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As a kid I saw a reference by Asimov to Lehrer and that sent me off on a quest which ended with a very helpful librarian in the American Center Library in Delhi

As a kid I saw a reference by Asimov to Lehrer and that sent me off on a quest which ended with a very helpful librarian in the American Center Library in Delhi. Then many years later, iPad came out and there was an app which catalogued all the elements with that song as the lead-in. Unfortunately it seems to have vanished from the app store.

theodoregray 4y ago
Hey, that's my app, and it's definitely still there! https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-elements-by-theodore-gray/id364147847 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-elements-by-theodore-gray/... Fun fact: when we made the app the song was of course not yet in the public domain, so I made a deal with Lehrer to trade him an iPad for the use of the song in my app. He was already talking at the time about eventually putting everything in the public domain. His main concern was to try to do it in a way that would prevent record companies from ever making money from his work. Theodore Gray https://theodoregray.com https://theodoregray.com
- SanjayMehta 4y ago
  Oh wow. The original apps I bought were all from Touchpress and they vanished from my purchases quite some time ago. I remember The Elements, Barefoot Atlas(?). Was the animated story book also yours?
  - theodoregray 4y ago
    I was the founder and creative director of TouchPress, so I had a hand in all those apps. For Disney Animated I wrote the text and directed the production. Sadly the business model of $10 interactive eBooks did not work out (unlike $10 static text eBooks, which seem to be much more popular?), and TouchPress was sold (apps and the name) to a company called Story Toys out of Ireland. About a year ago they were bought out by a larger Japanese company, and we were able to buy back The Elements, Molecules, and a few of the other apps, so they are now back to being published by myself and my partners on a low-key maintenance basis.

theodoregray 4y ago

Hey, that's my app, and it's definitely still there! https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-elements-by-theodore-gray/id364147847 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-elements-by-theodore-gray/... Fun fact: when we made the app the song was of course not yet in the public domain, so I made a deal with Lehrer to trade him an iPad for the use of the song in my app. He was already talking at the time about eventually putting everything in the public domain. His main concern was to try to do it in a way that would prevent record companies from ever making money from his work. Theodore Gray https://theodoregray.com https://theodoregray.com

SanjayMehta 4y ago
Oh wow. The original apps I bought were all from Touchpress and they vanished from my purchases quite some time ago. I remember The Elements, Barefoot Atlas(?). Was the animated story book also yours?
- theodoregray 4y ago
  I was the founder and creative director of TouchPress, so I had a hand in all those apps. For Disney Animated I wrote the text and directed the production. Sadly the business model of $10 interactive eBooks did not work out (unlike $10 static text eBooks, which seem to be much more popular?), and TouchPress was sold (apps and the name) to a company called Story Toys out of Ireland. About a year ago they were bought out by a larger Japanese company, and we were able to buy back The Elements, Molecules, and a few of the other apps, so they are now back to being published by myself and my partners on a low-key maintenance basis.