en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot
3 corrections found
The word was coined by Czech author Karel Capek
Karel Čapek popularized the word in R.U.R., but sources say his brother Josef Čapek coined it.
Full reasoning
This claim mixes up who introduced the term with who coined it. Reliable sources say the word robot was popularized by Karel Čapek's play R.U.R., but Josef Čapek originated the word.
- The official Karel Čapek site states that in R.U.R., “the world encountered the word ‘robot’ for the first time,” but also says “the word robot was created by Karel's brother Josef.”
- Merriam-Webster likewise says that while writing the play, Karel Čapek consulted his brother Josef Čapek, who suggested the name robot.
So the article's statement that Karel Čapek coined the word is incorrect: he introduced it in his play, but the coinage itself is credited to Josef Čapek.
2 sources
- Karel Čapek | Čapek
“R.U.R.” is Čapek's utopian drama where the world encountered the word “robot” for the first time... It is known that the word robot was created by Karel's brother Josef.
- Word of the Day: Robot | Merriam-Webster
During the writing of his play, Čapek consulted with his brother, the painter and writer Josef Čapek, who suggested the name robot for these machines.
Writer Karel Čapek was born in Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic).
Karel Čapek was born in 1890, before Czechoslovakia existed; he was born in Malé Svatoňovice in Austria-Hungary.
Full reasoning
This sentence is historically wrong because Czechoslovakia did not exist when Karel Čapek was born.
- The official Karel Čapek site says he was born on 9 January 1890 in Malé Svatoňovice.
- The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs' history page says Czechoslovakia was established on 28 October 1918.
Since Čapek was born 28 years before Czechoslovakia was created, it is incorrect to say he “was born in Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic).” At the time of his birth, that place was in Austria-Hungary.
2 sources
- Karel Čapek | Čapek
Karel Čapek 1890 - 1938 ... 1890 - 9.1. born in Malé Svatoňovice.
- History - Czechia
Following the defeat of the Habsburg Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the newly independent state of Czechoslovakia was established on 28 October 1918.
In 1066, Chinese inventor Su Song built a water clock in the form of a tower that featured mechanical figurines that chimed the hours.
This date is wrong: Su Song’s famous astronomical clock tower was completed around 1090, not 1066.
Full reasoning
The year in this sentence is inconsistent with standard historical accounts of Su Song's clock tower.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art says Su Song lived 1020–1101 and that his astronomical clock was “finished in about 1090.”
- The Hong Kong Space Museum says 2020 marked Su Song's 1000th birth anniversary (so he was born in 1020) and that at age 70 he constructed the Water-driven Astronomical Clock-tower.
Those sources place the construction around 1090, not 1066. So the article's date is incorrect.
2 sources
- Pair-case quarter-repeating watch - The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The clock was constructed under the direction of the diplomat and astronomer Su Song (1020-1101)... Finished in about 1090, it is estimated to have been between thirty and forty feet high.
- Su Song and the Water-driven Astronomical Clock-tower | Hong Kong Space Museum
The year 2020 marks the 1000th birth anniversary of Su Song... At age of 70, he... construct[ed] the Water-driven Astronomical Clock-tower.