10 Things You Didn’t Know About Nikola Tesla [Video]

  • Tesla constructed a 142 foot high metal mast in Colorado Springs. From this he could shoot out bolts of man-made lightning over 100 feet long.
  • Tesla created the first remote control by using it on a toy boat. Demonstrated in 1898, it was considered largely useless.
  • In his later years, Tesla became increasingly eccentric. He began “communicating” with pigeons, at only boiled food, and was obsessed with the number 3.
  • Thomas Edison tried to discredit Tesla’s invention of alternating current. Edison electrocuted animals, including an elephant, using AC.
  • Tesla invented the first hydroelectric power plant. It was first used in 1896 to convert power from the Niagara Falls into electricity for New York City.
  • At the 1893 Columbian Exposition, Tesla used twelve 1000 horsepower AC generator. These were used to power 100,000 incandescent lights.
  • Tesla died in poverty at the age of 86. Two days after his death, all his belongings were seized by the U.S. government.
  • Tesla hoped his 187 foot Wardenclyffe Tower would supply the world with free wireless electricity. It was never completed and was demolished in 1917.
  • By the time of his death, Tesla had over 250 patents registered. These included the spark plug, the radio, and the Tesla coil.
  • Tesla revealed plans for a particle / Death-beam weapon during Worls War II. After secret U.S. military tests, Tesla’s papers disappeared without trace.

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