17 AV-Inspired Innovations

The first sound recordings were made on a cylinders wrapped with tin foil, but they could only be recorded once. Recordings made on cylinders coated with wax could be erased, by shaving a layer of wax and re-recorded. The wax mildewed in humid climates and melted in the heat, so the flat disks of the the gramophone made a debut in 1888; they caught on and were the media of choice until the mid 1960’s when 8-track tapes became popular.

8-tracks remained in vogue until late 1970’s, even though they broke easily and made loud clunking sounds and interrupted recordings for several seconds when reversing direction. The smaller cassettes were a big improvement.

CDs were introduced in 1982 Japan and went about trouncing all types of tape. Though CDs are still in use, the move to iPod and similar devices will eventually render them obsolete as well.

Gathered here are items and innovations inspired by once-popular music media. Some are repurposed, some are retrofitted, all are examples of human creativity.