As his career as an inventor became increasingly successful, Thomas Edison developed a range of philanthropic ideals, including the desire to place a piano in the home of every American.

To ensure affordability, expensive (and resonant) wood would be replaced by a piano framework of concrete. Perfectly tuneable – if somewhat immoveable – the instrument would hopefully extend America’s musical talent, although Edison was far from the best to judge. He had been pretty much deaf since childhood – the result, he claimed, of being lifted by the ears onto a moving train by a helpful conductor (presumably, as Edison’s brother suffered similar partial deafness, a family hazard).

extracted from Pigeon-Guided Missiles, by James Moore and Paul Nero; The History Press