Culture: Celebration: Birthday
Recordable Frosting   (+16, -1)  [vote for, against]
The singing birthday cake

Sound recording set into frosting. The cake comes with a string in the middle attached to a support plate on the bottom, and a paper cone with a needle. The string is held up or hung from the ceiling, and the cake is spun. Hold the needle on the chilled frosting top, and your cake sings to you.

Available with standard songs ("happy birthday", for example), or phone in a custom message.

(inspired when [Machiavelli] mentioned sneaking a file into prision baked in a cake)

<modification> It would be easy to replace the string with a simple motor-run base. This would give a constant speed, yet shouldn't add too much to the cost.</modification>

<modification> A frozen frosting ring could be placed on the top of the cake, rather than requiring a hard frosting. This would be easier to store, and may melt fast enough to be soft when eaten.</modification>
-- Worldgineer, Mar 15 2006

Edible CDs Edible_20CDs
Realted idea or shameless plug, you call it. [DrCurry, Mar 15 2006]

ancient sound recording http://www.google.c...ent+sound+recording
[JesusHChrist, Mar 16 2006]

Could this actually work? Recorded frosting? I'm just curious. No matter...I think this is a beautiful and fun idea and I want one!

(I'm flattered to be your muse for once, [World].)
-- Machiavelli, Mar 15 2006


//Could this actually work?// Absolutely. The precursor to vinyl records were wax cylinders - the wax was softened by heating it up, then sounds were recorded by vibrating a needle into the wax, creating bumps that will later vibrate a playback needle after the wax hardened.

Of course your frosting would have to be quite hard, but this could be done by refrigerating your cake.
-- Worldgineer, Mar 15 2006


Frosting would be real hard to replay, but you could do this quite easily with sugar.

"The string is held up or hung from the ceiling, and the cake is spun." - I can see mothers all over the country coming after you with clean-up bills...
-- DrCurry, Mar 15 2006


I'm thinking of a fairly hard frosting.

//mothers all over the country coming after you // But cake flying across the room is part of the fun.
-- Worldgineer, Mar 15 2006


And if it gets someone in the face it's even better.

Maybe something like fondant or marzipan would work well as a hard frosting.
-- Machiavelli, Mar 15 2006


Excellent! I want some!
-- Dub, Mar 15 2006


And a two-part needle spiral cuts the cake as it plays it from the outside in.
-- normzone, Mar 15 2006


I just flashed back to an old 'Stones album cover, Let it Bleed ... from the days when the cover photo was large enough to make out detail, and I believe this was, erm .. set in Stones.

Well, I guess not ... in their case the cake was _over_ the record. Carry on, and happy b-day!
-- reensure, Mar 16 2006


Is this ancient sound recording (link) just a hoax?
-- JesusHChrist, Mar 16 2006


It appears to be a hoax. Other sites say it was an april fools day prank, and considering the vase looks quite new I believe them. This doesn't mean such a find isn't possible.

I've added a few modifications to the idea.
-- Worldgineer, Mar 16 2006


+ If I new you were coming I'd have played a cake.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Mar 17 2006


I don't even care if this would actually work... I love it. (not even sure why)
-- zigness, Mar 18 2006


I'm thinking fruitcake.
-- RayfordSteele, Mar 18 2006


what, world? I've always thought that!
-- po, Mar 18 2006


If all the world is a fruitcake, then perhaps I'm not the only nut.
-- Worldgineer, Mar 20 2006


Would frosting be hi-fidelity enough to support messages from the devil recorded backwards on your birthday cake?
-- hippo, Mar 21 2006


Either that or low-fidelity enough to support that feature while playing forward.
-- Worldgineer, Mar 21 2006


This couldn't be too far fetched being that they had records stamped into the back of cereal boxes where you could cut it out and play it.
-- Jscotty, Mar 21 2006



random, halfbakery