The glass harmonica, is a musical instrument that uses a series of graduated sized glass bowls to produce musical tones by means of friction.
Benjamin Franklin invented a new arrangement of the glasses in 1761 after seeing water-filled wine glasses being played. The phenomenon of rubbing a wet finger around the rim of a wine goblet is documented back to Renaissance times
Ben Franklin named his invention the "armonica" after the Italian word for harmony
The bowls, nestled in a wooden box, were mounted on a horizontal spindle and the whole spindle turned by means of a foot-operated treadle. Sound was produced by rubbing the rims of the bowls with moistened fingers.
Because of its eerie, haunting sound, the armonica got a bad reputation. Rumors it drove people mad, caused blindness, illness and birth defeats ran rampant. It was even thought to raise the dead!!
Franz Mesmer also played the armonica and used it as an integral part of his Mesmerism.