Franklin’s intention with the armonica was to provide soothing, beautiful music mimicking that of the water glasses. But unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse...

Living up to its present-day nickname, “the world’s deadliest instrument,” Franklin’s glass armonica allegedly began killing people. The complexity of the armonica overstimulated the brain, which ultimately caused dizziness, nervousness, hallucinations, and cramps amongst performers.   

In 1808, German glass armonica player Marianne Kirchgessner passed away, and many attributed her death to the spooky tones of Franklin’s armonica. It was not only becoming an issue for musicians but listeners, too. A young child in Germany also died during an armonica performance, which resulted in some towns banning the instrument for good.  And as for the players of the armonica, it was also believed that, due to the constant touching of paint used to color-code each bowl, musicians were falling very ill from lead poisoning.

SUMMONER OF SPIRITS?

Aside from the physical toll the instrument supposedly took on players and listeners, some also believed that the high pitch sound summoned spirits of the dead and that the armonica had magical powers and, in some cases, drove individuals mad. It was reported that it even caused listeners to commit suicide.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE ARMONICAS GONE?

Thankfully, none of these bizarre killer claims have ever been proven true. In fact, Ben Franklin chose to ignore most of them and continued to play the glass armonica until he died in 1790.

At that time, about 5,000 glass armonicas had been built. Franklin never collected funds from his invention, nor did he patent the idea. Although still around, by the 1830s the glass armonica had become a thing of the past.

There are a few musicians who play the instrument today, such as Dennis James. If you’re brave enough, give James a listen as he plays one of Mozart’s compositions for the glass armonica!