Disco Balls

[blindmind]

It’s a two parter. The first is a simple question but I can’t seem to find an answer: Who invented the disco ball?

The second part could be a little more interesting: Why?

Thanks,

blindmind

[Squink]

The Disco ball is a version of the Mirror ball.
A quick look at the patents on “mirror ball” turned up #1,214,863; Feb 6, 1917: “Myriad Reflector” by Lewis Bernard Woeste of Newport, Kentucky.

The object of my invention is to produce a myriad reflector comprising a plurality of reflecting surfaces, the same to be arranged in such manner that the several reflections shall be projected at varying angles, the device itself being arranged so that it may be rotated or otherwise moved so that the reflections may produce a scintillating and spectacular effect.
In the drawing, the figure is an elevation of my invention, the reflecting surface forming a polyhedron of numerous faces, the device being thus substantially spherical in outline.

The patent database only has full text searchable entries back to 1975, so I got this patent by looking for a ref in a later patent, thus there may be a still earlier, pre-1917, patent on the mirror ball.

[Walloon]

Mirror balls show up on dance floors in Hollywood movies from the late 1920s.