US President Benjamin Harrison had electric lights installed in the White House, but would sleep with the lights on because he was too afraid to touch the switches. To be fair, old school light switches aren’t like the ones we have on the walls today. They were ungrounded toggles, either spinners or levers, which physically broke the connection with a very distinct popping sound. A mild shock wasn’t unheard of.
electricity
Nikola Tesla planned to make…
Nikola Tesla planned to make school children smarter and healthier by saturating them unconsciously with electricity, wiring the walls of a schoolroom with high-voltage lines. The plan was provisionally approved by then superintendent of New York City schools, William H. Maxwell.
Electricity was first installed…
Electricity was first installed in the White House in 1891. It was such a new concept that President Benjamin Harrison and his wife both refused to touch light switches due to their fear of electrocution so the White House staff had to follow them around and turn the lights off and on for them.
A 3M adhesive tape plant accidentally…
A 3M adhesive tape plant accidentally created a force field of static electricity that was strong enough to prevent humans from passing through. A person near this “wall” was unable to turn, and so had to walk backwards to retreat from it.
Wireless phone chargers use resonant inductive …
Wireless phone chargers use resonant inductive coupling which Tesla tried to use to provide free wireless electricity and may be used to create roads that can charge electric cars.
Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States, had electricity…
Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States, had electricity installed in the White House for the first time. He and his wife were so scared of being electrocuted that they wouldn’t touch the light switches, often going to sleep with the lights on.
There is a battery powered bell at Oxford University…
There is a battery powered bell at Oxford University that has been continuously ringing for over 175 years. No one knows what the battery is composed of and no one wants to take the device apart in order to figure it out.
An Australian man wearing a nylon jacket and wool shirt built…
An Australian man wearing a nylon jacket and wool shirt built up 40,000 volts of static electricity, resulting in burned carpets, melted plastic, and a massive evacuation.
Electricity was introduced to Ethiopia in 1896 after Emperor…
Electricity was introduced to Ethiopia in 1896 after Emperor Menelik II ordered two newly invented electric chairs as a form of humane capital punishment and realized they were useless in his country without electricity.
In 1746, Jean-Antoine Nollet conducted an experiment in which he gathered about two hundred monks…
In 1746, Jean-Antoine Nollet conducted an experiment in which he gathered about two hundred monks into a circle about a mile (1.6 km) in circumference, with pieces of iron wire connecting them. He then discharged a battery of Leyden jars through the human chain and observed that each man reacted at substantially the same time to the electric shock, showing that the speed of electricity’s propagation was very high.