The Clapper

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title: "The Clapper" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["switches", "products-introduced-in-1984", "home-automation"] description: "Sound activated electrical switch" topic_path: "general/switches" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clapper" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Sound activated electrical switch ::

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::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Clapper.png" caption="The Clapper with a cord plugged in at bottom"] ::

The Clapper is a sound-activated electrical switch, sold since 1984 by San Francisco, California based Joseph Enterprises, Inc. Joseph Pedott marketed the clapper with the slogan "Clap On! Clap Off! The Clapper!".

The Clapper plugs into a U.S.-type electrical outlet, and allows control of up to two devices plugged into the Clapper. An upgraded model, known as the Clapper Plus, includes a remote control function in addition to the original sound-based activation.

Although meant to activate by clapping, The Clapper can inadvertently be triggered by other noises like dogs barking for example.

Patent

The smart Clapper was invented by Carlile R. Stevens and Dale E. Reamer, and issued U.S. Patent #5493618, had its application filed on 1993-05-07 and was granted on 20 February 1996.

References

References

1. (January 10, 2003). "A tale of useless toys". [[The Free Lance-Star]].
2. Harry, Lou. (2002). "As Seen on TV: 50 Amazing Products and the Commercials that Made Them Famous". Chronicle Books.
3. (December 25, 2002). "The Clapper: Does It Work?". KCBD News.
4. Lam, Brian. (August 30, 2010). "The 21st Century Clapper".
5. "The Clapper: "Does It Work?"". KTRE News.
6. "Method and apparatus for activating switches in response to different acoustic signals".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::