Wire report
This Hi-Fi Tape Recorder Changed Radio Forever
A German engineer wanted a cheaper cigarette. The popular crooner Bing Crosby wanted a vacation. Satisfying both desires inadvertently led to the invention of the laugh track. Along the way there were Nazis, spoils of war, and more than one accidental encounter. Tying together this quirky history is the Magnetophon. What Was the Magnetophon? The Magnetophon was a high-fidelity reel-to-reel magnetic tape recorder. The hit of the Berlin Radio Show when it debuted in 1935, it was developed by the German electronics manufacturer AEG. The magnetic tape was produced by I.G. Farben (now known as BASF). German inventor Fritz Pfleumer came up with the idea of recording sound on magnetized paper tape coated with metal. ullstein bild/Getty Images The tale of that tape runs through German inventor Fritz Pfleumer. In the early 1920s, Pfleumer was working on industrial paper products in Dresden. At th
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A German engineer wanted a cheaper cigarette. The popular crooner Bing Crosby wanted a vacation. Satisfying both desires inadvertently led to the invention of the laugh track. Along the way there were Nazis, spoils of war, and more than one accidental encounter. Tying together this quirky history is the Magnetophon. What Was the Magnetophon? The Magnetophon was a high-fidelity reel-to-reel magnetic tape recorder. The hit of the Berlin Radio Show when it debuted in 1935, it was developed by the German electronics manufacturer AEG. The magnetic tape was produced by I.G. Farben (now known as BASF). German inventor Fritz Pfleumer came up with the idea of recording sound on magnetized paper tape coated with metal. ullstein bild/Getty Images The tale of that tape runs through German inventor Fritz Pfleumer. In the early 1920s, Pfleumer was working on industrial paper products in Dresden. At th
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What happened
According to IEEE Spectrum’s linked report, This Hi-Fi Tape Recorder Changed Radio Forever, A German engineer wanted a cheaper cigarette. The popular crooner Bing Crosby wanted a vacation. Satisfying both desires inadvertently led to the invention of the laugh track. Along the way there were Nazis, spoils of war, and more than one accidental encounter. Tying together this quirky history is the Magnetophon. What Was the Magnetophon? The Magnetophon was a high-fidelity reel-to-reel magnetic tape recorder. The hit of the Berlin Radio Show when it debuted in 1935, it was developed by the German electronics manufacturer AEG. The magnetic tape was produced by I.G. Farben (now known as BASF). German inventor Fritz Pfleumer came up with the idea of recording sound on magnetized paper tape coated with metal. ullstein bild/Getty Images The tale of that tape runs through German inventor Fritz Pfleumer. In the early 1920s, Pfleumer was working on industrial paper products in Dresden. At th
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Technology coverage for readers following technology, science, product policy, markets, infrastructure, and the public consequences of innovation. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked report is dated 2026-08-02T13:00:01+00:00.
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Primary source: This Hi-Fi Tape Recorder Changed Radio Forever via IEEE Spectrum. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- This Hi-Fi Tape Recorder Changed Radio ForeverIEEE Spectrum - 2026-08-02T13:00:01+00:00
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