Departures of note

In 1885 Megan Watts Hughes accidentally discovered what she called “voice-figures” or “voice-flowers” while exercising her voice, describing patterns formed by standing‑wave resonance on the disc of an eidophone using sand or lycopodium powder and later a thin layer of water or milk.

She reported that the patterns, which she called “beautiful crispations,” appeared only when the pitches sung were not too forced, and she found that coloured glycerine produced intricate flower‑like patterns in the liquid.