The return of the personal periscope

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, my friends and I saved up our pocket money to buy the periscopes which were so excitingly advertised in the back of Whizzer & Chips. The thought of being able to see round corners and over tall builds (the ads may have exaggerated a little) was just too exciting to resist. All this came back to me yesterday when I was walking through Leicester Square in central London. There was a large crowd gathered by the Odeon cinema because it was the world premier for the new Harry Potter film. My wife and I decided to hang around for a few minutes (OK, actually 3 hours) to see the stars. As they arrived, practically everyone in the crowd whipped out their personal periscopes to capture the moment. Granted the design has changed a bit over the years. Today's periscopes have Karl Zeiss optics and multi-megapel resolutions, but they are still basically devices which allow you to look over tall obstructions. And all of that makes me wonder about alternative uses for all the other 'stuff' which I carry around with me.