Imagine being able to hear a great historical figure’s voice. It would add such richness to the facts and dates about her or his life. Starting today, Wikipedia will make that possible with the Wikipedia Voice Intro Project, adding short voice recordings to the online encyclopedia. And that’s truly awesome.
https://gizmodo.com/listening-to-this-incredible-recording-of-einstein-will-1464557213
WikiVIP announced the program with a demo recording from British personality Stephen Fry. Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke’s page also boasts a voice recording. The project page says it was undertaken “so that we know what notable people sound like; and how they pronounce their own names.” A simple, goal, but infinitely profound.
There’s something intangibly powerful in the human voice. Curiosity leads us to wonder what great historical figures sounded like—and we get deeply offended if modern portrayals don’t fit the sound we imagined. Just ask Daniel Day-Lewis.
If you’re the type of person who has a Wikipedia biography, go here to see how you can get your voice saved forever. Just don’t sneeze or snort or anything weird—people will be listening to that recording eons from now. [Wikipedia via TNW]
