208- Vox Ex Machina

In 1939, an astonishing new machine debuted at the New York World’s Fair. It was called the “Voder," short for “Voice Operating Demonstrator.” It looked sort of like a futuristic church organ. An operator -- known as a "Voderette" -- sat at the Voder's curved wooden console with a giant speaker towering behind her. She faced an expectant audience, placed her hands on a keyboard in front of her, and then played something the world had never really heard before. A synthesized voice.