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.

[alltime10s]