Saturday, February 11, 2012

One Bright Idea after Another

     On this date in 1847, Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio. I remember reading a biography of Edison in which it recounted how a teacher had once deemed him "addled" and told his parents that he would not be able to learn at which point his mother removed him from school. She taught him to read and allowed him to pursue his own interests in mechanical objects. I have often thought that this was perhaps the single worst assessment ever made by a teacher in the history of education.
     Known as the Wizard of Menlo Park,  Edison took out 1093 patents during the course of his career. His lab at Menlo Park employed workers around the clock to assist Edison in making his ideas for countless inventions into reality. Among his greatest inventions were the first incandescent lightbulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera.
     Here are links to two one minute  YouTube videos which you might enjoy. The first Edison Talking about His Invention of the Light Bulb and the second Thomas Edison 1847- 1931.

No comments:

Post a Comment