Toastmaster Table Talks: Authenticity aka The Real McCoy

Fellow Toastmasters, most welcome guests, now comes the moment I know you have been waiting for,  table topics, where you have the opportunity to speak off the cuff on questions I pose.  The theme for tonight's table topics is authenticity, the genuine object rather than  a fake.  This is popularly known as "The Real McCoy"

Hmmmm....let me just pause for a minute and say how this expression originated.

Canadian-American inventor Elijah McCoy

  Elijah McCoy was born in 1844, in Colchester Ontario, just across the Detroit river from Michigan.  His parents were fugitive slaves from Kentucky, who had escaped via the underground railway to Canada. As one of 11 children, he went to the black schools which were segregated from regular schools in Upper Canada at that time.   He must have been an exceptional student for at age 15 he was sent to Edinburgh, Scotland to study mechanical engineering.

 Scotland in the mid 1800's was the centre of an industrial revolution and where many developments  of the newly invented steam engine  were occurring.   Such an opportunity for a young black man at that time!

However after  his return from Europe, he faced much prejudice and was only able to find work as an oiler  for the Michigan Central Railway.  From his own home he would work on improvements to this trade, developing many patents on the lubrication systems of steam engines.  His inventions became well known among the rail workers and indeed soon train engineers would ask before boarding a steam engine if that train was equipped with the “Real McCoy '' or an inferior fake.

1.  Tell us about a product that you regard as "The Real McCoy" in which you value for its authenticity over fake knock offs.

   But there is more to the story of Elijah McCoy, despite being innovative and hard working he needed someone in the patent office that believed that his ideas had merit.  That person was Theodore Munger * who worked in the Detroit patent office and despite the rampant racism of that time recognized the authenticity of Elijah's designs.

2.  Has there been someone in your life mentored you and urged you to be authentic in your creations, to make something that comes from your heart.  How did this person help you?

   Creation  is often celebrated with Champagne, a sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France.  This is according to wine producers from that region who have a team of lawyers who search out use of the term Champagne for any sparkling wine made elsewhere in the world.

3.  Do you believe that to be the Real McCoy, to be authentic, a sparkling wine must be made in the Champagne region in France according to their exacting standards? 

4. Can you tell us about something you bought and regretted because it was not authentic?

5.  People often say that what they are looking for  in a lifetime partner is authenticity.   What do you think they mean by the Real McCoy?

6. Have you ever thought that someone was a phony?  How could they have become the Real McCoy?


*  Theodore Munger was the father of Louis "Birdie" Munger. While planning for the Toastmaster Table Talks I thought of continuing the story connections from Elijah McCoy to Theodore Munger, Birdie Munger, Major Taylor and ending at the 1899 World Championship in Montreal.  Another day perhaps....

Major Taylor and Birdie Munger