Past Forward: This Hi-Fi Tape Recorder Changed Radio Forever: the Magnetophon Also Gave Rise to the Laugh Track

A German engineer wanted a cheaper cigarette. The popular crooner Bing Crosby wanted a vacation. Satisfying both desires inadvertently led to the invention of the laugh track. Along the way there were Nazis, spoils of war, and more than one accidental encounter. Tying together this quirky history is the Magnetophon.