Comments (14)

1. Wow, that takes me back – my Grade 5 teacher asked the class that question in 1957. And then used it as a start to a science lesson.

   posted by ArtW on 5-14-2009 at 7:52 am

2. Dang, that totally got me. Good one.

   posted by Jon on 5-14-2009 at 8:05 am

3. Ugh. I guess I’m too young for this game. I grew up buying cassettes, only knowing my parents had records but never really familiarizing myself with them. I was assuming 1 revolution per groove, and I did all the math, but I guess technically it’s one groove since it does not end (and therefore can continue to spin).

   posted by Bri on 5-14-2009 at 9:11 am

4. Oh… kinda got me.

   I was thinking that there would be the same number of grooves on each side, regardless of length, but not thinking that it was one long continuous groove.

   posted by Civisi on 5-14-2009 at 9:32 am

5. Started down the complicated math road for a moment, then came to my senses. Looks like my college DJ years finally paid off!

   posted by EMStoveken on 5-14-2009 at 9:34 am

6. You’re exactly right, Bri… but hey, the math exercise didn’t hurt ya.

   posted by Sandy Wood on 5-14-2009 at 9:54 am

7. ahh, tricky one maze, i stepped full on the trap¡

   posted by luis on 5-14-2009 at 11:03 am

8. Wouldn’t the answer be 2? One on each side of the record?

   posted by Sue on 5-14-2009 at 11:45 am

9. Early pressings of Monty Python: Matching Tie and Hankerchief had three grooves.

   posted by Nevin ":-)" on 5-14-2009 at 12:10 pm

10. But I suspect “Matching Tie and Handkerchief” was not a 45… I suspect it was an LP.

    posted by Dinosaur on 5-14-2009 at 1:31 pm

11. Yep, Nevin, that’s one of those “rare exceptions” I mention in the answer. Likewise, there are some one-sided records (not really one-sided, but with grooves etched on only one side). Some other oddities (usually business-related or educational recordings) have multiple grooves on a side… but it is rare.

    posted by Sandy Wood on 5-14-2009 at 1:46 pm

12. I have one of those rare exceptions, and it had multiple grooves for a really cool reason (or at least I think it’s pretty cool)–it was for a game.

    It was a baseball game, and Mel Allen supplied the voice. Whoever was “batting” had to move the needle above the record and place it down, and good ‘ol Mel would make the call for the “play” that just took place on the field.

    Of course, regular baseball rules followed, three outs per side, nine innings per game…

    posted by Wayne on 5-14-2009 at 2:36 pm

13. Another special case was the miniature disk that they used inside of old talking dolls, like Mattell’s Chatty Cathy. It was only grooved on one side, but it had 8 or 9 separate, nested spirals that were exactly parallel to each other. When you pulled the string, the needle would randomly catch and play only one of the grooves. Because the mecahnism had to be small and rugged, each little speech was only 4 or 5 seconds long, but it still seemed pretty magic at the time. “Can you come out and play?”
    With modern technology and a flash memory chip, you could now have a doll that is capable of reciting a whole bookful of speech.

    posted by Fredly on 5-14-2009 at 3:11 pm

14. I have one of those exceptions, too. The first pressing of Monty Python’s “Matching Tie and Handkerchief” was a three-sided record. It was too fragile to play, but it was amusing.

    posted by Jood42 on 5-15-2009 at 4:51 pm

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