105 years ago today: Edison westinghoused an elephant.
Quickly, do you know who created the phonograph? The carbon filament found in incandescent light bulbs? The stock-ticker? How about movie production as we currently know it? Now, do you know who electrocuted an elephant as a marketing gimmick to slander the name of alternating current?
The answer to those question is one name: Thomas Edison. Not content with having over a 1,000 patents, Edison also liked to indulge in his insane-super-villain side by sending electrical current through pachyderm. See, back in those days, electricity was still a burgeoning field. As a result, two rival standards, direct current and alternating current, fought it out over wide spread acceptance
Here is where the story gets great: Edison, the backer behind the direct current system, lead an all out marketing assault against the backers of alternating current, George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla. Edison even went so far as to lobby local prisons to describe an inmate’s electrocution as one being “westinghoused.” Edison’s smear campaign cumulated in a public display where he finally westinghoused an elephant as proof of alternating current’s dangers.
In the end, alternating current won the war. AC’s ability to sustain power regardless of the range from the power plant bested Edison’s direct current, which was inhibited by the range. DC is still used today in many consumer electronics, though, so try not to feel bad for the elephant-slaughtering, patent-hording, royalty-seeking Edison.
In commemoration of this anniversary, Wired is currently running a story about Topsy the elephant, the aforementioned animal used in Edison’s display. They even have a video Edison shot of the event, but watch at your own risk. While there isn’t anything technically explicit, it still does manage to disturb. The video’s German narration certainly doesn’t help.
Oh, and don’t worry about Topsy the elephant. Apparently, she was kind of a jerk.
Wired: Jan. 4, 1903: Edison Fries an Elephant to Prove His Point.
via BoingBoing
- Rob O’Reilly
