Claim:   Video clip shows a music-playing "farm machine" built at the University of Iowa.

Status:   False.

Example:   [Collected via e-mail, 2006]

University of Iowa Farm Machine Music This incredible machine was built as a collaborative effort between the Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of Engineering at the University of Iowa. Amazingly, 97% of the machines components came from John Deere Industries and Irrigation Equipment of Bancroft Iowa, yes farm equipment! It took the team a combined 13,029 hours of set-up, alignment, calibration, and tuning before filming this video but as you can see it was WELL worth the effort. It is now on display in the Matthew Gerhard Alumni Hall at the University and is already slated to be donated to the Smithsonian. Enjoy.

Origins:   This video of a fabulous Rube Goldberg-like contraption that produces catchy, mellow music by continuously shooting balls at various percussion instruments is, as usual, a clip removed from the context of its original source and sent winging around the Internet accompanied by a fictitious explanation of its origins.

The device depicted in this video does not exist, at the University of Iowa or anywhere else. It's an example of a computer-animated music video, this one entitled "Pipe Dream" and taken from one of several similar segments on a DVD produced by Animusic. An excerpt of the original can be viewed on the Animusic web site.

Some viewers queried the Smithsonian about the origins of this fantastic machine, drawing the following response:

Your inquiry concerning a musical instrument made from farm machinery pieces has been received in the Smithsonian's Public Inquiry Mail Service office for a response.

The web site you referred us to shows a computer enhanced or animated creation — as indicated by the caption "Musique Animation" — and not an actual musical instrument. Further, we were unable to find any reference to a Robert M. Trammel Music Conservatory and the University of Iowa does not have a Sharon Wick School of Engineering nor a Matthew Gerhard Alumni Hall.

The Institution cannot accept a donation of something that doesn't exist.

We appreciate your interest in the Smithsonian Institution.

Last updated:   14 January 2009

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