Summary of eRumor:
The email comes with a video file attachment. It says that it is a performance of music from a mechanical device that was built by the Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of Engineering at the University of Iowa and 97 percent of it is components from farm equipment from John Deere and the Irrigation Equipment company from Bancroft Iowa. It says it took the team a combined 13,029 hours to build, align, calibrate, and tune the instrument. The eRumor also claims that the device is on display at the Matthew Gerhard Alumni Hall at the University of Iowa.
The Truth:
The eRumor is a hoax.
The music is actually an acclaimed example of what is called “animated music” and is titled Pipe Dream. It is from www.animusic.com and is included on a DVD of other animated music productions.
The University of Iowa says there is neither a “Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory” nor a “Sharon Wick School of Engineering” on the campus. Those are fictional institutions.
Updated 12/5/06