Thursday, October 1, 2009


The Laryngaphone confuses me. Sure, maybe it "transmit[ted] vibrations from the vocal cords when placed against the throat or cheek." But it was an instant failure, perhaps because nobody found those "vibrations" particularly useful. "What's that, sweetie? You want me to pick up HMM MMM MMM at the grocery store?" Or "Doris, it's for you! It's that boy who's too lazy to move his lips."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, this invention is brilliant! It's the fore-runner to the , that's right, the a is changed from an a to an o. Anyway, the laryngophone has been used since WWII by fighter pilots and German tank crews.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throat_microphone

Also, the photo in which the original laryngaphone is shown being tried out, is at a shipping exhibition in 1929.

http://www.life.com/image/3302088/in-gallery/25371

That being said, imagine being in the engine room of a shipping vessel and needing to talk to the bridge, I assure you, this would be an invaluable tool.

Anonymous said...

Whoops, that should read:

It's the fore-runner to the laryngophone , that's right, the a is changed from an a to an o.

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