Sounds like a lot of "I don't know how they did it so it must be a lie" followed up with "since it must be a lie any explanation I pull out of my ass must be the explanation". I think a lot of the claims made are bombastic salesmanship and exaggerations. I don't think anything was made of marble, it was probably all plaster and paint. I don't think the crowds were as big as they claim. I don't think the demonstrations shocked people. It was essentially a circus, but instead of animals the attractions were technological promises, most of which weren't true.