Trivia
HardWhat Common Music Delivery System Was Discovered Completely By Accident?

Answer: Telephone Hold Music
Hearing music while we’re on hold waiting to talk to a company representative is so common today that it’s hard to imagine there was a time where people just sat around listening to nothing at all while waiting on hold. What’s fascinating about hold music, or Music On Hold (MOH) as it’s known in the industry, is that it was completely accidental.
While you’d assume that hold music was purposely created for the benefit of bored customers stuck waiting on the line (and to indicate that the line was still active and hadn’t been disconnected), it was created (and subsequently patented) by accident.
In 1962, callers put on hold when calling the factory of Alfred Levy were treated to music. The customers complimented him on the nice touch (a touch which he had no idea existed) and he set to work investigating it. It turns out that a loose wire was touching a large metal girder in the factory which turned the metal shell of the factory into a huge antenna. When the calls were put on hold, the radio signal was able to overpower the line signal and the callers could hear music from the local radio station next door to the factory.
Levy patented a more purposefully designed hold music system in 1966 and the rest is history. Now we all get to enjoy smooth jazz or sanitized pop songs while waiting to talk to our insurance agents.
Trivia
HardThe First Game Console To Feature A Built-In Hard Drive Was The?
Trivia
EasyThe Mast Of The Empire State Building Was Originally To Serve As What?
Trivia
HardWhich Musician Revitalized His Career By Composing The Windows 95 Start Up Sound?
Trivia
HardThe Most Accurate Way To Determine The Age Of Bears Is To?
Trivia
EasyRecently Mathematicians Around The Globe Have Taken To Hoarding?
Trivia
HardWho Produced The World’s First Commercial 1TB Hard Drive?
Trivia
HardThe Outer Case Of The Atari Jaguar Game Console Lived On As A?
Trivia
HardThe Most Prolific Lightning Storms On Earth Occur Where?
Trivia
HardWhich U.S. State Wasn’t Technically A State Until 2012?
Trivia
HardThe Largest Operator Of Autonomous Vehicles In The World Is?