You are so right. The bells are marvelous.
The Europeans were blessed from the get-go: they had IRON right near the surface and thus learned to forge iron. That meant bells, of course, but also weapons. They had the "bigger stick" for so long and thus conquered a lot of the world.
That huge advantage meant a lot. That is the main reason why Asians were so into martial arts...their iron was deeper. They had to use their own bodies, feet, hands and some sticks.
We were on top of the world with the bigger stick--bombs. Now it's all a draw.
Muslims, for example, were from areas with no iron. That is why they use the human voice to assemble the faithful to prayers. Now they use microphones for the call to prayer. With all the noise of traffic, the human voice isn't enough without microphone help.
Main article: Bellfounding
The process of casting bells is called bellfounding or bellmaking, and in Europe dates to the 4th or 5th century.[13] The traditional metal for these bells is a bronze of about 23% tin.[14] Known as bell metal, this alloy is also the traditional alloy for the finest Turkish and Chinese cymbals. Other materials sometimes used for large bells include brass and iron. Steel was tried during the busy church-building period of mid-19th-century England, for its economy over bronze, but was found not to be durable and manufacture ceased in the 1870s.[15] from Wikipedia
Muslims, for example, were from areas with no iron. That is why they use the human voice to assemble the faithful to prayers. Now they use microphones for the call to prayer.
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Interesting. Thank you for that historical perspective. I never thought about it that way.
As for the mohammedans, though, their culture is so backwards that they could not invent any means of projecting that human voice, such as a megaphone or a microphone.