For Whom the Facts Toll
Sunday
Bells are old. They first appeared in China about 4,000 years ago, initially made of clay, then later of metal as metallurgy and metal casting developed.
Monday
Early bells were employed for practical uses as well as musical and religious ones. They could signify an individual’s rank, act as warnings or signals, help locate strayed livestock, or just act as ornamentation.
Tuesday
The world’s largest surviving bell has never been rung. At nearly 20 feet tall and 200 tons in weight, Russia’s Tsar Bell was nearly completed in 1737 when a fire broke out in its housing structure. Efforts to extinguish the blaze also hopelessly damaged the bell, though it remains on display in Moscow. More recently, researchers were able to digitally produce the sound the completed bell would have made. Apparently an even larger bell, at 380 tons, was forged 250 years earlier in what is now Myanmar, but sunk in a river during an attempt to transport and recast the metal into cannons, foreshadowing Wednesday’s fact…
Wednesday
The world wars were very bad for people and bells alike. The bells of Europe, some many centuries old, were often melted and reforged into weapons and munitions. During WWII alone, 175,000 bells across Europe met this fate at Nazi hands. Further, bells were forbidden from ringing 1940-43 in England so that people could hear the sirens from the frequent air raids.
Thursday
Traditional metal bells continue to be carried on naval ships six centuries after the practice began, though they are now used mostly for ceremonies and announcing important persons, rather than earlier practical uses, such as timekeeping or safety in fog.
Friday
Spherical or semi-spherical bells such as sleigh bells or jingle bells are not true bells with a swinging clapper but instead have a loose pellet inside so are technically a type of rattle known as “crotals.”
Saturday
As if bicycling 100 miles weren’t impressive enough, a 2014 race also began in London with the ringing of 639 bicycle bells, making it the world record largest bicycle bell ensemble.