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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread polemoscope #124160 02/29/2004 5:13 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 polemoscope. An opera or field glass with an oblique mirror arranged for seeing objects not directly before the eye. “The detective used a polemoscope to observe the suspect unobtrusively This device is usually a small monocular with a prism, so that the user appears to be looking away from the suspect, to avoid alerting suspect. They used to be advertised in pulp magazines, called "See-backoscope". Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: polemoscope #124161 03/03/2004 8:58 AM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 3,065 Jakarta Bingley Carpal Tunnel Bingley Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 3,065 Jakarta Presumably from Greek polemos = war as in polemics. Perhaps they were once used on battlefields. Bingley Bingley Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: polemoscope #124162 03/28/2004 1:20 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 Dear Bingley: I didn't get the point of your post until just now. In WWI, it would have been suicidal to put your head up above trench to use binoculars. So a 45degree mirror overhead allowed safe use of binoculars. From Internet: [page 185] Observation from behind cover or protected from enemy sight has always been a necessity in the military. The oldest device for this purpose is the Polemoscope, a stand with two parallel pairs of mirrors at 45 degrees to the tube. 'Hevelius maintains that he had invented this Polemoscope in 1637' (Pisko 1869, where on page 51 is a picture of such an instrument. See bibliography.) Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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