Thomas Edison

This light bulb  was designed for a business

Feb. 1st-We left Brandon and Joan's house this morning and continued south.  We were deep in thought  as we learned last night that our precious friend and neighbor had gone home to be with the Lord.  How happy we are that he will not have to struggle with cancer anymore but will miss his humor, dignity and presence.                                                                                                                                          , We stopped on a whim at a Thomas Edison historical site in Louisville.  We had not gotten to go to the large national park devoted to him in New Jersey so we thought we would pay homage today.  It turned out to be a great history lesson.  We had the whole museum to ourselves and got a private tour from the very knowledgeable tour guide.

Thomas Edison who was homeschooled by the way by his mother was in Louisville for a brief time working as a telegraph operator.  This experience would prove to be influential to many inventions ie the stock ticker and the vote recorder which though was rejected by Congress at the time is the basis of what we use today.

Janae and Stefan enjoyed writing their names in Morse Code and hearing a couple old phonographs.  It was fun seeing the cylinders. We also enjoyed learning that in addition to the light bulb, phonograph and motion pictures, he invented the first x-ray, synthetic rubber for auto tires, cheaper way of making concrete (part of Panama Canal is his cement), dictating machine, mimeograph machine, first talking doll, electric tatoo gun, flouressent bulb, first movie studio (New Jersey).  All in all, he had over 1000 inventions patented.

Interesting to learn that he started Edison GE Electric in 1892 where he mass produced his inventions.  Henry Ford had been an employee of Thomas Edison and they became best friends.  They both had homes later in life in Ft. Meyers, FL.

It was fun having the guide demonstrate flip movies that he developed in the 1890s.  We learned that the first movies cost 5 cents or 1 nickel thus the Nickelodean theators.  In 1903, he made the first western (Great Train Robbery) in New Jersey of all places.

On the same front page of the newspaper on Oct. 18, 1931, Edison's death was declared as well as Al Capone's convinction and Hitler's taking over Germany.  On the second page was a Tarzan comic strip that Stefan liked and we learned that Tarzan's yodle came from his Austrian mother who was a professional yodeler. 

The guide put it all in perspective when he reminded us that in science at this time was Edison, Bell, Eastman, Firestone, Ford and the Wright Brothers; In literature was Mark Twain, Melville, Charles Dickons and Tolstoy;in medicine: Pastaer, Reed