Dig That Crazy Ribbon!

UP IN Greenwich, Conn., the night air was shattered by the 60-db roar of an African lion. Frantic phone calls to police headquarters brought a safari on the run, armed with ropes, nets and high-powered rifles. After carefully surrounding the wooded residential area where the beast had been reported, the police cautiously closed in.

But instead of a prowling predator, they bagged —of all things—a loudspeaker. It seems that there was a party in the neighborhood, and the host—a tape recording fan—had hidden a strong-muscled speaker in the bushes outside. As the party was slowing down, he played some tapes he had made at the zoo, “just to pep things up!” That’s what he told the judge—which goes to show that, while most uses for tape recorders in science and industry are pretty serious, tape has its zanier moments as well.