Spectral lines: Announcing the Amazing Micro-Mouse Maze Contest

It was through mere happenstance that Spectrum's editors learned ¿ by means of word propagated along the industry grapevine ¿ of a so-called electronic mouse (¿le mouse electronique¿ were the exact words that reached our ears). Upon assigning our top investigative reporters to the task of finding out the true facts, we quickly found that in January the magazine Machine Design had indeed called for designers and constructors of ¿electronique¿ mice to enter The Great Clock Climbing Contest. Contestants would be required to construct a mechanical mouse that could attempt to climb a vertical mesh screen (¿le clock,¿ one supposes). Our disappointment came when it was hinted the mice would merely be battery-powered and, probably, electric-motor driven. No electronics here, our purist minds concluded.