Wunderkammer Nr. 1

Upon this blog, I shall also be posting curiosities from my digital Wunderkammer (that is, cabinet [or chamber] of curiosities). Number One I came across a while back, but have revisited since for love of this fantastic photograph. I assume it was taken in some war yard early in the century, no doubt during the First World War. The crazy contraption behind the two gents strolling along is not the latest whack-o band instrument, but a listening device used to HEAR approaching ships that are out of the visual range. That's right, even into WW2 sound reflectors and giant listening devices like this one were used before the advent of radar. In this day and age it seems like some fantasy cooked up by H.G. Wells, but it really wasn't so long ago in the real scope of things that there was no television, no radar, no satellites or space shuttles, no cell phones, and blah blah blah. Imagine the perception of time during the Roman Empire, when relevant events might have happened within the course of 200 years and styles and attitudes were refined and circulated upon the same foundation. Blast Bro.: Franklin for "inventing" electricity... it's all gone downhill since then.


p.s. I love this guy. Find out more about LISTENING DEVICES.