BoingBoing points us to the Wooden Books website with their “Harmonographs” Book. Harmonographs are an interesting combination of a spirograph with music that draws out interesting mathematical visualizations of the soundwaves within.
The harmonograph was a popular 19th-century parlor pastime that created art similar to a Spirograph, but with a much wider range of variables. Ashton purchased one and illustrated his book with it. He also gives a history of math and music dating back to Pythagoras, and includes schematics for building your own harmonograph.
Sounds like great fun to start off the new year.
