The editors reply: We queried Tanya Zanish-Belcher, head of Iowa State’s archives. “According to the legal records we have here in the Atanasoff collection,” she writes, “it appears that the university lawyer (based in Chicago) responsible for obtaining a patent for Atanasoff simply dropped the ball. It is assumed that this was the direct result of the disruption of the beginning of World War II, and not any Iowa State policy.” mail@americanheritage.com PATENT FAILURE RAILS WEST RAILS WEST TEDDY AND BILL HE MADE IT THE WAR MUSEUM MULTIMEDIA, 1985 BOAT BUILDER AN OLD FRIEND YO-HO-HO AND A BOTTLE OF RYE THE UNSINKABLE MARGARET BROWN