Thomas Edison

1. Edison teacher believed stupid pupil
Edison was a naughty student, schoolteacher nicknamed him "disappeared." Mom Thomas heard about this, very angry, took the boy out of school and became involved with him at home. Since Edison was educated at home.

2. In 10 years, Edison created the first laboratory
When Edison was 9 years old, my mother gave him an elementary science book about how to conduct chemical experiments at home. Edison is so carried away that spent all their pocket money to buy chemicals. The 10 year old boy in the basement of his parents' house organized an entire science lab. To no one has touched him drugs, he wrote all the bottles "poison».

3. Edison was deaf, and he liked it
Around 12 years Edison began to lose hearing. According to one legend, he became hard of hearing after received a slap in the face of the conductor for the fire, arranged in the interior of the car. In fact, hearing loss is likely to be linked to heredity boy. Both father and one brother of the inventor (Edison was the youngest of seven children) were suffering from hearing loss. Ironically, even Edison liked to be muffled: thanks to poor hearing, he could fully concentrate on experiments.

4. The Edison saved the life of a boy
On the Grand Trunk Railway 14-year-old Edison saved 3-year-old Jimmie MacKenzie from the approaching freight train. Father Jimmy stationmaster George. W. MacKenzie was so grateful that taught Edison controlled the telegraph machine. Later, Edison became a telegraph operator for Western Union. However, he was fired from there. Edison took the night at work to conduct their experiments. One day he accidentally spilled sulfuric acid that leaked through the floor and got on the table to the boss. The next morning, Edison lost his job.

5. The first patented invention of Edison was a disaster
In 1869, when Edison was 22, he received the first patent for an electrical machine in order to vote for the US Congress. After clicking on the desired switch to recorded voice of Congressman Bill. When the invention was presented to Congress in Washington, Edison received a reply that the machine is running slow, the congressmen themselves much more quickly record their voice. Voting machines had not found its application.

6. Edison proposed to his sweetheart in Morse code
On Christmas day in 1871 24-year-old Edison married 16-year-old Mary Stillwell, whom he had known for only two months. Mary gave birth to three sons Edison, Edison gave the first two nicknames "Point» (Dot) and "Tyre» (Dash).

Two years after the death of Mary Edison married 20-year-old Mina Miller, which was very much in love. Edison taught Mina Morse code, using this code they communicated when the parents were near Mina: lovers beat by tapping Morse code on the palms to each other.

7. Edison was a mysterious tattoo on his arm
Edison was a strange tattoo - five points on his left forearm, through which Edison was credited with the invention of the simplest tattoo machine. In 1876, Edison patented engraving tool Stencil-Pens, which many years later was modified by Samuel O'Reilly (Samuel O'Reilly) first tattoo machine. Rather, it is the father of Samuel O'Reilly tattoos, because there is no evidence that Edison got a tattoo with your Stenci-Pens.

8. The invention of Edison man killed
After the discovery of X-rays Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895, Edison commissioned his employee Delli Clarence (Clarence Dally) development of a fluoroscope (x-ray apparatus). While X-rays were not considered dangerous, and Clarence testing X-ray tubes on his hands. In 1900, one arm amputated, because the skin on his wrist was so shocked that he could not respond to treatment. Over time, the condition Delly became so critical that even after amputation of both hands, he died of cancer. Shaken by what happened, Edison stopped work on the fluoroscope, explaining that after the death of Clarence afraid to X-rays.

9. Strange Edison's invention - concrete house
In 1887, Edison was working on completely failed project. He proposed to extract iron from low-grade ore. The press laughed at the idea, but the stubborn Edison immediately invested his own money and built a large plant. His idea is not worth it, because a few years later it became clear that a lot cheaper just to develop an iron ore deposit.

So, left with a bunch of useless machines, Edison decided to hit the cement business. He noticed that the concrete mold can be many different shapes. So the idea to pour a concrete house, and not only the house: everything from the bathroom, window sills, stairs and picture frames to elektrotrub.

At first the project was made by the Edison model of a house, and later the house itself, which was completely uninhabitable. Concrete House Edison was delivered in 1911 at the Hixon Street in South Orange, New Jersey. Later, he was simply demolished.

In the same 1911 Edison introduced the all concrete furniture, he proudly said that this furniture can be just as beautiful as wood, while it is much cheaper. But concrete interior, as well as the house, and did not become a hit.

10. Execution of an elephant electrocution
Edison said that AC is a deadly potential. Although Edison was against the death penalty, together with his employee Harold Brown designed the electric chair.
In 1903, the circus elephant named Topsy killed three people. It was decided to kill the elephant. The proposed idea of ​​death by hanging was rejected, so that Edison had the opportunity to check elektroekzekutsiyu in action. Elephant fed a carrot tied to it with cyanide and exposed 6,000 volts AC. The animal died in seconds, not having time to make a sound. About 1,500 people watched for a while and even Edison recorded a penalty on film.