
- Schönbrunn Palace, the Hall of Mirrors
- Attendance
- 72
- Guest of honour
- Sigmund Freud (asked the magic mirror about its mother)
- Fun fact
- 212 questions answered, 0 correctly, all confidently
What happened
A committee member hid behind a mirror and answered any question put to it. Asked who was fairest in the land, it said 'Vienna', then 'you', then 'the Sachertorte', with equal confidence. Sigmund Freud asked it about its mother and got a 40-minute reply. Historians call it the first chatbot, though it was mostly Dr. Kranzl's nephew Gerhard.
Elsewhere in 1937
Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premieres, the first full-length cel-animated feature film.
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