The other day I wrote about the impossible music box in the film "Miss
Potter".  It took just two days for another music box error to show up,
this time while my wife and I were watching library DVDs from "Little
House on the Prairie".

In this one show, Laura finally has had it with nasty Nellie, and
swipes a small music box in what appeared to be a fancy (of course --
it was purchased by Mrs. Olsen!) porcelain or china case.  The sound
was obviously not a true musical movement, but the real clinker was
that Laura dropped it and to show it was damaged instead of just having
it not work, it played, but was clearly a recording of the music box
sound, but slowed down as though someone was holding the recording back
a little, making it blur and wow.  Huh?!

Obviously, back on the 1970s, the distinction between analog and
digital techniques was not as well known as it now seems to be,
particularly as it applied to sound recordings.  Tsk tsk!

My memory told me that the little ditty the music box played may very
well have been the same as, or close to, that in the Basil Rathbone
"Sherlock Holmes" film from the 1940s, where spies were using music
boxes to send coded messages.  I never could figure out how that could
work, but Holmes whistled the tune over and over and realized the last
note had been lowered or flatted, on one music box.  That was enough
for Holmes to solve the whole case.  Elementary, my dear wonderers!

Best wishes, Lee Munsick