August 16 – Happy Birthday, Hans Jenny

Posted on August 16, 2015

Today we celebrate the Father of Cymatics.

Perhaps you are unfamiliar with cymatics. I read one definition of it that I liked: it is the study of “visual sound.”

Born in Switzerland on this date in 1904, Hans Jenny studied and took photos of the effects of sound vibrations on fluids, powders, and liquid paste.

He wrote, “This is not an unregulated chaos; it is a dynamic but ordered pattern.”

Can you believe the complex patterns created
by sound on water? So beautiful!

Of course, sound waves have been studied for centuries before Jenny lived. For example, Ernst Chladni studied the symmetrical forms created when plates covered with sand are set to vibrating with a violin bow – and he did it way back in the 1700s. Actually, at least a thousand years ago some tribes in Africa began “reading” the patterns of small grains on drumheads to foretell the future. Of course, the patterns didn't actually foretell the future, but it shows us that people have known about and enjoyed the patterns made by small particles on a vibrating surface for a long, long time.

Jenny's invention, the “tonoscope,” had a resonating chamber, a sort of membrane or drumhead on top of the chamber, and some way of introducing sound into the chamber. I read that Jenny was the first to suggest that this sort of device could someday help deaf people learn to speak.

• Watch this cool video to enjoy the patterns of visual sound on sand, water, fire, electricity - it's amazing!
• And here is a simple way to build your own tonoscope!

• Finally, check out these cool images of paint responding to sound waves!

Also on this date:

Joe Miller's Joke Day

Anniversary of an overthrow

Anniversary of the start of the Klondike Gold Rush

Independence Day in Gabon

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

• August holidays 
• August birthdays 
• Historical anniversaries in August

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• September holidays
• September birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in September

May 29, 2012 - Happy Birthday, Ebenezer Butterick

“It sure would be easier to sew if the pattern was the right size!”

Ellen Pollard Butterick said words to this effect to her husband around the time of the American Civil War. She was attempting to sew a new shirt for her son, but the paper pattern she was using to cut out all the pieces she needed for the front, back, sleeves, and collar of the shirt was a very different size than her son.

As a matter of fact, all paper patterns back then came in only one size each—and not some medium or “ideal” size, either—a different size for each pattern. Home sewers had to customize the patterns to their specific family members—and this resizing was apparently time-consuming and difficult.

Ebenezer Butterick (today's birthday boy, Ellen's husband, and a tailor) thought his wife had a very good idea—that selling “graded” patterns—that is, patterns in multiple standard sizes—was in fact a great idea. So he drew up some graded patterns on tissue paper and began to sell Butterick patterns in 1963.

The Buttericks' invention is said to have revolutionized home sewing!

They started off creating the pre-cut tissue-paper patterns in their own home, but within a year the business had grown so much that they opened a factory. At first they only created patterns for men's and boys' clothing; later they created patterns for women's and girls' clothing as well—and that ended up being the best-selling portion of their pattern business, with 13 sizes offered in blouses, dresses, coats, and skirts. The Buttericks used to give only the briefest of instructions about how to cut out and sew the garment, but customers clearly wanted more help than that, and the Buttericks began to print instructions on the envelopes and, later, extensive instructions and even cutting diagrams on folded papers inside the envelopes as well. These days, there are even some instructions printed on the pattern pieces

In 1867, the Buttericks began publishing fashion magazines to promote their patterns. By the “turn of the century” (when the 1800s ended and the 1900s began), their magazine called The Delineator was the most important fashion magazine in the U.S.

Boy, when I was a kid, I used to love to pore over giant books of Butterick pattern styles—with all the colorful illustrations of lovely girls and women in fashion-forward clothes. As a matter of fact, if I asked nicely, the women who worked at the fabric store would save the pattern books for me when they became outdated and replaced—they'd just tuck those books under the counter with a note saying “Save for Cathy,” and I'd go pick them up for free! It was like having a giant book of paper dolls, because I'd cut out my favorite 50 or 100 illustrations to play with!

I wonder if people still do that?

I imagine that patterns don't sell nearly as much nowadays. Sewing your own clothes used to be something almost everyone did, but now inexpensive clothes—often sewn in other countries—make sewing the much more expensive option.

Also on this date:

Anniversary of a solar eclipse confirming the Theory of Relativity

Anniversary of the first successful climb of Mount Everest