Historic gadget flops
| Not the full octave | 1 of 10 images |
|
Not the full octave
Pianists need a wide handspan to be able to play effectively, so in 1910 a "finger stretching" machine was developed in America to help them increase their reach, the better to play the range of notes demanded by the wildly experimental composers of the time. As you'd imagine, said device was quite hazardous; German composer Schumann was said to have destroyed his hands using one. Admittedly it's also been suggested his hands deteriorated as a side-effect of syphilis medication but either way, his story does not end well.
You need to 
By glynn
6|10|2009 20:06
The correct name for these bikes is "ordinary", as opposed to the "safety cycle" which is what we recognise today (penny farthing wasn't coined until much later).
They started off with smaller wheels - they only grew to achieve bigger gear ratios to go faster!