Edison's Christmas Lights

<p>The first string of lights to be festooned upon a tree <em>dazzled</em> visitors to the New York home of Edward Johnson, Vice President of the Edison Electric Light Company, on 22nd December, 1882.</p><br><p>Lit patriotic red, white and blue, the tree also revolved; wowing a reporter from <em>The Detroit Post and Tribune</em>. “At the rear of the beautiful parlors, was a large Christmas tree presenting a most picturesque and uncanny aspect,” he wrote. “It was brilliantly lighted with… eighty lights in all encased in these dainty glass eggs… One can hardly imagine anything prettier.”</p><br><p>In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal what electric lights have in common with potatoes; ask why Americans were frightened of wired bulbs, yet quite content to set candles on fire and attach them to flammable resin in their own homes; and untangle how a failed patent application was responsible for the trend finally catching on…</p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><ul><li>‘Untangling the History of Christmas Lights’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2016): <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/untangling-history-christmas-lights-180961140/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/untangling-history-christmas-lights-180961140/</a></li><li>‘Who Invented Christmas Lights?’ (PBS, 2018): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qB61a_qbuo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qB61a_qbuo</a></li></ul><p>• ‘Thomas Edison planned to invent a machine to talk to the dead’ (weirdhistorian, 2016): <a href="https://www.weirdhistorian.com/thomas-edison-talked-to-the-dead/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.weirdhistorian.com/thomas-edison-talked-to-the-dead/</a></p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.</em></p><br><p><em>#1800s #Inventions #Technology #US</em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

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