Theremin Fever

In the 1930's, America was taken by storm by a Russian musical instrument called the theremin. The theremin was one of the first electronic instruments and was invented by Leon Theremin. A user could control the volume and pitch of the instrument by placing his/her hands at different spots between two metal poles. Moving your hands changed the sound because different positions interrupted the electric flow at different points. The theremin was considered one of the easiest instruments to play but one of the hardest to play well.

During the late 20's and early 30's, Theremin was sent on an international tour by the Soviet government to promote his instrument. It worked as the concept was picked up by RCA for a considerable sum. The ulterior motive for Theremin's visit is where this story takes a strange twist. The Soviets successfully used Theremin as a spy. His contract with RCA gave him some interesting insight on many of their more strategically useful projects.

In 1945, Theremin created a secret listening device called The Thing. The Thing was placed in a wood carving of the Great Seal of the United States and presented to the U.S. Ambassador as a "gesture of friendliness" by a group of Soviet schoolchildren. The bugged seal sat in the ambassador's office for seven years before being discovered by the CIA. It later became a key piece of evidence in the hearings following the U-2 incident.

The Student and The Teacher

The Civil War started 150 years ago last week. I present an intriguing tale from Fort Sumter to commemorate the occasion. This one is pretty widely known but still interesting.

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard was a native of Louisiana trained at the United States Military Academy (Class of 1838). He was such a good artilleryman at West Point that he was kept on an additional year by one of his instructors. Beauregard moved around the South at the beginning of his career and eventually returned to West Point as Superintendent in 1861. He only lasted five days as the start of the Civil War compelled him to fight for his home South.

The most interesting part of G.T. (he eventually dropped the P) Beauregard's career came at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. He led the Confederate bombardment and eventual victory in the first battle of the Civil War. The Union General he defeated you may ask? Robert Anderson; the man who asked him to stay on at West Point.

p.s.:
Nothing to do with the Civil War. I'm proud to report that History Tours was named the #1 Google Earth Teacher Tool by highdefteacher.com.

Check Your Books

One of my new favorite shows is History Detectives. Even though the show has been on for 8 seasons, I've just discovered it. Here's a great story from one of the episodes.

John Adams loved books. He had a huge library which has been distributed to various libraries, historical societies, and museums since his death. Interestingly, Adams had two literary habits: signing and dating his book and annotating in the margins.

He also apparently loved sharing. Many of Adams' books have made their way into the hands of the public. He would give books as gifts (complete with signature and annotations). These books have therefore not made their way to an Adams library or museum. I'm sure many people realized they had something more than a keepsake when Adams rose to the Presidency in 1796. So, check your personal libraries; especially if you live in New England. There may be an old book in your attic that's not only signed by our second President but is complete with his feelings on the text.

Ben Franklin's Daily Schedule

From the patron saint's autobiography...

The morning question,
What good shall I do this day?

5:00 AM-8:00 AM
Rise, wash, and address Powerful Goodness; contrive day's business and take the resolution of the day; prosecute the present study; and breakfast

8:00 AM-12:00 PM
Work.

12:00 PM-2:00 PM
Read or overlook my accounts, and dine.

2:00 PM-6:00 PM
Work.

6:00 PM-10:00 PM
Put things in their places, supper, music, or diversion, or conversation; examination of the day

Evening question,
What good have I done today?

10:00 PM-5:00 AM
Sleep.

The Tale of the Frisbee

Just about everyone has one lying around the house even if it's a knock off. The Frisbee is as American as apple pie. The story behind the toy is quite interesting.

It all begins in 1938 when Walter Fredrick Morrison and his girlfriend were offered 25 cents for a cake pan they were throwing back and forth. Morrison could get cake pans for 5 cents so he saw a business opportunity.

The "flying disc" phenomenon was a byproduct of the 1950's UFO craze. Morrison and his business partner began marketing their new and improved discs as the Flyin-saucer. In 1957, Morrison sold his product to the Wham-O toy company. Wham-O renamed the disc "Frisbee" after the Frisbie Pie Company who had supplied pies (and their throwable tins) to Yale University for years. Students would often be seen throwing the Frisbie tins in the same way Wham-O hoped they would throw the Frisbee. The popularity of the Frisbee took off in the 1960's ultimately leading to the organization of a professional league.