Loudspeaker

Hello there. My name is Loudspeaker, and I have a very important job. I take tiny, quiet sounds and make them BIG. Before I came along, the world was much quieter. If you wanted to hear music or a person speaking to a big crowd, you had to listen very, very closely. But I changed all that. Now, you can find me in your family car singing your favorite songs, in movie theaters making dinosaurs roar, and even in your phone helping you talk to grandma. I love making sounds loud and clear for everyone to enjoy.

My story begins with two clever friends named Peter Jensen and Edwin Pridham. They wanted to find a way to make voices travel farther than ever before. They worked and worked, and finally, they created me. They gave me a wonderful name, 'Magnavox,' which is a fancy way of saying 'Great Voice.' I was so proud of my new name and my powerful voice. To show everyone what I could do, they planned a big surprise. On Christmas Eve in 1915, they carried me up to the top of a tall building in a city called San Francisco. From way up high, I sang Christmas music. My voice floated over the whole city. People down below stopped and looked up, completely amazed. They had never heard anything like it. My voice traveled for miles, and it felt like I was giving the entire city a musical hug.

About ten years later, in 1925, two other smart inventors named Chester Rice and Edward Kellogg decided to make me even better. They knew I had a great voice, but they wanted to make it clearer and stronger. They gave me the look you probably recognize today, a round shape with a special paper cone in the middle. This cone is my secret. It wiggles back and forth super, super fast, almost like a hummingbird's wings. As it wiggles, it pushes the air in front of it, creating invisible waves of sound that travel all the way to your ears. That’s how I sing, talk, and roar. It’s all thanks to my wiggling paper cone.

Today, I get to be a part of so many exciting things. I help you have dance parties with your friends by blasting fun music. I make movies feel real when a spaceship zooms by or a lion roars. I even help your teacher’s voice reach the back of the classroom and tell you your favorite bedtime stories from a little speaker by your bed. My greatest joy is bringing people together. Whether it's through a happy song or an exciting story, I love filling the world with the magic of sound and sharing it with everyone.