Some major mistakes in history:
1. The Segway. The stand-up scooter to ride around town was bulky, hard to maneuver and over-hyped. I have seen them used on tours of Washington, D.C. monuments, but little else.
2. Hydrogen airships for travel. They were abandoned after a fire on the Hindenburg in 1937 killed 35 passengers and crew. (The Goodyear blimp floats with helium.)
3. Pay toilets. Still common in Europe, they disappeared from big American cities after angry reactions in the last mid-century.
4. Reserved seats in movies. Sorry, but most films I see nowadays aren’t that crowded anyway.
5. Marlon Brando as Sky Masterson in the “Guys and Dolls” movie. Sorry, I have been focusing on this a lot as we prepare for our show in Clarksville. It hurts to see him sing “Luck Be a Lady” instead of Frank Sinatra.
6. Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. What was he thinking? I heard that it’s cold in Russia in the winter.
7. New Coke. Consumers rebelled against this sweeter version in 1985, and the company took it off the market in 79 days.
8. Google Glasses. I don’t know anyone who tried wearing a computer on their noses.
9. Audrey Hepburn in the “My Fair Lady” movie instead of Julie Andrews, who played Eliza Doolittle on Broadway. Julie got her revenge with “Mary Poppins” and “The Sound of Music.”
10. Indoor auto racing. Do they still do that? The noise and smoke really bothered my dad when we attended one in Oakland when I was 16.
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