28.11.2026

Slopfest #11 · 1937 · Vienna

Mirror, Mirror, Answer Confidently

Our magic mirror did not know who was fairest. It answered with great conviction anyway.

Hand-tinted lantern slide: a gilded Schönbrunn mirror with a moustache peeking from behind the frame, 'SLOPFEST #11' inked on the slide mount
Hand-tinted lantern slide: a gilded Schönbrunn mirror with a moustache peeking from behind the frame, 'SLOPFEST #11' inked on the slide mount

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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