My s-i-l is a pub quizmaster and sets questions for the same. My daughter contacted me this afternoon to ask if I was aware that Lasker had invented the mechanical breast pump, this interesting fact being considered for inclusion in some form in their next quiz. I had to admit that I was not. I am certain that my daughter was referring to Emmanuel Lasker, the 2nd World Chess Champion. However, I had a quick google to verify her assertion and found that the inventor of the breast pump was Edward Lasker, a US chess master and a much weaker player. Edward Lasker did actually write a pretty good self-tutor on chess and it was amongst the first chess books that I bought, probably in about 1973 or 1974, but his chief claim to fame as a chess player is in having the same surname as a Very Great Player Indeed.
