Though our ancestors back in the 1300’s probably didn’t resolve to turn
their abs into 6-packs at the beginning of every new year, new research
indicates that they did make wishes and predictions at the new year, a
tradition believed to have evolved into today’s resolutions.
We all know the line, but what about the story behind it? Neil Armstrong was always keen on telling folks that he’d thought up the historical words after landing on the moon, but before the walk. That is to say, relatively off-the-cuff. A new documentary tells a slightly different story. More »
Sometimes, simple explanations can be the most revealing. Take this map, for example, which depicts thousands of years of human history by representing each country with a single word. Turns out to be painfully accurate. More »
The exquisite Seagull 1963 Chinese Air Force wristwatch is a faithful, 21-jewel replica of the unique hand-winding aviation chronograph originally created for just 1,400 elite members of the Chinese Air Force.
After a volatile election year, heightened bi-partisan bickering, a
drift-less mandate and a still-divided government, perhaps it was
senseless to think a lame duck could waddle to our fiscal rescue. On the
other hand, maybe we were waiting for the wrong shoe to drop.
These days Reddit is an internet behemoth that shapes opinion and rapidly spreads news, but sometimes it’s easy to forget that it only started up in 2005. In this video, founders Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian explain how the site was born. More »
As long as there have been reflections, we’ve liked sticking our faces in them, and preferably, immortalizing them in a photo. The selfie is timeless. But I can’t help but think it’s less dignified today than a century ago. More »
Women’s issues move center-stage once again in the final stretch of this
year’s contentious Presidential campaigns — mainly, due to Richard Mourdock’s and
Todd Akin’s extreme views on women’s rights. On the left, the creative
genius of HBO’s hit comedy "Girls," Lena Dunham and 1960’s pop icon
Lesley Gore have released political ads that connect women of the 1960s
to first-time female voters of 2012, which provided a needed counterpoint.
This is the oldest recording of an American voice and the first-ever recording of a musical performance. Recorded by a Thomas Edison-invented phonograph in 1878, the audio recording (which lasts 78 seconds) is pretty much “as far back as we can go” in terms of the history of recorded sound. More »
A Berkeley Lab research team in California has successfully restored a 134 year-old audio recording. The historic audio was originally captured in 1878 by a phonograph designed by Thomas Edison, which consisted of a cylinder wrapped in tinfoil that used a stylus to record sound on the surface of the material. Due to the foil’s frailty, recordings were only good for a few playbacks on Edison’s phonograph. To restore this century-old mixtape, the research team created a 3D model of the grooves in the foil and ran it through a software that recreated the original audio track. As for the great mystery of the recording’s contents, it’s a 23-second horn instrumental followed by what is believed to be political writer Thomas Mason reciting Mary Had a Little Lamb and Old Mother Hubbard. Using modern technology for playback, the restored recording is set to have a listening party this week at the Museum of Innovation and Science in New York.
Update: For audio samples from the project, hit the coverage link below.
[Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Brady-Handy Photograph Collection]
Filed under: Misc, Science, Alt
Auto-tune this! Research team restores 134 year-old audio recording (update: audio links) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 18:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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