Wibbly-wobbly mists of time.
The article may have been a spoof, I was but a youngling at the time. Tomorrow's World or similar ( may have been Nationwide ) did a piece where 'conversations' were played back from a brick in a pub wall. A lot of pseudo-science ensued, followed by what sounded like a busy pub recorded on an Edison cylinder with a layer of white noise applied. More pseudo-science about how with noise filtering we would soon be able to hear conversations from the past.
Is that what he's remembering?
Believe he read or watched something related. As to whether or not it was a spoof or some tin foil hatted loonbox just built something to make noises when a damp detector was pressed onto a brick and folk were primed to hear something is up to the reader.
( moonbadger Doesn't judge a fish by its ability to climb trees, Fri 2 Dec 2011, 9:03, Reply)