ODD NEWS: Jolly good, New York

A London artist had created a device which allows people from "across the pond" in real time.

The device, called the "telectroscope," basically an optical device connected to a high-speed fiberoptic Internet hookup. One device was place on a pier in Brooklyn, N.Y., while the other was placed near the Tower Bridge over the Thames River in London. People who looked into the device could see people from the other side of the pond looking back at them, giving the impression they were looking through a telescope across the Atlantic Ocean.

Inventor Paul St George says his great-grandfather invented the device in Victorian times. The device does have a Victorian look to it -- something like Jules Verne might have envisioned or "Wild Wild West" character Artemis Gordon might have whipped up for Jim West to catch the bad guys.

The telectroscope, if it gets more popular, could have some neat uses. But if they do, don't expect one to fit into your backyard. They're awful big contraptions, as evidenced when you view the images of the device at the link below

TELECTROSCOPE STORY