What Happens When a 1960s Typewriter Is Transformed Into a Music-Playing Printer? 

Computer scientist Chris Gregg of Tufts University has turned his vintage 1960s Smith Corona electric typewriter into a printer that punches its keys along to music. Originally, he had planned on driving the keys with his computer, but when he discovered that they were not electric switches at all, but rather powered by a complex mechanical system, he decided to shelve the project.

However, he started again this spring, when a friend at Tufts suggested using miniature electromagnets called solenoids to drive the keys instead. So, Gregg got his hands on 48 solenoids—one for each key—and reignited his crazy printer project.