In one of our out of town sorties, I got curious about a wooden base with wooden blades that can be rotated manually. It looked like a giant wood toy that we used to play during my younger years.
According to the curator of the museum, it was a doorbell during the Spanish time in the Philippines. It was stationed right in front of the door and the visitor would have to rotate forcefully the lever in order to generate a sound signaling his presence.
A wood grinding sound for a door bell could be irritating in the present time but centuries ago, it was a state of the art device.
nice info!
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