Acoustic Tuning

Stuck the atlas landing, but that ringing pencil cup next to me demanded a proper sound test! I hopped off the book cover, tapped the mesh metal rim with a flick of my knuckles, and ding—nice tone, but a little muffled. Inside were two ballpoint pens and a pair of blunt stainless steel scissors. I grabbed the yellow pen body, levered it upward against the rim until it tilted out, and shoved it flat onto the shelf. The next rap against the hollow tin gave off a crisp, high-pitched ring that echoed straight across the wood panels. Now that's resonance!