Thomas Edison remains one of the most prolific inventors in human history. Initially, he struggled in school before he reshaped the modern world with his creations. Furthermore, his life was filled with strange habits and intense rivalries that defined an era. Consequently, his legacy extends far beyond just the lightbulb. Explore these fascinating details about the Wizard of Menlo Park.
Thomas Alva Edison
Teachers believed Thomas Alva Edison was too slow to learn. Specifically, his schoolmaster called him “addled” after only three months of attendance. Therefore, his mother pulled him out of school and taught him at home for the rest of his childhood.
He built a chemistry laboratory on a moving train. Dangerously, he conducted experiments in the baggage car while he sold newspapers to passengers. Eventually, a chemical fire forced him to stop his mobile scientific work.
His first patented invention was a complete failure. Although he invented an electric vote recorder to speed up Congress, politicians hated it. Consequently, they refused to buy it because it prevented them from filibustering and making last-minute deals.
He saved a child to get his first big job. Heroically, he plucked a three-year-old boy from the tracks of an oncoming train. Gratefully, the boy’s father taught Edison the art of telegraphy as a reward.
Edison nicknamed his children “Dot” and “Dash.” Playfully, he used these telegraph terms for his daughter Marion and his son Thomas Jr. Thus, he honored his early career as a telegraph operator through his family.
Thomas Alva Edison viewed his deafness as a major advantage. Strangely, he believed that his inability to hear helped him concentrate better than other people. Therefore, he avoided the distraction of idle conversation and focused entirely on his experiments.
He tried to build furniture out of concrete. Ambitiously, he wanted to create cheap, durable homes filled with concrete pianos and cabinets. Unfortunately, the public found the furniture too heavy and ugly to use.
The “Black Maria” was the world’s first movie studio. Innovatively, he built a tar-paper shack on a rotating pivot to follow the sun. This allowed his team to film early motion pictures with the best possible natural lighting.
He created creepy talking dolls that terrified children. Early on, he put tiny phonographs inside dolls so they could recite nursery rhymes. However, the voices sounded so hiss-filled and scary that the product failed miserably.
He had a famous rivalry with Nikola Tesla. Initially, he hired the young engineer to work for him in New York. Eventually, they became bitter enemies in the “War of Currents” over the future of electrical power.
He proposed to his second wife using Morse code. Romantically, he tapped out the question “Will you marry me?” on Mina Miller’s hand. Happily, she tapped back the answer “Yes” in the same code.
A tattoo gun was based on his electric pen. Originally, he invented a pen that used a motor to puncture paper for making copies. Later, a tattoo artist modified this failed office tool into the modern tattoo machine.
Thomas Alva Edison helped found the company General Electric. Commercially, he merged his business with a rival to create one of the largest corporations in history. Consequently, this company still powers millions of homes today.
He rarely slept for more than four hours a night. Instead, he took short power naps under his desk or on laboratory benches. Frequently, he worked for days without stopping when he was close to a breakthrough.
Finally, his last breath was captured in a test tube. Reportedly, his friend Henry Ford asked Edison’s son to seal the inventor’s final breath in a glass vial. Today, this strange artifact sits in the Henry Ford Museum.
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