शून्यताEven as the causes of the misadventure were examined, the board and witnesses struggled for language to describe exactly what had happened. Just how much electricity had #Whitehouse’s batteries and induction coils pumped into the cable? A lot? Too much? Far too much? A whole bunch? (h s) #TransAtlanticTelegraph
It is difficult to overestimate the speed at which #telegraph networks spread across the landscape. Within thirty years of #Morse’s demonstration in 1844, there were some 650,000 miles of cable and 30,000 miles of submarine cable linking more than 20,000 towns and villages. By 1880 there were an estimated 100,000 miles of undersea wiring connecting continents. (h s)
Then as now, journalists delighted in retelling stories of the less sophisticated who either mistrusted or misunderstood such an obvious instrument of progress and modernity. According to press reports at the time, some simple country folk believed the wires were hollow and transported tightly wrapped written messages sent on a burst of air or acted as speaking tubes capable of carrying a voice over long distances. (h s)
Today, with technology becoming increasingly sophisticated, it is not unreasonable to estimate that the percentage of the general population that understands the workings of their digital cameras or cell phones is about equal to those who understood the telegraph. (h s)
One idea was to deliver the batteries as needed to power electric lights. This scheme, which never really got off the ground, was popularly known as the “milk bottle” plan, since the batteries would be delivered as milk was. People (or their servants) would leave their depleted batteries by the front door and new, recharged batteries would be delivered on a regular schedule. (h s)
The 1880s also saw the formation of the #ElectricGirl Light Company based in New York City. For a fee, party hosts could rent young ladies decorated with electric lights powered by small batteries. (h s)
The battery also found some unusual uses. It was said that the African explorer and journalist #HenryMortonStanley (of “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” fame) carried a small battery during his 1870s African expedition that gave tribal leaders a shock when they shook hands in order to instill in them a sense of his superiority and power. When the trick received criticism, one defender wrote, “It is beyond understanding why fault should be found with this harmless and efficient method of teaching a #truth.” (h s)
Even those who should have known better apparently fell for the miracle cures promised by electrotherapy. In February of 1887, #ElectricalReview published a story headlined “An Electric Treat,” reporting that congressmen were sneaking off to the basement of the capitol building to fill themselves with an invigorating dose of electricity from a device rigged up in the boiler room. (h s)
At the time, the dominance of the gasoline-powered car was far from a certainty, and #Edison truly believed the internal combustion engine was nothing more than a bridge technology that would eventually lead to an #ElectricCar. In fact, he may have been right, but he badly misjudged just how long that bridge would endure and the difficulty in creating a durable, lightweight battery. (h s) #Anno1899
When chided for the many battery experiments in which he failed, #ThomasEdison is reputed to have answered, “No, I didn’t fail. I discovered 24,999 ways that the storage battery does not work.” (h s)