RetroTech: Recordable Paper - The 3M Sound Page

In this video I take a look at a multimedia educational format from the 1970s, the 3M Sound Page (AKA Ricoh Synchrofax)
UPDATE
I’ve seen a few comments where the assumption has been made that this device was still in use as an educational tool in the 1990s. I think this is highly unlikely. Here’s my take on this - if you’ve ever gone to school, you’ll know that they rarely throw anything away. I know in my school there were things in storage cupboards that hadn’t been used in decades. My theory is that this was used in the 1970s and then stored away until being discovered in the 1990s by some mischievous children who liberated it and used it to record music off the radio (over the top of the old teachers programmes).
COMPLAINTS RECEIVED (SO FAR)
1) The use of the term ‘ASMR Nuts’
The definition of Nut as used in this context is as follows:
A person who is enthusiastic about a specific thing;
e.g.
Car nut
Football Nut
Health Nut
I am a Technology Nut - and I’m proud of it.
So you’ll have to find something else to pretend to get outraged by today.
2) ‘Fat Shaming’
3) ‘Flat Earth”
The recordings used in this video are taken from educational programmes made in 1974. Your 2018 complaints or observations on something from 44 years ago will need to be addressed to the creator of those programmes.
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------THANKS TO ------
Jerobeam Fenderson for the intro animation: oscilloscopemus...
Muppet Teletext Graphic - courtesy of @ZXGuesser (on Twitter)
Also available here: zxnet.co.uk/te...
---------Outro Music----------
Over Time - Vibe Tracks • Over Time - Vibe Track...
-----Outro Sound Effect-----
ThatSFXGuy - • Six Million Dollar man...

[@Crazy_Borg]

Well, the idea sounded pretty good...on paper.

[@buddyclem7328]

🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔 _You win the Internet!_

[@nosebeareatsfudge3275]

Hou hou, now thats a good one :)

[@Rundumsfliegen]

haha you`re right ;)

[@Cthulu1985]

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[@cameronlee888]

BA DUM TSS

[@NoJusticeNoPeace]

I'm honestly surprised our family didn't own one of these. We were _always_ on the wrong side of history. We had a Betamax, and when they stopped releasing movies for it, we switched to Laserdisc. My father had an 8-track player both in our home and in his car, and when they stopped releasing albums for it, he bought a reel-to-reel, convinced it was the next big thing. All my friends had an Atari 2600, while we had an Intellivision. And when I asked for a home computer, I got a Coleco Adam.

[@BlackTyeChi]

NoJusticeNoPeace that's hilarious. So you had gobots instead of transformers too, didn't you?

[@GratefulRob]

Did you parents buy AMC cars as well? Mine did. I feel we lived tech lives very similar. Betamax? yes but when it came for computers we got a VIC20. And instead of Atari we had odyssey 2. Ugh.

[@godthealmighty4338]

Do you now own a Mac?

[@GratefulRob]

@@BlackTyeChi I DID have GoBots. Damn. That hurts. You hit below the belt.

[@greenaum]

Laserdisc was the best format for home cinema, at least until DVD came out, and even that's debatable. Getting that was a great idea! You get the best image quality available during the 80s and 90s, the Laserdisc versions were often uncensored, and often had great extra features you certainly wouldn't get on video tape. Fuck VHS, it's garbage in every way. It's only advantage is it got nearly every release. But Laserdisc usually did too, even if it might take a while. I'm saying that and I never owned a Laserdisc player, I just know my technology! Intellivision (BAY FIFTY-TWO BAAWMEEERR!) hardware was well advanced of the 2600s. The 2600 was particularly shit, the hardware designed for Pong and Combat. It got... versions... of other games for a few years but they were really squeezed in there, and it showed. They looked fucking AWFUL and gameplay was usually very limited. Also the Colecovision had hardware not far away from arcade machines of the time. Again I had none of these machines. Like most Europeans I had home computers instead, and spent time playing games designed for computers, rather than endless arcade conversions and ripoffs like the American consoles got. The Coleco Adam yep I'll give you. It had the techology I mentioned, similar to arcade hardware of the time of the Colecovision, but that was years previous. By the time of the Adam it was lacking. Also the dual inbuilt tape drives were bizarre and pointless, and built-in meant you lost your whole computer when they went wrong. Rather than other computers that had separate external tape drives. Indeed the ZX Spectrum, and many other British computers, used a tape player you would supply yourself, any tape player would do. Much easier and more flexible, cheaper too. Even if you bought a tape player just for it, you could use that to listen to music later, me and my sisters did. So yeah you get a few points for the Adam. Which also weirdly came with a built-in printer. Which the power supply for the whole machine was built into! So you couldn't do without it! And printers are expensive, which made the whole thing more expensive! Yep a stupid machine. But I'd have liked them if they eventually crashed the prices on them. Not living in the USA, and not being an adult at that time, I didn't have the opportunity. Missing out on the 2600 and VHS though? You missed a bullet!

[@simplesimon2960]

"Only available on misappropriated school equipment" cracked me up. This guy always bring the unexpected deadpan hilarity.

[@squidiskool]

Same

[@macelius]

XD Maybe they were trying to avoid copyright ;p

[@Hawk1966]

That lady's voice is going to turn up in my nightmares, I just know it.

[@Robert08010]

"All right kiddies, its time to sharpen out Knives!!!"

[@dh4913]

Ḑ̸̀̌̆́͘͜i̷̢̧̨̯̬̠͔͈̊̆̔̃̚͝d̸̘̳͗̈́͂̽̓̈́̌̅̆̆̏̇͝ ̸̧̝͚͇͎̖̱̓̈́̈́̆͌͂͛̅̂̒̓̆̚y̶̩͇̟̤̟̻̤͐o̴̧͚̱̝̩̫̲͛̓̆u̴͚̥͔͒͆͗̈́̔̒͜ ̵͓̟̻̺͙͈̖̩̱͖͖̮́̔̆͋̓̄d̶̛̥̍͂́̈́r̸̢̨̨̨̡̭̻̰͍͇̘̭͙̩̓̀̾̆̄͋͆̌̐͠͝͝ͅä̷̢͓̭̘̠̱̉͌w̶̖̤̔́̔̀̃̈́̏͐͗͝͝ ̵̧͈̞̙̬̱͔̔̎̂̐͑͒͒̎̌͘͝ȧ̸̛͚̱̞̲͉̇̈́̏̇̿̈́͠ ̵̨͎̖̞̙͇̹̈́̄̑̓͊͆̆̚l̷̨̧͍̪̭̝̹̖͇̟̬̖̍́͊̀̀̕͝͝ͅį̷̨͙͎͉͓͕̣͛͝n̸̡̡̳̝̖̜͓̙͚̖̣̟̹̈́̌͌̐͆̊̓͊̃͝ê̸͇̥͗̐̂̊̔̌̀̕ ̷̢̋̀̑f̴̛̥̖̬̝̌̋̾̿̆͗͆͘͠r̸̨͈̠͖̹͉͕̲̬̖̝̙̀͆̊͗̓͠ơ̸̢͈̩͉̫̖̫̬̼̙̦̹̘̏̈́̑̍̆̔̑͆̓̅͘͠ṁ̸̩̭̃̉̍̆͗̃̇̃̒̉ ̸̩̳̓́̄̒͘͘t̴̛̹̽͊͋̑̈́͂̈́̾̈́̈́̔͠ḩ̴̱̥̩̤̤̜͚̦̤̼̪͛̚ę̸̡̣͙͕̥̜͛̇̈́̋̿̿̿̽͗͌͝ ̶̛̼̼͓͚̲̉̅̅́̔̍̉̇́͠͠p̷̛̰͕̯̈́́̍̽̅̚ị̴̧̖̜͍̫̩̠̪͇̗͈̮̀̉͛͝ͅc̸̡͖̮̻̘̠̮̏̓̈́̓͗̽̌̓́ͅt̵̡͈̣͖͉͍̤̞̻͔̱̀̈̃͐͋̅͊û̴͉̙͈̝̥̣͔͚͒̾ŗ̷͚̩͓̭̗̲̘̠̟̥̞̺̦̮͌e̵̥̺̞͚̥͇̲̥͔̱̱̋̏̀̋͐̅̇̇̈́̓͑̔̏͝ͅ ̶̟̮̺̣̤͍̠͇̥̟̩̱̀̏͗̓̆̂̋̍̈̿̂̓͝ͅṫ̸̠͖͗̍o̶̡̢̫̩͕̖̩̗̠͕̟͌́͊̍̋̿̏̈́̑͛͌̓̚͜͠ ̵̢͕̲̰̳̥̄̓͛̋̀̃̃͜͝t̵̡̨̡̡͈̯̗͇̰̲͔̔̾̉͐́͆̊͆̂̕͜h̴̟̰̣̓͋̐͌͋̈̋̽̏̃̕é̴͖͇̝̯̔̉̓̐̾̓́͆̒ ̶̛͚̬̱͔̼̠͎̆̀͋̑͑̊̿̃̕͠͝w̸̡̮̿̈́ö̶̢͈̙͓̼̝̭͙́̅̓̎̄̈́͗r̷̛̬̫͔̪̠̞͚̘̺̺͉̠̖͍̎̔́͗͗̓̓̈́̀̿́̄͝ͅd̴̨̗̗͔̰̮̟̙͙̜͙̐͆̉͛̾̀̐̇͝͝ ̵̛͍͇̳͉̈́͌̒̽̈́̀͜"̷͕̺͖͉͖̃́f̷̡̙̙̺͋̈̇͒͂̍̇̂̆a̶̧̝͙͕͈̼̘̼̰̥͈̤͋̋̽̽͌͐͝͝t̵̢̹̙͎̳͕͂̊̄̈́̆̊"̸̧͖͖͇̙̲̼͍͚̟͆̊̕?̶̦̯̯͚̿̓̉̐͘͜

[@timeforamunch2616]

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[@marika5353]

As an Ilustrator, i really would love an alternative timeline where instead of casette tapes we used this type of format, and the pages had amezing artwork, or carring a literal folder with all your music on it.

[@adowaaat3983]

That's sounds just amazing

[@deusexaethera]

Well, get to it and make a collection of playable album posters. You already know the technology exists.

[@juango500]

U could be buying smth like "build up our machine" and have bendy artwork on the front or something.

[@marika5353]

@@deusexaethera yeah but even could manufacture this, wich dont know how expensive would be considering, who even still works with magnetic tape now days, very few people has this device and would requiore manufacture that too. is a cool concept but dont think would be that easy to do now days, besides make it a nitch funny thing

[@deusexaethera]

@@marika5353: Kickstarter.

[@izzyosborn637]

I feel this would be a great prop for a horror movie or something like that, a group of policeman are investigating a cold case at an abandoned school and information left by the kids is discovered by playing these.

[@tjimicole2677]

4:32 is PURE cinema nightmare fuel, and would go perfectly in a found footage film set in an abandoned 1970s era Oklahoma elementary school that was mysteriously condemned after an … unknown incident.

[@rick420buzz]

A great way for Mr. Phelps to receive mission briefings on "Mission Impossible". The front side has a picture, the back has info about the picture.

[@Nolroa]

With a soundtrack of songs from the nineties recorded on this device.... It's something quite scary in itself.

[@sandakureva]

A cool ghost story as well.

[@kennymartin5976]

Or a horror game where you need to sort the pages out and play them? Like the typical horrifying notes in a game, but you get them in the recorder and they play secret recodings? That'd be cool

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

You know I hear Shelly the shoemaker's shoes are a bit shit. Shoddy workmanship, not to mention the shady shell corporations.

[@batlin]

Ah, good old Shelley "The Machine" Levene, shoe-seller extraordinaire...

[@Robert08010]

Surely Not!!!

[@borisbrosowski6630]

So he's kind of a shy shyster?

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

@@borisbrosowski6630 exshactly!

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

@Simple Weirdo "Sheller? I barely know 'er!"

[@RichGwilliam]

"Is he going to play the music? The copyright system might recognise them and... ah, right. Never mind. Nobody's recognising this."

[@jayswarrow1196]

Dis'zz Klelion Dein, maaan! Evry-un knowz herz.

[@primtones]

'70s equipment with '90s pop songs played on KZbin in the '10s. Love those layers!

[@GiuseppeGaetanoSabatelli]

Mats 50s equipment!

[@gabrielgarcia9822]

20 years each

[@LikaLaruku]

With early 1900s Mid Atlantic accents.

[@killerbee2562]

@@LikaLaruku The teacher's voice sounded like a northern southern American accent. Say Tennessee or Kentucky.

[@Exigentable]

@@killerbee2562 Oklahoma. For sure. My grandma speaks like that.

[@BillBard]

"To convert this raw score of 48, to IQ score, you will now how to change to sound page... *SHUFFLESHUUFFLE OH CRAP OH DAMN WHERE IS IT OH MAN IM MESSING THIS UP* number ssss... eight!" Nailed it.

[@MrxstGrssmnstMttckstPhlNelThot]

That guy probably forgot the head in his self-portrait.

[@HaloInverse]

The target audience - the teachers tasked with calculating the IQ scores of children - was considered to be more comfortable receiving instructions as low-fidelity audio recordings on expensive proprietary media, instead of in the form of printed words. This has a few implications, -all- _some_ of which are depressing.

[@PhirePhlame]

@@HaloInverse I'm a bit more optimistic, and think they just wanted the teachers to experience their little gimmick as well.

[@HaloInverse]

@@PhirePhlame ...you know, using the instructions as a form of "tech demo" _would_ also make sense - so the teachers using this technology with their students would have more first-hand knowledge of it. You make a fair point - previous comment updated.

[@asteroidrules]

Looks like they took that activity about as seriously as anyone should have.

[@Shermanbay]

The "draw a man" test was an integral part of IQ tests for young children in the 1950's at least, and was scored similarly with respect to age. It made up only a part of the complete IQ test which included questions in text form.

[@davidsandlin9686]

Shermanbay interesting factoid. The draw a man draw a woman was part of a psych evaluation test that I had to take when I went to prison in the early 2000’s. They would then call you in and ask you questions like “why did you draw breast on the woman?” Or something similar and then look at you while you asked making a weird face while they scribbled something down on a paper. They would not answer any questions either just ask you questions about the answers you gave on the test. Just because I’m sure someone will ask. I went to prison for drugs.

[@tjimicole2677]

Now that you've answered the question I was going to ask, I'll ask a different questions, @@davidsandlin9686 (if that is your real name). Which drugs?

[@davidsandlin9686]

Tjimi Cole possession of heroin and cocaine. I was an opiate addict and also used cocaine. I’ve been clean since 2012.

[@davidsandlin9686]

customsongmaker they were proportionate to the rest of her. Lol.

[@jetison333]

@@davidsandlin9686 hey congrats on being clean for that long.

[@brantisonfire]

I laughed uncontrollably when you were pronouncing the way those music artists names were misspelled. That was hilarious.

[@timeforamunch2616]

Jewl

[@gisellevelazquez7342]

Forget the vinyl and cassette resurgence -- misappropriated school equipment is going to be THE format trend for 2018!

[@lanswipe]

waiting for hipsters to start buying them

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

lanswipe They need to click into the 3M Thermofax copiers as well, those were classic!

[@OrangeHarrisonRB3]

Giselle Velazquez Nobody tell Jack White these exist or it will be the only format his next single is on

[@TheTomimt]

I liked paper recordings even before you thought they were cool.

[@Malkmusianful]

HD Vinyl? 30-minute sides that sound as good as 18-minute sides? Screw that! I got sheets of paper with ferric oxide recorded on obsolete school equipment - and I got all the hottest hits!

[@RickBoat]

Apparently, the supply of old recording formats will never dry up. The glue on the media must have been great, and the density low cause the DO sound surprisingly good.

[@RickBoat]

Fortunately IDE to USB devices exist.

[@KateOwsley]

VWestlife I went to Google this and the first result is a forum post by you. I also already subscribe to your channel. You're everywhere 😆

[@rybaluc]

It's really hard to understand what you mean. Disk format on what level? Standard formating on what level? Media level - physical recording and encoding?, Data structures like block and error checksums? Or something else? What is represented via interface is different than what you can really read from the media itself and it is translated by controller on drives for those two standards. This is the same for IDE and for SCSI. Main controller is build on drives. What you call today a controller, is only in fact a very simple interconnect interface between drive and computer. IDE/SCSI defines only data communication between drive and computer. No internal low level data structures or physical recording system on medium or raw access to it are defined in those standards. Only real off-drive controllers remaining in those days are floppy drive controllers in PCs and a few memory readers can allow you to use bypass mode to get to individual memory cells on flash cards. You need really dumb access to media like you had in case of RLL and MFM controllers where controller itself was on separate card. Some drives can allow access to raw data or some raw data on media via special manufacture specific commands (undocumented commands or in case of SCSI also pages). But this is drive specific and it is not in IDE/SCSI standard. You can often also access those data via diagnostic interfaces present on drive PCBs or connecting directly to low level reading/writing part but you have to know how to decode data. But again. There is not standard defining specific structure of storage data on media - again very specific to each drive - even between series and sometimes also not easy to get if you are not a data recovery company.

[@mazinz2]

I need one of these, such a neat concept. Actually I can see younger kids having fun with it if you tell them "hey you can record your voice on this piece of paper"

[@rebane2001]

I'd love to connect it to a home computer and load programs from paper

[@technician122]

Now that's a program listing page

[@pikgears]

I like that idea. They could have come in computer magazines.

[@admiral5960]

I can imagine some underground indie band making an album for this as promotional work.

[@GuestZer0]

Idea: music sheets with the actual music recorded on them.

[@androidtechgeek]

Yamaha had a playcard system for certain keyboards. But those just contained digital instructions on a magnetic strip.

[@GamerLoggos]

There is an even older technology that used paper to store music. Ever seen a Player Piano? Those used a large spool of paper with holes punched into it that told the pianos which keys to press. One could say this is the same idea with just a little electronic technology added in.

[@firepowerg]

"Are your windows nice and clean girls and boys?" How creepy is that?! She sounds like some kind of axe murderer!

[@tvoommen4688]

Remember, this device was mostly used by detention centers !

[@codyofathens3397]

Oh, look, a racism.

[@JohnSmith-eo5sp]

Or that crazy woman in MISERY

[@this_is_patrick]

@xlioilx with that kind of spelling ("sing of", "they would of"), you really don't have the right to criticize anyone's linguistic skills.

[@rippspeck]

More like some German folklore creature that punishes children for not cleaning the windows properly. Like Krampus, you know.

[@piusg]

Once upon a time, the Oklahoma Legislature actually bought things for their students. Huh.

[@absalomdraconis]

Oklahoma's legislature doesn't buy things for education, they have the districts do it instead. This probably never saw a single school room, much less students. It was probably given out for free as advertising.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

@@absalomdraconis Yeah, a lot schools have one smartboard to show off to potential donors how high tech their school is and that they should invest in education. But teachers and students are not allowed to use that one smartboard.

[@startreking]

@@rubiconnn Some of us adventurous kids found it rolled into a corner and wanted to play with it, after the teacher gave us the OK we hooked it up to the projector and computer. Calibrating was a breeze. Played with it for like 30 minutes and had our fill of excitement for the class period.

[@davidbono9359]

As somebody who attended Oklahoma public schools in the 1970's, I'm pretty sure our school didn't have any of these.

[@startreking]

@@davidbono9359 Sorry, was talking about smartboards that were around in 2000-ish.

[@JFStan]

This device is the reverse of the Tefifon! The Tefifon is a cassette that plays with a phonograph needle, and this is essentially a turntable that uses a magnetic head! Ha! Crazy.

[@sellersgarner]

Techmoan not only has a Tefi but keeps it hooked up to his HiFi. It's one of the formats he actually liked enough to manage to integrate into the already complicated setup.

[@graverboi13]

What a small world. I currently work for Ricoh and live in Oklahoma.

[@jari2018]

And I might buy this obsolete stuff if it can store sounds in 50 year old paper it can hold it for 100 years.

[@meyakabrown4725]

Its not a small world. I just think your unlucky bro. : )

[@jeenkzk5919]

Jonathan Golden greetings to my neighbor north of me....in Hurst, Texas

[@graverboi13]

I would consider myself unlucky if I'd never seen scissortails flying through the Ozarks, but I have. I might be unlucky if I couldn't find everything from warehouse raves to livestock shows in one town, but I can. I'd also consider myself unlucky if Ricoh didn't make me an admin and give me my own office...but they did. So, I might have to disagree with you. Come and visit the Big Friendly anytime, and I'll take you out for some cheese fondue.

[@graverboi13]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJPVn4uiZ8yClc0

[@BeIlG]

I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THESE! I believe my class had 2 of these in the 90s. We did different learning groups where for the first 10 or 20 minutes your group learned using this, then after you switch out and the next group takes your spot and you do one of the other learning group activities. It was kind of fun to learn this way in the 90s.

[@ChrisWalshZX]

Pretty amazing! When I read the title, I was thinking it was going to read a 1-bit digital audio signal from black and white dots off the paper! Sound quality is pretty good!

[@mcolville]

Man for some reason the idea of kids in the 90s still using these things in school depresses the hell out of me.

[@greysky1252]

I THINK I vaugely remember using something like this in Pre-K in 1991.

[@makaylaserniotti1474]

Gotta love America and the lack of education budget.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Matthew Colville The schools I went to didn't use VHS machines until the 90's, so they were content with their 16mm film projectors and filmstrip thingys for quite a while, and the occasional 3/4" U-Matic VTR machine stuck on a TV cart that might be rolled into the classroom!

[@Daytona574]

I walked into my kids' elementary school classroom last year, and was amazed to see the same brown cassette player I used in elementary school 30 years earlier.

[@prosfilaes]

Makayla Serniotti this comes from Oklahoma, whose teachers just walked out because it has one of the lowest investment in education in the US.

[@ultrasom]

TIL 3M originally stood up for "Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing" Co.

[@Preinstallable]

It still does.

[@jackman9061]

There's something creepy about tje recordings. The sentences also seem to be of different audio quality, some sound like the woman recorded it in a tunnel, there's just so much echo.

[@kinyutaka]

Mono sound tends to do that.

[@nadiayorc]

pretty sure there was some spring/plate reverb or something like that, artificial reverb was a thing even then

[@ChrisJSetterington]

The heads move, media doesn't.. That's genius. Pre-PC era I can see how this really helped with learning. Thanks for sharing.

[@starcrashr]

"Can only be found on misappropriated school equipment!" Best part.

[@Farquhartz]

Back when I was crazily buying up every weird recording format I could find, one of these popped up on eBay. The listing confirms what I'm sure Mat has experienced - that the world is full of very strange people. The listing included a picture of the owner, dressed in leather bits, holding the Sound Page towards a similarly dressed woman on her knees, licking the Sound Page. I did grit my teeth and buy the unit, and cleaned it very thoroughly when it arrived. Now mine was listed as a piece of office equipment, and included a plastic cover with white piping that made it look very 70's office chic. It included some blank pages. I never dreamed they were used as educational devices.

[@Farquhartz]

My bad - the woman was licking the mic, not the Sound Page.

[@Renzsu]

Keith Johnson Ah ok, not that weird then ... lol

[@nelo7149]

Keith Johnson You could just edit the comment...

[@ethanpoole3443]

nelo7149 - Canal Oficial No editing of comments if one is using a mobile device (or at least with Apple, have not tried an Android with KZbin). But the OPs comment certainly made me laugh, there are some real characters in this world. Edit: I take that back, Google finally added an edit feature on iOS.

[@Farquhartz]

You're right. I didn't think.

[@bakugi97]

"Are your windows nice and clean?" I fell like she's gonna take my eyes

[@HMV101]

As a 78-year old with a lifetime interest in audio/visual history, I thought I'd seen, read or heard about everything. Delighted to discover from this video that I haven't. Many thanks for sharing this. (As proof of my aforementioned passion, each time I attempt to declare my present age, my laptop's predictive text function writes 78rpm )

[@Cyranek]

i need one of these so I can play my music back in the highest quality

[@applepinez]

yes please

[@citrusui]

how are you here

[@casey6556]

Cyranek Didn’t expect to see you here LOL

[@xbox360e9]

How tf u get here Cyranek

[@Robert08010]

Don't you need a sharpened number two pencil for a needle?

[@ThatCuteMacaw]

Considering the age and that it's on paper, it does sound great.

[@paulriggs42]

Those are amazingly good quality, the first time I’ve ever seen such a recording format…. You can just imagine that lady’s voice being used in an Avalanches track.

[@Jesiahjesiah]

So, as a professional window cleaner and found sound collager, this is gold. Maybe pyrite.

[@jcardboard]

I half expect Jack White to release an album on this format.

[@MarkZammitronic]

I love how creepy the blank recording pages sound. Gives me the shivers.

[@squidiskool]

And also the creepy views of the system itself...

[@spugintrntl]

@@squidiskool What gets me is how the people giving instructions on how to give IQ tests keep stumbling over words, misreading their script, and genuinely don't seem to care at all.

[@markm0000]

@@spugintrntl Once you peel back the thin curtain, all of western education is exactly like that.

[@ZGryphon]

@@spugintrntl "... you will now have to change to sound page [CLATTER] number s-- eight." He shuffled around to check which page it was and STILL nearly got it wrong.

[@SpiritedSpy]

8:55 honestly that's just downright creepy to me, it's just the way it cuts in.

[@jjdigitalvideosolutionsllc5343]

I shared your video with my sister, an elementary school teacher. She said that they still have these in their speech classrooms.

[@AndersEngerJensen]

Haha that ending. Love the badly concealed sarcasm! 😂👍🏼👍🏼

[@xander1052]

Anders are you going to record music for this format, misusing old school equipment?

[@coydog7902]

200 likes

[@thogameskanaal]

Literally old school.

[@bigstupidgrin]

Techmoan does sarcasm very well.

[@RomelioSanz]

It was a grand finale !!!

[@nikkola84]

cleion dein was always my favorite singer in teatanik, so sad movie

[@DannyBeans]

I lost it at your pronunciation of "Jewl." That was great.

[@tanelehala6422]

"Cleion Dein - But its all coming Bach to me mow" lol

[@Robert08010]

Well you can see what learning disabilities landed them in juvie. They're beyond dyslexic. They're Mega-lexic! (with reverb)

[@DrFruikenstein]

I've seen a couple of those machines, but never knew what they were. Had I been born a couple years later, I might have had the chance to use one, but at age 7 in '74, I was already reading at a higher level than the material that was presented in this presentation. As a result, the teacher had us reading short stories, and not just learning words. However, in high school (I think tenth grade) on the last day of the year, we were digging around the for some distraction from the bordom of nothing to do when one of the guys found a portable open reel tape deck. The teacher wasn't sure if it still worked as he hadn't used it in fifteen years, but set it up, anyway. It did work, and we all took turns recording with it, and playing it back. It just goes to show that when students start digging around, they will find old equipment, and try it out.

[@MagnaRyuuDesigns]

The school lessons sound so eerie I love them

[@Yapostadodat]

Probably the best tech channel on KZbin, your intro and outro music is so comforting and techy I really need to hear it everyday. Thanks for all your effort; stay well and keep posting.

[@TheSektorz]

Hearing the voices of people who are long dead (trough an old, distorted-sounding device no less) always creeps me out, I don't like it.

[@deathbydeviceable]

What do you do when you see a black and white film?

[@mickeymouse12678]

@@tiberiu_nicolae The people with voices on the device were not born the year it came out...

[@enricosanchez894]

The machine is from the 1970s, not the 1920s.

[@WaynesStrangeBrain]

@@enricosanchez894 And many of the people were in the forties, and now would be in their nineties. Or older. Their lives have passed, whether they too have yet.

[@captainsergeant]

You must really hate laugh tracks! They were taped decades ago and there is a good chance that every laugh you hear is from a now deceased person.

[@korhonenmikko]

The southern drawl, constant stumbling over words despite the very slow pace, and the subject matter really do make a very melancholy combination.

[@kbbbb7]

Yes, let's all inflict standardised testing on a child's art project, that will help them in life.

[@magicjoybox]

I don't know man, that Southern lady's accent is pretty hot.

[@iagreebut6813]

Southern USA > rest of USA in everyway. The south in my opinion is less racist than most major northern cities. I'm not "white" and I've been everywhere in USA and experienced the opposite of what I've been told in media. The south east is so special, especially my home in the blue ridge mountains. Of course you have bad actors but the south gets a bad wrap because of their history, which is deserved but if people would move on things would be alot better. Most of the people who won't accept change are outside looking in, the people who embrace the culture are the ones who are defining the new south. Today you can be invited into a multicultural cookout as a complete stranger and have the best time of your life in the south. Hospitality is in our blood, so is lard ;-)

[@cptnwcky]

The thing that really makes me sad is that this is tech from the 70's; (which was considered niche at the time) that one can infer still hadn't been completely phased out of the curriculum by the mid 90's. And this was well before shit like "No Child Left Behind" was enacted.

[@absalomdraconis]

@@cptnwcky : No, Oklahoma doesn't actually have a centralised education system. It's far more likely that this was given out for free as advertising. Chances are that this never saw a classroom.

[@Headroom23]

+Techmoan Let me start by saying you will never run out of "classic" items for your videos. What is "state of the art" today, is obsolete tomorrow. I want you also say I enjoy your videos. They're nostalgic and I love seeing the "classic" technology. Keep producing these great videos. Thank you.

[@lsixty30]

when you started to zoom in during the "sh" page I think that is hilarious

[@Mrcake0103]

"The ASMR nuts are going to love this." lol.

[@piotrnod6489]

yup, he's right about that xD

[@Alex_K221]

Can confirm

[@robinw77]

Interesting! Also, I almost spat my beer all over my laptop when you did the music compilation voiceover part haha! Keep up the good work mate!

[@frvo]

Love these type of old technology! Keep it up

[@alexlandherr]

I’m amazed that you can make such fascinating videos about technology that isn’t just a sponsored review!

[@88njtrigg88]

"Recorded & kept for prosperity." Thank you 'Techmoan.

[@624radicalham]

It's incredible that this runs with the original capacitors and that the white plastic hasn't yellowed like on a Commodore VIC-20 or other plastic devices from that era.

[@alphamone]

It's mostly capacitors from the late 80s to early 90s that have major issues (look up the "capacitor plague" for more info).

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

@@alphamone Look up capacitor plague? For what? The shitty Wikipedia article where actual facts are constantly getting deleted (which has been ongoing for the past 10+ years) and the same old bullshit stories repeated because mainstream media has mentioned that drivel and therefore counts as a reliable source? No thanks lol

[@abbafan50986]

I love Alians Morseet. Her album 'Jagid lottle peel' was fantastic

[@sebquelcutti9375]

I was feeling quite down - until I watched this episode! This put a smile on my face - great episode TM, thank you for cheering me up :-) Keep up the good work!

[@Draco_Alpha]

Got enough reverb? My goodness...

[@dcflake5645]

Alians Morseet was my favourite back in the day. Sounds like a character from Star Wars.

[@jamesslick4790]

I'm impressed with the durability of the recordings, I've got cassette tapes from the early 2000s that didn't hold up as well!

[@valentinocolaon6060]

This video production quality is better than our national television broadcast

[@jinglebones6990]

I love this! Probably my favourite of all your videos Mr Techmoan!

[@brokenscart7989]

"I'm SHelley the SHoemaker, and I'm full of SHit

[@rich_edwards79]

brokenSCART Or just pissed that he got saddled with a girl's name. Why *do* Americans inflict that on their kids, anyway?

[@fordtechchris]

I thought i was the only one saying shhh shhh shhhit!

[@filanfyretracker]

as soon as I saw SH I already imagined school kids writing SHIT.

[@Houshalter]

It wasn't a girl's name yet.

[@PurpleTT99]

Mat, you sir need a peak viewing slot on BBC2 every week. Your vids are better than 99% of other factual programmes on mainstream TV. Bet they've approached you already!?

[@rich_edwards79]

PurpleTT99 -Agreed. Some sort of retro version of the Gadget Show would be a huge hit. But no, just more endless bloody X-Factor and Bake Off crap. No wonder no-one under the age of 40 bothers with the telly anymore.

[@fenixlolnope361]

People's accents in that time period sound nice. I really like the lady's voice in that "blank" sheet.

[@alistercat]

I think part of it could be where she was from as well as when. Some family of mine in North Carolina sound like her.

[@aerohk]

The sound is really good, very impressive! Quality contents, thanks.

[@AshtonCoolman]

I never knew 3M stood for three words that started with the letter M. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co.

[@TomCarlson]

JohnnyNismo Me neither, and I grew up there.

[@microbuilder]

Lived here basically my entire life and I didnt know lol

[@jamesgrimwood1285]

And a mining company is now best known for making little sticky pads that come with GoPro and dashcams.

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

James Grimwood They are also known for various high quality glues and tapes, and for a long running dispute with the Minnesota State Government about cleaning up some old mess.

[@w7777777s]

Not to mention being one of the first US manufacturers of reels of recording tape. And of course “ScotchTape”

[@orbitaaltube]

It sounds like something boards of canada would take samples from. Amazing machine.

[@jasonjudge3324]

I remember word cards in school in the 1970s, where each card - about the size of a computer punched card - had a word spelled in big letters. At the bottom of each card was a magnetic strip, with the spoken word recorded on it. The card was then slid into a machine that would play the word as the card went through it. I think it had several channels, because I remember being able to listen to the standard clear word that can with the cards, then by holding a switch down you could hear another channel where a teacher at the school attempted to record their own version. Some of them where hilarious, because the teacher versions had all sorts of background noises and sounds of other kids being naughty. That was when I was seven, and I haven't stopped taking things apart and rebuilding them since, which is why Techmoan takes up so much of my procrastination time :-) I've not seen details of these machines since, but from memory they were about the size of a small portable typewriter and were encased in shiny pewter-like metal.

[@crazyrobotlady3391]

Oh! I’ve used a device similar to this. It was called a language master. Instead of full sheets, it recorded on these long rectangular cards. One side had a word and a sentence in Braille and a single strip of magnetic tape on the other side. Unlike your device, you slid the card into the device on one side and it moved through the machine and out the other side. Recording time was about fifteen seconds and there were no buttons other than the record button. It had an internal speaker as well as a headphone jack. I used one while I was learning to read back in nineteen eighty five. Nice trip down memory lane! I would’ve loved an entire page of recorded paper.

[@darksepheroth4627]

Please do a segment called teak moan about old electronics with wood grain finishes.

[@patrickjohnson5658]

Or a segment called steakmoan reviewing all the cuts of beef out there and how to cook them properly.

[@mogshade66]

Darksepheroth Rocking idea 🔊

[@sebquelcutti9375]

Oh my god That made me laugh really hard!!!!!!! :D So funny

[@BertGrink]

@Darksepheroth He'd definitely have to have LGR on board with that idea.

[@KayleeCee]

@@BertGrink Lol, I was just going to say that LGR would absolutely love that. Clint adores all things wood grain.

[@wildbilltexas]

That teachers voice is creepy, along with the use of heavy reverb. I'm surprised they were still being used into the mid 90's, but then again that's Oklahoma schools.

[@CreeperAssassins1]

i think the reverb is due to the system since when techmoan seemed to be recording from the headphone output it sounded normal

[@wildbilltexas]

Its been added for an dramatic effect to grab kids attention.

[@blickumblickumblick]

Dig that reverb. I've got to get one of these for the studio.

[@Kelvin5378]

"the earth is round not flat" Flat earthers: triggered

[@0LoneTech]

Never mind the flat earthers, the myth that people wouldn't believe the Earth was round is itself an artificial hoax, designed to belittle ancestors just because they couldn't answer the fallacy (you know, being long dead and such). The arrogance of it is rather apalling. Then the flat earthers got hold of that myth and spun their conspiracy theories around it. Basically, the proof they're talking about was all experiments revolving around how large the Earth was, not its shape.

[@austinchasteeny]

@@0LoneTech facts

[@paulmurgatroyd6372]

Can't it be round and flat at the same time? Almost like a record.

[@memes_gbc674]

@@paulmurgatroyd6372 wait

[@brettvv7475]

@@paulmurgatroyd6372 Sure, but it's not.

[@GreyHulk2156]

Alians Morseet was always the best. :)

[@Stefan-]

Aliens !!! where !!

[@Alexandra.H]

Alien Marmoset and Cleon Deon are timeless!

[@mattzww]

I gotta say , a paper player/recorder I did not see that coming 🤔

[@epdm2be620]

mattzww yeah, I really thought he'd made that up. Recording audio on paper, what a daft idea :-)

[@cyruscuckler3495]

To be honest it was really the "WON'T YOU SHOW ME?" That spooked me! Lol

[@safirahmed]

I was expecting the male voice to talk about an IMF mission at 06:02. There was also a different kind of machine in the mid 1970s that would read aloud cards that would move along the slot on the top front of the machine. Users would be discouraged from placing multiple cards one after the other together to make the machine talk phrases quickly.

[@Ratelzwatel]

4:56 "The ASMR nuts are going to love this". :lol:

[@DavidPietersen]

This is one of the best channels on KZbin!

[@davedaranjo]

The music "infomercial" had me crackin up

[@ken131]

I'm delighted to know that some 90s kid found these sound pages and recorded pop songs on them. What a time capsule.

[@theastrogamer710]

I wonder why they covered the entire back side of the sheet with the oxide instead of just the circle in the middle where the play head is at, maybe its just simpler to cover the entire side than the specific area that is played.

[@cobrass8033]

The Astro Gamer they could have made the paper circular. Would have been practical

[@theastrogamer710]

But it would make drawing on it harder.

[@cobrass8033]

The Astro Gamer it would be a picture disc on paper instead of vinyl

[@vink6163]

If it was a circle you wouldn't be able to photocopy onto it or use standard printing equipment.

[@mustangrt8866]

so no scratching :(

[@calif1mc]

Pretty cool! I was born in 1971, and I started Kindergarten in 1976, but I don't remember seeing those in my years in public school in SoCal (76-90).

[@prismstudios001]

Same here.I don`t remember ever seeing one either(Ky).

[@charllie_k_69]

Went to school in the US from 78 to 91 I have NEVER seen this. This was hysterical!

[@CP200S]

The final noise in the video makes me remember of times when I, while using my ZX-81, turned on an AM radio next to it so to hear the "processing noises" of my beloved Sinclair machine.

[@ViewpointProd]

a Techmoan and an oddity archive video in the same day, proof that god exists

[@Fluteboy]

9:15 - "Out now on K-Smell Records!"

[@ViewpointProd]

i prefer sergei's catacoumb of classics

[@Colddirector]

Wow, never thought I'd see someone mention oddity archive here.

[@ViewpointProd]

speaking of ol' benny boy, i saw in my notifications he liked a post of mine, i want to litteraly scream, Also, he's fully aware of the audience and fans of both, hell benny boy enjoys techmoan aswell

[@fixman88]

Be N S O N I got a serious Oddity Archive vibe off that part with the music recordings!

[@ConstantinSPurcea]

YES! Getting on the earth is round vs. flat bandwagon too with that page

[@mcb187]

As someone who had the misfortune of going to school in Oklahoma at one point, I can confirm that them still using, or at least having this equipment in the late 90’s is not out of the realm of possibility. My district was having paper shortages to the point where when I brought a box with 2 reams of paper to my math teacher, she cried.

[@channelname4238]

Please upload the entire recordings of all the sound pages. This is very interesting!

[@Christopher-N]

Every sailor, or anyone who's watched ships on the horizon, knew the Earth is round. The flat Earth theory was not as popular as myth would have it. _Everybody_ didn't believe in a flat Earth.

[@MrLongpointlessname]

The Earth projects a round shadow on the moon, and early histories recorded that people thought the Earth was round as early as 700 BC.

[@Christopher-N]

The circumference of the Earth was even measured by *Eratosthenes* (276-194 B.C.) using a method not unlike a sundial: driving two sticks into the ground, miles apart from each other, when measured at the same time of day cast different shadows. His measurements suggested the Earth's circumference should be 25,000 miles, less than 100 miles from today's accepted figure.

[@colinjohnston8519]

Proctor Sample oh fuck up you moron. Stop trying to be smarter than you are! History goes back only 5k years lol? Nope History dates back to the start of everything numb nuts! Do you mean written history? Wtf has that got to do with anything? The recording simply states that at some point people would have thought the earth was flat because it looked flat until one day they realised it was round. This is a fact champ. It's not open for debate. Oh btw why don't you enlighten us on the age of humanity since you know more than anyone alive? Not that it's relevant to this. Humanity is older than 5k. Are you a bible tosser?

[@colinjohnston8519]

Proctor Sample hahaha just read the second comment, or part of it. I don't think you are the full shilling my excitable friend. Now run along and play.

[@Lively_1185]

Colin Johnston Ok, what is your problem here?

[@JohnMichaelson]

Flat earthers violently triggered at 6:02.

[@mrfurball]

John Michaelson bravo drama queen , you get bullied in the real world so you go online to bully others, real alpha male you are

[@BrightSpark]

@mrfurball I FOUND THE FLAT EARTHER!

[@mrfurball]

Just because I don't believe in a flat Earth doesn't mean I'm cool with disrespecting these people for no reason, in the free world you have the right to believe what ever you want even if it's rather unusual. I think North Korea is looking to fill their ranks with thought Nazis...

[@syntaxerror9994]

Someones a bit sensitive. I always assumed in order to "bully" someone you'd have to make some kind of insulting remark, not point out a certain group might get mad at a certain part of a video. But what do I know...I'm a moron that believes things like science.

[@JohnMichaelson]

Apparently, sir, you need to look up the word "bullying" in the dictionary. I didn't call them any names, I didn't abuse them or cast aspersions on their intellectual level or education. Paraphrasing Moynihan, flat earthers are entitled to their own opinions, but they're not entitled to their own facts.

[@SciPunk215]

I swear I was subscribed to this channel years ago, but it appears I was not. That has been corrected. This channel is one of my favorites. I was afraid Techmoan would run out of audio tech to review, but after this intro I'm not worried.

[@kjamison5951]

My first thought was a black and white spiral printed on the back of the paper, like a record groove, that an optical pickup would read and convert to sound. That could be photocopied. That the entire page is coated in magnetic material is amazing. Thanks for the video!

[@MultiTomtom23]

Lol...now there are ppl that don't believe the world is round again...maybe u could lend them this paper!! XD

[@metallicarabbit]

maybe they could also learn what the burden of proof is as well like that page is trying to teach. lol you cant talk sense to people that dense

[@medes5597]

Of you look it up, people have nearly always believed the world is round. It's a myth that we had to be convinced and people thought we'd fall off the edge. So modern flat earthers are literally a brand new kind of stupid.

[@MultiTomtom23]

Terry Beardmore yeah I know...but flat earthers are to stupid to use wikipedia ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eratosthenes) so maybe an older and easier technology would help them out =)

[@MultiTomtom23]

metallicarabbit u know it is not that easy to disprove millennia of scientific evidence... But if u know about flat earthers, their "experiments" are one of the dumbest things I eve saw on the globe ;-) (did u see what I did there *gg*) And let's be honest...most ppl that are flat earthers, are creationists too...and like u said (I'll just put it in other words) u can't fill a full cup (especially when it is full of shit) Greetings

[@patrickjohnson5658]

ganymedeIV4. I don't think so. The Earth as seen from space has been photographed and shown to be round ever since the Americans captured Germany's V2 rockets at the end of WW2 and sent one into low Earth orbit with a film camera strapped to the back of it. They claim all those pictures are CGI fakes without any proof whatsoever to substantiate their accusations. Not to mention CGI did not exist 40 plus years ago when the first full frame photographs were taken from space showing the round Earth in a single frame.

[@Edgewalker001]

So I guess Shelley the shoemaker's side hobby is to sell sea shells by the sea shore?

[@dylandreisbach1986]

When a kids learning device from the 70s gives out more sound information about the round earth and scientific method then all flat earthers today.

[@brianhill4153]

This channel never lets me down