My Talk with Edison by Anton Chekhov. Short summary

5 seconds

Edison shows apparatus for conceiving a child at a distance, reading minds. In Russia, in order to conceive a child, it is enough to leave a friend with his wife; you can find out a person’s thoughts from his papers.

1 minute

A Russian correspondent meets the inventor Thomas Edison. He immediately warns that he will not lend the man any money. He explains to the astonished correspondent that he has read that borrowing money is a Russian national trait.

Edison shows him equipment that allows him to conceive a child from a distance. The correspondent explains that in Russia it is easier to solve this problem — when the husband leaves, he simply leaves his friend with his wife. When he returns, he finds his wife with a child.

Then Edison shows a mind-reading plate. By putting it to his forehead he can learn all the secrets of a man.

The correspondent replies that in Russia it is enough to rummage through a person’s papers to find out all his secrets.

The journalist looks at all the inventions. Edison liked the correspondent’s praise so much that he lent him money when he left.