Human Voice Recorded in Dirt — 1860
March 31st, 2008
The earliest known recording of the human voice is from 1860, and it was recorded in dirt! Scratches made along paper with a layer of soot, to be precise. The phonautograph was invented by Frenchman Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville, and it was the inspiration for Edison’s phonograph. Recently, engineers recovered this amazing recording of a singing woman.
Rough, but recognizable and thoroughly amazing! Compare this to the nanotube FM radio I featured at this link. Neither recording is high fidelity, but both represent the absolute state-of-the-art in technology for their time.
3 Comments Add your own
1. jeanie beanie | April 1st, 2008 at 4:30 am
You found it! Mervielleux! And just like me, you noted the eerie similaries between this most ancient of recordings compared to the nano version of Layla. In the end, we’ve gone back to the beginning!
2. jeanie beanie | April 1st, 2008 at 4:32 am
By the way, that’s a simple French tune, not Frere Jacques, but another one sung by most French schoolchildren. Can’t remember it at the moment. I’m sure we’ll be nearly to Florida and I’ll suddenly yell the title out!
3. jeanie beanie | April 4th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Of course! It’s “Au claire de la lune,” sung for over a hundred years by French children everywhere. It can be found on Youtube, which I can’t send from, as this laptop is not recognizing my sign-in names. They have a clear recording of a woman singing the tune after the eerie scratchy version. I was amazed that at least I had the tune right! I love the comment with the rumour that the same guy recorded Abe Lincoln. If they find it intact and playable, at ALL, it would totally priceless.
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