Tefifon: West Germany's Weird 1950s Audio Format

Developed in 1936 but not commercialized until 1950, the Tefifon was a unique German audio format that used cartridges filled with long flexible plastic tapes scribed with single continuous audio tracks. Though capable of recording up to four hours of high-quality audio, Tefifon could not compete with more conventional, established audio formats and, while briefly popular in West Germany in the 1950s and 60s, never caught on elsewhere and eventually disappeared from the market. Edison Fireside...