What is a Phonograph?
The word "Phonograph" means "Sound writer". This is because a Phonograph literally writes the sound it makes into a tape. When a sound is recorded onto the tape, a stylus on a tinfoil cylinder pushes small dents onto the paper tape. Then, when the stylus goes across the grooves on the tape, the sound is played back through a tube that projects the sound.
History
The Phonograph was invented by Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) on August 12, 1887. It was originally made to record phone conversations. Edison realized that when he used a telephone, the taping on the inside made a playback of the voice when it spoke, but it was sped up very fast. Edison went back and took the tape out, slowed it down, and the voice was played back. Edison realized that he could now record and play back phone calls.