Edison Announces the Phonograph: Sound Can Be Recorded
Edison's first recorded words weren't a speech or a song. They were "Mary Had a Little Lamb." He shouted it into a tinfoil cylinder, cranked the handle, and heard his own voice played back — stunned even himself. Scientists had theorized about capturing sound for decades, but nobody actually believed it was possible. Edison built the first working model in 30 hours. And that nursery rhyme, scratchy and barely audible, became the moment humanity realized time itself could be stored.
November 21, 1877
149 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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