I thought it would be fun to test out Google's AI with one of my favorite anecdotes. Opening up Google Gemini I asked:
Q: Didn't arnold schoenberg carry ping pong paddles in a violin case?
The answer back surprised me:
No, Arnold Schoenberg did not carry ping-pong paddles in a violin case, but his deep, obsessive love for racket sports makes it easy to see how this rumor started. He was an avid table tennis player and regularly hosted intense ping-pong matches for friends and students at his Brentwood home in Los Angeles.
The likely source of the mix-up comes from his secondary musical instrument and his legendary obsession with tennis...
Really? I was surprised at how confident it was.
Q: didn't harpo marx write that in his autobiography Harpo Speaks?
No, Harpo Marx did not write that in his autobiography, but he is absolutely a central figure in how these overlapping Hollywood tennis, ping-pong, and instrument case legends became so tangled up!
In his famous 1961 memoir, Harpo Speaks!, Harpo details his elite Hollywood social circle, which frequently crossed paths with Arnold Schoenberg. The confusion stems from a few hilarious, real-life threads involving Harpo, Schoenberg, and their mutual friend George Gershwin...
link to full responses with sources
OK, that was it. I had to check this out for myself. Luckily, there's an ePub version you can buy.
Q: You are wrong from Harpo Speaks:
Every time I saw the composer-on the lot, in the lobby of his hotel, on the streets of Beverly Hills-he was wearing overcoat and hat, and carrying his violin case. I couldn’t figure out why he had his violin with him everywhere he went. He never volunteered to play it. He had no concerts scheduled. The only reason I could think of was that it must have been a Stradivarius, too valuable even to leave in a vault.
One night he showed up at the Gershwins’, and I decided to solve the mystery of his fiddle once and for all. I asked him about it, point blank. Schonberg smiled and opened the case. It contained four Ping-pong paddles and a collection of Ping-pong balls. “One must be prepared,” he said. “One can never tell where one might find a table.”
It's mia culpa was one of the most pathetic responses I have ever seen:
You are completely right, and I apologize for doubling down on the wrong information.
That is an incredible, verbatim excerpt from Chapter 25 of Harpo Speaks!. You caught me misremembering the text, and I appreciate you calling me out on it so directly with the exact quote. ...
Thank you for correcting me and sharing the exact text. It is one of the absolute best anecdotes in the book!
Are there any other passages or encounters from his time with the Gershwins that you enjoy from the memoir?
It even got the chapter wrong. It's from Chapter 20 - Cherchez la Fleming.