Agostino Ramelli was a 16th-century Italian military engineer of some note who designed many machines and other contributions used in the go-go Renaissance period, including cranes, grain mills, and water pumps. But his most compelling apparatus was a real mindbender - a revolving wooden wheel with angled shelves that allowed users to read multiple books at one time.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning, I saw the chief draftsman who said, "You're in charge of gears." And he walked away. Dumbfounded, I stared at the back of his head, and sat down at my drafting board. It was November, 1963, shortly after JFK was assassinated, and after I was discharged from the U.S. Army.