In the 1940s, British psychologist Cecil Stokes created Auroratone films, deeply psychedelic short movies meant to be shown at psychiatric institutions to help treat patients suffering from mental disorders, particularly war veterans. In 1942, Stokes was granted US patent #2292172 for the Process and Apparatus for Producing Musical Rhythm in Color. This was the year before Albert Hoffman discovered the hallucinogenic properties of LSD and two decades before psychedelic light shows appeared at rock and avant-garde music performances.
According to Wikipedia, "the patterns were produced by using crystallizing chemicals and polarized light, which were then synchronized to a variety of recorded musical tracks… Bing Crosby was involved with these films due to his being a shareholder in the [Auroratone] foundation and his interest in the rehabilitation of veterans."
(via r/ObscureMedia)
