What is Digg?297 Comments
- neuens07, on 05/09/2008, -18/+243ajegnakeopitpandgpcizyyywwwjanaoite!!! whiiioccnncndooooooooojjjladjfiejrqf!!!! groy... glabbb.... flaaaajiofejfpjag!!!
- travbrack, on 05/09/2008, -4/+178Freebird!
- Heavypettingzoo, on 05/09/2008, -3/+146FTA: "The glass armonica’s ghostly notes will cause insanity in its musicians and listeners! At least this is what was thought to be true in the 18th century."
Sensationalist title much? - arcooke, on 05/09/2008, -1/+124citation needed.
- drowningfish, on 05/09/2008, -0/+112Nice sound. One problem though. What do I do with all these bodies?
- Gryfft, on 05/09/2008, -3/+102It caused madness because they used to make glass with lead and longtime players of the glass armonica absorbed large enough quantities of lead through the pores in their fingers to poison them, not because of any effect of the sounds it made.
- thebradmiskell, on 05/09/2008, -1/+86I'm probably not a good judge since I'm already nuts, but force me to listen to a Bon Jovi medley on that thing and I'm definitely running amok.
- inactive, on 08/28/2008, -4/+87that is incredibly cool…
i can just imagine it being used on the next nine inch nails album…
something that causes "madness, depression, and self-annihilation" seems like it would attract trent… - RealmDown, on 05/09/2008, -3/+69"In Russian, music plays you" ?
- inactive, on 05/09/2008, -4/+66More Cowbell!
- dhirajj, on 05/09/2008, -0/+56The glass armonica’s ghostly notes will cause insanity in its musicians and listeners! At least this is what was thought to be true in the 18th century. People were frightened by the armonica’s sound due to it’s strange interactions with the human brain and ears (more on this later). Benjamin Franklin invented the glass armonica (above) in 1761 after being profoundly moved by the sounds of the glass harp (below).
glass harp
The glass armonica’s ethereal notes were said to cause insanity, depression, and marital problems. Via Wikipedia:
One example of fear from playing the glass harmonica was noted by a German musicologist Friedrich Rochlitz in Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung where it is stated that “the armonica excessively stimulates the nerves, plunges the player into a nagging depression and hence into a dark and melancholy mood that is apt method for slow self-annihilation. If you are suffering from any nervous disorder, you should not play it; if you are not yet ill you should not play it; if you are feeling melancholy you should not play it.
The glass armonica’s sound is perceived by human ears differently than other instruments because its range is between 1,000 and 4,000 hertz. When sounds are below 4,000 hertz, the human brain compares “phase differences” between the left and right ears to triangulate the origin of the sound rather than comparing volumes. This causes hearing disorientation and a “not quite sure” feeling about where the sound is coming from. The video below is “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from the Nutcracker being played on a glass armonica. Relax and enjoy. :)
Friction instruments of this type are called friction idiophones. The glass armonica is called a crystallophone while the glass harp is called a hydrocrystalophone.
with this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQemvyyJ--g - senders, on 05/09/2008, -2/+49put it together with a theramin and a lute... ROCK.
- hsanjuan, on 05/09/2008, -5/+46mirror http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:pMCo7g_5DrAJ: ...
- protogenxl, on 05/09/2008, -2/+42Father: What's wrong, son?
Son: I want to drink goat's blood.
Father: But son... it's only *Tuesday*! - quietamerican, on 05/09/2008, -1/+35Online emulator:
http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/musician/virtualarmonic ...
Schweet! - Phillzz, on 05/09/2008, -6/+37я не знаю о чем ты, но твой базар мне близок :)
- RealmDown, on 05/09/2008, -2/+31He probably works for Fox.
- RealmDown, on 05/09/2008, -1/+25or country music?
- demiurgency, on 05/09/2008, -2/+23Cthulhu approved!
- mrtracy, on 05/09/2008, -1/+21I think I found a new way to torture my enemies.
- Terr01, on 05/09/2008, -5/+25The insanity was probably because original models used leaded glass and lead would be absorbed into the skin over time.
Same as the madness from "mad as a hatter", since mercury was a part of the manufacturing process.
Not mystical sounds and brain waves. - sailadayaway, on 05/09/2008, -3/+23………………………..,-~*’`¯lllllll`*~,……………………………………
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……................f`-,………`-,/…*-,___,,-~*….,-*……|…`-,……….……. - bstew22, on 05/09/2008, -0/+19hmmm.. all along i thought it was the oboe that caused insanity
- Raptor007, on 05/09/2008, -0/+19"I don't know what you're talking about, but your bazaar is close to me."
Wait, what? - macamatition, on 05/09/2008, -1/+20"theremin"
- Dumbledorito, on 05/09/2008, -1/+20It's as if some MONSTER took the "running a wet finger around a leaded goblet" noise and increased the effects a THOUSAND FOLD! The sheer, mad GENIUS of it all!
- bstew22, on 05/09/2008, -0/+19is it bad i understood that?
- TGMD, on 05/09/2008, -0/+18Take that Ben Franklin!
- AManWithNoName, on 05/09/2008, -3/+21I think the digital transition destroyed the effect...I watched that whole video, and I'm no more insane than I was before.
- inactive, on 05/09/2008, -0/+17You mean from the guy in the post right above you?
- endlessoul, on 05/09/2008, -1/+17Logic, comprehension, facts, all on a Digg post?
You've just made my day. - LiquidIse, on 05/09/2008, -5/+20Well played sir
- dafragsta, on 05/09/2008, -5/+20Speak for yourself. You are in hostile territory if you expect to rally anyone behind that opinion.
- inactive, on 05/09/2008, -2/+16OMFG - can they ban the TRIANGLE too? Please!
- Stroggoth, on 05/09/2008, -1/+14Factiod: the resaon the instruments "caused insanity" was because the players would rub their fingers on LEADED glass when they played, which eventually gave them lead poisoning, which looks like mental disorders. Newer versions are not made with leaded glass, and thus cause no insanity.
- sykotik, on 05/09/2008, -0/+12Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this very same instrument used on Korn's unplugged set?
- markp93, on 05/09/2008, -3/+15i am a banana!
- MattB123, on 05/09/2008, -0/+12They should replace it with the square.
- ANT1138, on 05/09/2008, -1/+13More glass armonica music please.
- sobe86, on 05/09/2008, -1/+13Seriously, does everything have to come back to politics?
- canUdi9it, on 05/09/2008, -2/+13I listened to the whole song and I'm as sane as ever. No you're not. Am too. Wanna bet? Shut up. Make me. I don't make mistakes. Do too. Do not. You're an idiot. Takes one to know one.
- fatlip, on 05/09/2008, -0/+11but then whats the bananaphone?
- ChingKing, on 05/09/2008, -1/+12Oh dear god, now every emo will want one for christmas.
- mal1964, on 05/09/2008, -0/+11Try sitting in a room with a 2 year old with any instrument for an whole day. You might not go insane but you wont be normal
- Flipperbw, on 05/09/2008, -0/+11crystallophone hero
- uberchaoslord, on 05/09/2008, -1/+11Coming soon for XBox360/PS3: Glassarmonic Hero!
I think anyone who can play the piano would probably have an easy time with this - similar motions. - nerdherder, on 05/09/2008, -0/+10You know. Them.
- farboo, on 05/09/2008, -0/+10No but the glass oboe does.
- po43292, on 05/09/2008, -0/+10It's a cellular, modular, interactivodular instrument.
- KibibyteBrain, on 05/09/2008, -0/+10Actually, that theory had been debunked. The lead exposure from the glass through the skin would have been insignificant compared to that acquired from other vectors common at the time, like pewter tankards drinking acidic beverages. It is very likely that the belief that this instrument caused insanity was not as prevalent as the legends make it out to be, and was confined to germany and even then little supports its widespread belief. Its just the idea of an instrument causing insanity is too artistically appealing to not fixate on. And also keep in mind at the time some people were highly mystic about anything new, and the sound of this instrument was quite alien.
Also, there is no evidence it was ever banned. It just was a victim of musical style changes just like the harpsichord. But again, the idea of a banned instrument is too appealing to ignore. -
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