Why Do Humans Love Disco Balls? | Iconic Objects w/ @Caroline_Winkler

sure it defined The Nightlife culture of the 1970s it spun into the party scene of the 1990s and now it's hanging in your living room this is your sign this is your sign this is your sign to get a disco ball for your living room pound go ball end up in there [Music] welcome back to another episode of iconic objects where we get all Galaxy brain about the most popular furniture at home decor items ever this one's a fun one I love a disco ball I love to see them hanging up on the Dance Floor even above a bar and I love this Yahoo article headline that says if you have a disco ball hanging in your bedroom what are you even doing well personally I have no idea what I'm doing but what I do know is that this sphere covered in a bunch of mini mirrors has mysteriously sound its way into home decor Trends and I'm here to find out why let's dig in I was expecting to kick off the history section of this piece with a fun little Deep dive into the 1970s nightlife era the wonderful time that gave us disco in the first place and I figured we could jump right into talking about Donna Summers Soul Train synthesizers studio 54. and of course I hope to kick it off a little bit of and in this essay I will be discussing the lasting impact of John Travolta's solo dance performance in the 1977 American drama films Saturday Night Fever well joke's on me that stuff's gonna have to wait till later because I did some research and it turns out that the disco ball is decades older than disco itself okay well haven't figured out the brakes let's regain our composure in 1916 an inventor named Louis B woast filed a patent for something he called the Myriad reflector which I love because it sounds like the Star Trek version of a disco ball and quote to be used for exhibition or theatrical purposes for the production of effects oh effects you say in the 1920s Myriad reflectors began selling a 1922 bulletin in electrical merchandising magazine wrote they used to drop flowers or confetti on a swaying throng of dancers today lighting is the means most used to gain the novel and beautiful effects that Delight the fancy of the merry makers merry makers you say and it goes on the newest novelty is one that will change a hall into a brilliant Fairyland of flashing changing living colors a place of a million colored Sparks darting and dancing chasing one another into every nook and Corner filling the hall with dancing fireflies of a thousand shoes electrical merchandising must have been staffed with poets because this stuff is good the Myriad reflector went on to Adorn dance halls and ballrooms with cosmetic party magic event planners even leveraged it to promote their Gatherings and newspaper ads a new feature installed at Great expense dance to its entrancing lure I mean it's kind of brilliant if you think about it back then they didn't have lasers or strobes or Advanced lighting Rigs and fog machines up in the club so you take a ball you cover in thousands of teeny tiny mirrors you point a flashlight at it and you make it spin well baby you've got a vibe the disco ball took on a couple different nicknames over the decades before it would become the mascot of the whole disco genre and subsequently a pop culture icon mirror ball glitter ball Sonic sphere okay our party Globe was a hard-working extra but in the 1970s she became the main character when disco arrived on the scene it completely bedazzled nightlife having originated in underground clubs of black latinx and queer communities the genre brought the Euphoria of love and Liberation and radical acceptance to the dance floor it's no surprise that disco laid the foundation for modern dance culture today it was crafted to be hypnotic disco music was cyclical and orchestral and totally mirrored the spinning sphere that orbited above a dance floor disco was a full atmospheric immersion feel good stuff and so while the sensory Bliss abounded the mirror ball rebranded it only took five decades but the party sphere formerly known as the Myriad reflector finally became the disco ball a treasured symbol of nightlife a maven of Celebration an iconic object like the title of this show remember the title of the show okay as time went on newer dance music genres replaced disco but our illustrious planetary ceiling decoration remained carrying on disco's Legacy of infusing rooms with Unapologetic glamor and today that room is in your house now I don't like deposit a few reasons for how the disco ball got in there number one broadly there is a 1970s era interior design Revival Trend happening right now 1970s Furniture color palette kit swag and even the legendary conversation pit love it is making a return there's just a general appreciation out there right now for the Retro Vibes and I get it 1970 spaces ruled number two more people are learning to embrace the spectrum of maximalism previously unless it was like a Victorian parlor maximalism used to kind of get a bad rap today people are beginning to realize that maximalism is a spectrum and you can fall at all different points along it whether it's designing an entire room to be completely decked out in accessories and detailing or whether it's just adding one single element that's a little bit extra there's a whole bunch of different ways to do the most and we celebrate doing the most you gotta check out this Arc digest tour of RuPaul's entire disco room praise number three I think that disco balls ended up in the home recently because somebody finally realized that disco balls can reflect daylight as well good morning here's a light show who does not want to wake up like that it's like the disco ball stumbled out of the club one morning after hundreds of years of nighttime partying and finally discovered the sunlight truly the Edward Cullen of Home Decor this is what I am and point number four disco balls are just freaking awesome they're a good time glittering dancing lights in my home 24 7 A feel-good vibe yeah I think I will I think I'll take it because folks interior design yes is about function but it's also about a feeling how does the space make you feel basically I don't know if there's anybody who wouldn't want a glittering orb around that inspired such lyrics as staying alive and I Feel Love even if it's just sitting on a windowsill or intentionally placed on the floor and disco ball is like a little planet of positivity and easy and inexpensive way to create an atmosphere foreign s in 2018 an aerospace company called Rocket Labs launched the humanity star into Earth's orbit people it was a disco ball shaped satellite designed to orbit the planet for nine months its sparkling surface would be visible to the naked eye at night according to Rocket Labs it was a bright symbol and reminder to all on Earth about our fragile place in the universe not gonna lie that sounds pretty on the nose because I think each of us have at least once found ourselves in the club staring up at a disco ball and pondering our existence unfortunately the humanity star only orbited for a few weeks eventually burning up as it returned to Earth's surface not going to think about what kind of omen that is as I contemplate my existence but hey the intention was there and while that mission might have failed do you know what mission didn't in 2019 glitterbox and event production company in Ibiza launched a petition for IOS and Android to introduce a disco ball emoji the petition States every Friday and Saturday night there are millions of people around the world crying out for this Emoji the only Emoji worthy of kickstarting their weekend well folks it only took three years and ten thousand signatures but in 2022 we finally got our Humanity star God I love the internet today disco ballification is everywhere a dance club to living room to DIY project pipeline you can disco ball if I anything flower pots animal sculptures tiny little mushrooms dang dude I've even seen an entire bathroom coated in Disco tiles and Kelly wersler champion of the melted disco ball Decor Trend told Arc digest it instantly adds drama and play and finally we would be remiss to talk about the Disco ballification Renaissance without talking about the Beyonce Renaissance The Beehive is the ball oh from imparting Upon Us its Myriad Reflections to inspiring us to consider our place in the universe thank you for tuning in to figure out why the disco ball is so dang iconic head on over to Wayfair to make all of your household disco dreams come true and don't forget to like And subscribe for more culture shifting furniture and decor Trends I'll see you next time [Music]

Channel: Wayfair

Views: 75,749

Keywords: zillion infinite furniture, wayfair, wayfair.com, swapping carts, finishing touches, home, decor, furniture, how to, diy, tutorials, projects, online, shopping, home makeover, room makeover, interior design, home decor, home improvement, shop with me, roomspiration, caroline winkler, caroline winkler interior design, iconic objects, interior design ideas, caroline winkler youtube, interior design living room, disco, disco ball, disco decor, 1970s, 1970s decor, interior design tips

Id: b5xFw0UVwT8

Length: 9min 56sec (596 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 07 2023