Tarantian University has awarded an honorary doctorate to Professor Benjamin Gershwin for his pioneering work in the new field of criminal forensic science. Professor Gershwin, a noted phrenologist, has been teaching at the prestigious school for almost 20 years. Prof. Gershwin's theory, which he happened upon accidentally, proposes an interesting way to catch criminals through a technique that he calls "fingerprinting".

We interviewed the good professor and asked him to explain his theory, and how he came upon it, to us. "I was at my home one evening and my children's governess was scolding them for leaving their finger marks on the newly oiled table, in my dining room. When the idea came upon me like a thunderbolt. Before she could summon the domestic to wipe the table clean, I ran into the dining room and began to examine the marks, which my children had left on the table.

Retrieving some very dried out parchment from my desk; I was able to press it upon the marks so that they were then transferred onto the paper. I could then more easily examine them under magnification." After comparing these to others I gathered from them later, it was as I had guessed; they were all of a singular nature and could be matched up to the ones they had made previously upon the table."

"I then began to theorize that if the police could "lift" or make impressions of similar fingerprints at a crime scene, they might somehow match them to those of suspects and have the necessary evidence to obtain a conviction." The professor is currently working with colleagues and members of the police force to perfect the process.

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