Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-03-03
LITTLE CHILD HAS
REMARKABLE MEMORY
The Wonderful Achievement O
Baby Thompson Is Being
Investigated.
HE is NOT A FREAK
Merely Has an Unusual Power Of Rec
ignition Which Enables Him
to Assert Musical Disks by
Observing Pcrforations.

Omaha, Neb.. special: TIE Couaci
Bluffs correspondent OF the Omaha Bea
says: The item that appeared In the BeS
some weeks ago giving an accoun OF
the strange and extraordinary musica.
memory of Baby Lorin Thompson oil
Council Bluffs attracted the attention
OF several psychologists. Among these
was DR.. Thaddeus l.. Bolton. professor
of psychology in the University OF Ne
braska. He called upon Mr.. Thompson
at his home in Council Bluffs, III
Seventh street, and spent sew
eral hours In examining the child with
a view to determining the truth of the
alleged facts and to discovering by
what means the child had attained the
unusual results. The facts are sim
ply these: Baby Lorin Thompson, Wild
is now just three years Of age, has
learned to identify all OF nineteen discs
that go with a music box which his
father purchased some months ago for
the amusement of his children. These
discs are the usual metallic affairs that
go on a music box. The music is rep
resented by a set of punctures or per-
forations through the metal and the
title is printed or written on one side.
The child is able to go To the rack
where they are kept and pick out any
piece. such as Billy Bailey" ON,
Christian Soldier" etc, hat may be
asked for.
What the Child Does.
After his visit to the Thompson home
Professor Bolton said in reply TO a
question: THE facts are substantial
ly as published. The child did all he is
reported 10 have lone and II good deal
more. We resorted to several devices
TO determine by what means the child
was able to find the disc called for.
u q NNFslg -1Nsnt ~ IL - -. -N~ 49, -
given disc and il was played for him;
he was then asked for another and an
other until the whole list was gone
through with. After a piece had been
played II was placed on the pile again.
This being done the child was asked
TO name the discs from the reserve or
under side upon which no name was
printed. or the nineteen he named
eleven correctly. Among the eleven
We're several that he had not been able
on previous occasions TO identify in
this way, showing hat some little
chance may have entered into the in
identification. The discs were then
placed right side up and a paper laid
over the name, covering fully one-half
of the disc and they were all correctly
named except two. A sheet of card
board was now laid over the discs.
From this had been cut a section
~ NNANbfN w OItC~iAdjl the NlICutIlIeI-
ence and one-half the radius of the
discs, thus exposing only one-fourth
Of he disc and that on the side where
there was no other apparent means Of
identification save the figures made by
the p~unctures. In this way III identi-
fed nine or ten-aIl that were shown
him. Another cardboard was cut, ex-
posing again one-half of the circum-
ference n one-half of the radius, this
time il being the inner half of the RAJ
dtus. The p~unctures here are much
closer together than further out on
the disc m the child showed greater
hesitation n more reluctance towards
answering. However, he made two
mistakes in nine trials and afterwards
corrected one of them. The Who'll of
the discs was now covered save that
portion bearing the name OF title and
the child made four mistakes in ten
trials. In this the child could be in
duced TO take interest with much coax
ing and only after repeated requests
could an answe be extorted from him.