377     March 16, 1960
Bill, Betsy, Henry, Bess

Charles Escoffery from El Segundo, California: “The fuel that powers this car is sunlight” 
Escoffery’s car is a 1912 Baker Electric, which he has retrofitted with a solar panel on the roof at a cost of $20,000.  It is the first full-sized car to run on solar power.  Dr. Escoffery points out that the panel is similar to those used on the new Pioneer 5 space satellite, which had launched five days earlier.  Today, practical solar cars are still rare, though testing continues with exotic experimental vehicles.   

George Graff from the Pocono Mountains: “I wrote ‘When Irish Eyes Are Smiling’” 
An appropriate Secret on this day before St. Patrick’s Day.  Though assumed to be an old Irish ballad, the standard was written in 1912 for a now long-forgotten Broadway play called The Isle O’Dreams (1913).  Chauncey Olcott wrote the play, co-wrote the lyrics of the song with Graff, and performed the song in the show. Ernest Ball composed the music.  Of the three men, only Olcott had Irish heritage.   


Special Guest Olivia de Havilland will test the panelists’ steady hands by having them stack matchboxes while questioning.  The winner of the competition gets to paint a portion of the green stripe running down Fifth Avenue, marking the St Patrick’s Day Parade route.  In the end, all four are sent off into the night to complete the task, leaving Garry to finish the show alone.

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