Yeah people are desperate to believe 'Edison evil, Tesla jesus' it's so weird. I get that it was like a cool fact online twenty years ago but there have been so many actual historical documentaries showing how complex and interesting the real story was.

Truth is neither of them invented anything from scratch, - AC generators, motors (useless), transformers, and lights were in use before Tesla even began his big invention. He was a name in a long list of people who worked together understanding the newly emerging field of electronics - if Westinghouse or Barrington had made outrageous claims to allure conspiracy theories then they might have got the Tesla treatment by thy internet instead and we'd only hear of Tesla in the science museum while they'd be regarded at saintly heros of science.

I like Tesla but there are so many interesting stories

[–] AppleTea@lemmy.zip 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

electrocuting an elephant to death, and for no better reason than tabloid advertising, kind of stands out in the historical record

that's not to say Edison was PURE EVIL, just that I always remember the elephant alongside the more humanizing factoids. [Once, he asked a math student to find the volume of a lightbulb. The student started doing all kinds of caliper measurements and geometry calculations. Edison just filled the bulb with sand and tipped it out into a measuring cup]

[–] VirtualOdour@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Except in realityit seems he was against the elephant being killed but said electrocution would be more humane than the hanging which had happened to 'murderous mary', his opinion being something the aspca also supported.

The assholes in this story are the themepark owners that upon being unable to sell Topsy decided to kill her as a spectacle to gain publicity, A previous attempt elsewhere to electrocute an elephant had failed so they also used other measures. They poisoned her. Electrocuted her and strangled her with a steam powered winch.

They did use locally supplied power from the Edson Co but this was because it was a decade after war of the currents and Edison was the main supplier of AC to NYC, they certainly weren't trying to promote its danger. Plus he no longer owned that company, he'd sold to GE and it still used his name.

The Edison film company did film it but again no evidence the man himself was involved, they filmed short clips of specticals and news events which could be viewed in a slot machine. It's upsetting but people were a lot less caring about animals back then, it wasn't especially shocking that this happened or was recorded.

[–] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 3 points 7 months ago

if Westinghouse or Barrington had made outrageous claims to allure conspiracy theories then they might have got the Tesla treatment by thy internet instead and we’d only hear of Tesla in the science museum

Hey now, you get to hear about Westinghouse plenty in the railroad museums. A variation of the Westinghouse brake design is still in use on modern trains to this day

[–] havokdj@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

He just didn't understand their american humor