The glass armonica. A series of glass bowls placed in order from biggest to smallest, it is played by someone wetting their fingers, and rubbing the top of the bowl that has the desired sound. A foot pedal at the bottom keeps the bowls spinning. Famous composers such as Mozart have written pieces for it. Unfortunately, the glass armonica has sort of died out over the years, but enthusiastic fans predict its imminent return to fame. So, without further ado, I bring my question of the day: Which famous American invented the glass armonica?
In 1761, Benjamin Franklin invented it after watching a performance of a man playing tunes on the top of wine glasses.
For more info visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XPfoFZYso8 (The title is "Glass Harmonica", which is another widely used name, but not the official one.)
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Sounds much safer than flying a kite during a thunderstorm.
ReplyDeleteYes, Benjamin Franklin was known for experimenting with electricity in the name of science. Actually, science was a whole other side of Franklin people don't really know about.
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