text: In the classic 1954 Walt Disney film, “20,000 Leagues under the Sea”, Captain Nemo of the submarine Nautilus used tube phones to communicate with various sections of his boat. Early day submarines and ships used similar arrangements.
  By splicing the tubes together my brother created a 20-foot long communication device. Jim was proud of his accomplishment.
  Before we had a chance to try things out mom shut the operation down. She deemed the tubes unsanitary, instructing him to chuck the disgusting things into a garbage can. That only temporarily slowed my brother down. Jim discovered that a length of garden hose replaced his beloved tubes just fine.
  Oddly enough a prized gift given to mom by me was constructed from a TP tube. My teacher in 5th grade brought in a box of tubes along with paste, glitter, cloth, pipe cleaners, and other miscellaneous items.