Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Michael Czeiszperger <michael AT czeiszperger.org>]

On Jul 26, 2007, at 5:48 PM, ron thigpen wrote:

> Gotta run now and rip the last of my wax cylinders before it's off to
> see some vaudeville (no-snuff night) at the local saloon.

Did anyone catch an NPR story this summer about how one of the first  
uses for wax cylinders was for porn?  One of the first things they  
did with wax cylinders was create a jukebox where for a nickel you  
could stick something in your ear and listen to to whatever was  
recorded, but for years everyone thought this was just for typical  
pop songs of the day.  As it turns out, some historians found out the  
first uses were actually for porn, and the reason this was forgotten  
was that congress passed a law outlawing them with huge criminal  
penalties, so almost all of the cylinders were destroyed, and  
everyone associated with this "artistic" effort destroyed all of the  
evidence to avoid long jail times.

All that changed when one of the original wax porn cylinders was  
found, and historians pieced together the real story.  And so the  
axiom holds true, the first uses for any new technology are always  
for porn :-)  (The recording itself was featured simulated sex with  
lots of moaning and noisy bedsprings.)

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