Random Discovery Of The Day: You Can Use The New Plastic Fiver To Play Vinyl Records

Last month, The Bank Of England began circulating a new, smaller £5 note made of plastic polymer. While some of the earliest notes are fetching huge fees from collectors, it turns out they’re proving useful in other ways – particularly for vinyl enthusiasts.

It’s long been known that you can make a DIY gramophone with a needle and a cone of paper, but there’s a neat simplicity in the way a new fiver makes a nifty little needle for your record player. Its made possible due to the material and shape of the note, which enables it to hold its form and get in between the grooves on the record.

It doesn’t quite provide the ‘warmer’ tones that vinyl buyers often boast about, but its pretty mind-blowing nonetheless. Here, it’s demonstrated by YouTube user Michael Ridge, who uses the note to play the apt choice of Abba’s ‘Money Money Money’.

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So there you go: try it yourself on The Beatles’ ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’, Lil Wayne’s ‘Got Money’ and Luniz’ ‘I Got Five On It’. But don’t blame us if it scratches the hell out of your prized vinyl.

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