To many people Edison is the archetypical genius, someone who’s genius changed the world in innumerable ways. But to others Edison’s reputation is undeserved, or at best grossly inflated. They cite the prior work of others into lightbulbs, motion pictures and the like that Edison is commonly given full credit for.

Well the doubters can add one more example to their list, the phonograph.

A group of American historians, led by David Giovannoni, has uncovered a sound recording made in 1860 by Frenchman Edouard Scott de Martinville in a Paris archive, and with the aid of modern technology, they have successfully played it back, revealing it to be a recording of the song “Au Clair de la Lune”. This pre-dates Edison’s patent by nearly 20 years.

Scott de Martinville’s device, called a phonautograph, was never intended to do reproduce the sounds it captured itself, though that was considered as a future possibility, but to record sounds accurately and visually so that they can be stored ‘forever’. His design, which he died believing Edison had improperly taken credit for, used a horn attached to a diaphragm and stylus to capture sound waves and etch them onto sheets of carbon paper.

[Source: NY Times]

[More here…]

Damn you Dave, you beat me.  But you didn’t put a descriptive enough title so I duped you.

Thomas Edison was like another man of his time, PT Barnum.  He was a ceaseless self promoter.  He stood on the shoulders of giants and wanted to take the credit for being so tall

An example of his stage-craft was his electrocution of an elephant using rival company Westinghouse’s alternating current system to show how dangerous it was. He also promoted an A/C electric chair, despite being staunchly opposed to capital punishment, as a humane alternative to poison, noose or firing squad.

The first person to be executed in Edison’s ‘humane’ electric chair was only rendered unconscious on the first attempt, so was subjected to a second, prolonged and higher voltage attempt that caused his blood vessels to rupture and his body to catch fire.

In the end, Edison’s attacks on A/C had no effect. A/C was more efficient and required smaller diameter cables to distribute at a time when copper prices were soaring, hence could be supplied to households at considerably less cost than Edison’s patent D/C system. America voted with it’s wallet and it is A/C not D/C that won the ‘War of the Currents’.

One unintended consequence of the American groups research has been the complete undoing of the unflappable image of BBC Radio 4’s newsreaders. After relating the story, and listening to the reconstructed recording, Charlotte “sexiest voice on radio” Greene collapsed into giggles in the middle of the next item after someone passed on their opinion of the recording (off-air) that it sounded “like a bloody bee buzzing in a bottle”. Unfortunately, the next item was an announcement of the death of Oscar winning writer/producer Abby Mann, creator of the TV series Kojak.

The BBC hurriedly put out an apology (here), and in response to a huge number of requests, have also made the incident available for download as part of the “Best of Today” programme highlights (here).

Oh man, listened to that with the ‘bee’ comment in mind and I couldn’t stop laughing. I’m amazed she kept her composure so well

I’d be in stitches. And of course once you get going you can’t stop the giggles. One of the best things I’ve heard all week

Charybdis - 28 March 2008 06:22 AM

Damn you Dave, you beat me.  But you didn’t put a descriptive enough title so I duped you.

What was it originaly?