{{Short description|Acoustic device}} A '''styrophone''' is an acoustic device made from expanded polystyrene foam (often referred to by the genericized trademark ''Styrofoam''). There are at least two varieties:
* an acoustic musical instrument * a type of loudspeaker
==Musical instrument==
The musical Styrophone is a type of friction idiophone created by Robert Rutman in the 1990s as a parody of his well-known sheetmetal instrument, the Bow Chimes. It consists of a foam box from which protrude a series of thin brass rods played with a violin bow. Rutman's ensemble would build the impromptu instruments prior to a performance, and then destroy them through the process of their use.<ref name="Antunovic, 2013">{{cite web|last1=Antunovic|first1=Martina|title=Report: Bullshittin' on a Chair with Bob Rutman|url=http://www.kunsthalle.com/berlin/report/report-bullshittin-on-a-chair-with-bob-rutman|website=Platoon Kunsthalle|access-date=5 October 2016|date=2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507171626/http://www.kunsthalle.com/berlin/report/report-bullshittin-on-a-chair-with-bob-rutman|archive-date=7 May 2016|df=}}</ref> Other versions have been created with wooden sticks used in place of metal.<ref>[http://muse.calarts.edu/~lmooney/styrophony.html "Frictioned Foam" by Liam Mooney]</ref>
==Styrophone loudspeaker==
An inexpensive alternative to heavy-duty amplification systems, the Styrophone loudspeaker is usually of a cheap homemade variety that consists of a crystal earpiece attached to a cone made from a foam cup or sections of packing material.<ref>[http://peeblesoriginals.com/projects/crystal-loudspeaker.php "Styrophone Crystal Loud Speaker" from Peebles Originals]</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Idiophones