No fancy electronic sound chips, or digital video for this reader. No siree, we're going old school on this one.

This oversized trade edition (big paperback book for those of you who grew up without printed entertainment) contains not only the text of the tale, but has those little plastic tails that you run your thumbnail along to produce the sound of the spoken text.

It has several of them hanging from the bottom of each page.

I first saw that technology on a balloon tail, and the sound encoded was the words " Happy Birthday". It was encoded in the same manner as sounds are grooved into a vinyl record.

In addition, the images of the action that takes place on each page are included in the top corner of the pages, so that you can treat it as a "flipbook".

So we have text, images, and sound all in one format. An incredibly impractical format, granted, but if I wanted practicality I'd be on another website.
-- normzone, May 13 2009

Credit where credit is due Margin_20avatar_20stickers
Although there may be those that are disturbed at the thought of triggering such ideas in me, and to them I offer my apologies. [normzone, May 13 2009]

(?) [cowtamer], here's one example http://www.patentst...97/description.html
although they describe it as built-up layers of printed ink. [normzone, May 13 2009]

Here's one that describes it as a zipper mechanism http://www.freepate...m/WO2004037645.html
[normzone, May 13 2009]

Thanks, [senatorjam]. Googling for "talking balloons yielded this - http://home.ioa.com/~ladottofy/uses.html
[normzone, May 15 2009]

I'm fascinated with the technology itself -- it sounds like it belongs in the halfbakery and not the real bakery. Do you remember what this "talking balloon tail" technology was called. Bun, by the way...
-- cowtamer, May 13 2009


Two links for you, [cowtamer]. The version I saw was essentially a ridged ziptie about three feet long.

The more often you ran your nail down it, the less clear the sound became, so for the collector's leather-covered editions we'll need to use ABS reinforced materials, as well as the Margin Avatar stickers.
-- normzone, May 13 2009


The talking balloons were called that...talking balloons...I remember losing a bit of money investing in them in the 90's
-- senatorjam, May 15 2009



random, halfbakery