Robbie wrote:

 > [ Ed, I've heard that, "In 1923 more pianos were sold in the USA
 > [ than babies were born, and 90% of them were player pianos."
 > [ Have you ever seen confirmation of this impressive statistic?

In case Ed doesn't have the numbers, we can try a little mind
experiment in an attempt to validate this statistic.  Answer the
multiple-choice census question with the mind-set that you're a
typical American couple in 1922/23:

Q: When looking for fun/entertainment, my spouse and I often like to:

     a) Play our player-piano
     b) Try to make babies
     c) All of the above
     d) None of the above

If the answer turns out to be a), I wonder if instrument adoption
agencies existed for couples that weren't able have pianos on their
own ...

Karl Ellison
Ashland, Massachusetts

 [ "A reproducing piano, huh?  What does it have, little spinets?"
 [ "No, baby grands !"   -- Robbie