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When people think of Thomas Edison, they immediately think of creation.
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A well known inventor, Edison developed devices that changed the world,
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and he developed the first industrial laboratory, though he did
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spend most of his time creating a rivalry in the
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field of electricity would take him down the path of destruction,
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a dark time that caused him to instigate pain and
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suffering in the name of scientific research. Thomas Edison is
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known as one of the most impactful inventors in American history.
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Some of his most notable inventions were the light bulb
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and distribution systems for electricity that led to what became
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known as the War of Currents. As Edison was using
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the direct current system and he wanted to discredit the
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rival system of alternating current which was being promoted by
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George Westinghouse and Nicola Tesla, his propaganda efforts ended up
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involving brutal animal demonstrations and public misinformation about the dangers
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of his competitor's technology. The most famous of those public
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displays is the electrocution of Topsy the elephant, but Thomas
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Edison wasn't actually involved in that act of animal cruelty.
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Topsy started her life at the four Past Circus, where
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she gained the reputation as a bad elephant. She killed
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a drunk spectator who burned her trunk with a lit cigar.
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Luna Park at Coney Island bought her, but her troubles
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didn't end there. Her handler often drunk abused her. She
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retaliated against workers who struck her with a pitchfork. So
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like the story of Murderous Mary, Topsy was condemned to
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death for simply defending herself, instead of just finding her
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a new home or even simply putting her down. Luna
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Park's owner saw an opportunity. Unlike Edison's calculated animal demonstrations,
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they planned Topsy's death as a publicity stunt to promote
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their park's grand opening in May of nineteen oh three.
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Because nothing makes me want to visit an amusement park
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more than the smell of burning elephant flesh, the park's
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management wanted to hang Topsy and charged twenty five cents admission.
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John Peter Haynes, president of the American Society for the
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Prevention of Cruelty they Animals or the ASPCA, stepped in.
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He banned hanging as needlessly cruel and stopped them from
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charging admission, so on January fourth, nineteen oh three, the
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park used a combination of poison four hundred and sixty
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grams of potassium cyanide in carrots, electrocution and strangulation that,
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along with people watching it for free, apparently made it
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less cruel. Needless to say, Thomas Edison played no direct
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part in Topsy's death. Workers from the Edison Electric Illuminating
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Company of Brooklyn handled the electrocution. By then, the company
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no longer had any ties to Edison. Sharky, the chief electrician,
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oversaw the process, using six six hundred volts of alternating
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current from the Bay Ridge plant, but that was not
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in an effort to show the dangers of AC current.
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The War of currents had ended a full decade before
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Topsy's execution. Edison had lost control of his company after
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its eighteen ninety two merger into General Electric, and he
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had sold his g stock during the eighteen nineties. Topsy's
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death was recorded by Edison's film company, so his name
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appeared in the credits, which led reports to claim he
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was involved. But there was a good reason that Thomas
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Edison was easily assumed to be involved in electrocution of animals.
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That's because he had been abusing animals in an effort
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to discredit AC long before Topsy was executed by the
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owners of Luna Park. AC systems spread into territories covered
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by DC systems, and Edison's business faced growing challenges. The
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rising price of copper added much expense to his low
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voltage DC CYSM that needed much heavier copper wires than
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the higher VOLTA JC alternatives. It also helped that AC
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could send electricity over longer distances without losing much energy,
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which gave Westinghouse's system a clear technical edge. Edison's own
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colleagues and engineers asked him to think about using AC technology,
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but he refused. Stubbornly. Edison wrote to Edison Electric president
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Edward Johnson in a November eighteen eighty six private letter, saying, quote,
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just as certain as death, Westinghouse will kill a customer
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within six months after he puts in a system of
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any size. Harold Brown idolized Edison, and he stepped forward
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in June of eighteen eighty eight, becoming a vital figure
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in Edison's anti AC crusade. He wrote to The New
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York Post claiming alternating current was quote inherently dangerous and damnable.
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Brown reached out to Edison about running experiments that would
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prove Ace's dangers. Edison jumped at the chants and gave
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him space and equipment in his West Orange laboratory. Along
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with laboratory assistant Arthur Kennelee, Brown staged his first public
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demonstration at Columbia College on July thirtieth, eighteen eighty eight
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to prove his claims. The event drew seven hundred electricians,
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government officials, and policymakers. Brown explained the differences between Edison's
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direct current and Westinghouse's alternating current. He and his assistance
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then brought in a seventy six pound Newfoundland mixed dog
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onto the stage and secured it in a wooden cage
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surrounded by wire mesh. They muzzled the dog and attached
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electrodes to its fore and hind legs. He started by
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giving the dog direct current shocks that increased from three
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hundred volts to one thousand volts. The dog yelped and
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struggled violently, even tearing off its muzzle at one point,
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but stayed alive. He then switched to alternating current at
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just three hundred and thirty volts, which killed the dog
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on the spot. The Sun reported quote the duration of
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the current was only five seconds, but when it was
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cut off, the troubles of the big black dog were over.
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Brion ran another demonstration four days later to answer critics
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who said the DC had weakened the first dog. That time,
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he killed three more dogs, one after another, using only
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three hundred volts of AC. The experiments grew more extreme
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as Brown moved onto bigger animals. He killed calves and
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lame horses with seven hundred and fifty volts of AC.
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A total of forty four dogs, six calves, and two
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horses lost their lives. Those results are what led the
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Medico Legal Society to recommend using one thousand to fifteen
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hundred volts of alternating current to execute prisoners with the
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electric chair. The demonstration horrified many spectators. Some walked out,
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while others yelled for it to stop. The public's reaction
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turned into significant backlash against Brown's demonstration. Newspapers expressed outrage
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at the cruel experiments. In the trade magazine The Electrical
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Engineer criticized the demonstrations as unscientific. Edison tried to keep
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his distance from those demonstrations publicly, but his involvement ran deep.
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In fact, he had secretly encouraged Brown to conduct public
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demonstrations after inviting him to his West Orange laboratory. Edison
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not only gave Brown equipment in laboratory space, but he
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also set specific rules for work. He told Brown to
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keep the experiments secret and work only at night so
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people wouldn't hear the animals howling in pain. Someone put
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up a sign near Edison's laboratory that offered twenty five
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cents for each stray dog. Local children brought many strays in,
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including setters, terriers, Saint Bernards, and bulldogs for the experiments.
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The fact that the dogs were so different made people
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claim the experiments didn't offer any scientific value. Their purpose
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was to just kill using alternating current. Witnesses described it
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as quote a litany of suffering. Edison attempted to claim
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that his animal experiments came from SPCA founder Henry Burgh
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Junior's question about humane ways to euthanize unwanted animals, but
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many people saw through his statement. The technical advantages of
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AC proved too strong to ignore. AC's transformers could increase
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voltage for long distance transmissions and safely decrease it for
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home use. That benefit became clear in nineteen eighty six
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when the Niagara Falls hydroelectric Plants successfully sent AC electricity
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twenty six miles to Buffalo. Edison Electric saw the writing
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on the wall and merged with Thomas Houston in eighteen
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ninety two to form General Electric, which adopted AC technology.
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The pain and suffering inflicted on animals became even more
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tragic as it had no effect on the growing popularity
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of AC current. The cruel animal experiments, including Topsy's execution,
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showed troubling at the failures in the interest of commercial gain.
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Edison's team killed dogs, calves, and horses to discredit AC
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simply because Thomas Edison was too stubborn to accept that
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his system was inferior to someone else's. At the end
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of the day, the story is a good reminder that
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despite a solid campaign of propaganda, the truth will always
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come to light. Trying to prove your right by causing
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suffering to another life is not something that should give
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you a positive legacy. Though Thomas Edison created many things
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that affect us positively today, that shouldn't excuse him of
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torturing animals due to a childish rivalry. Thanks so much
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for letting us tell you this sinister story. If you
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enjoyed it, subscribe on whatever platform you're on and hit like,
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rate it, or leave a comment. Join us again for
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more dark and interesting stories from around the world. Be safe.
1
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When people think of Thomas Edison, they immediately think of creation.
2
00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:08.800
A well known inventor, Edison developed devices that changed the world,
3
00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:12.720
and he developed the first industrial laboratory, though he did
4
00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:15.720
spend most of his time creating a rivalry in the
5
00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:18.839
field of electricity would take him down the path of destruction,
6
00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:22.000
a dark time that caused him to instigate pain and
7
00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:35.079
suffering in the name of scientific research. Thomas Edison is
8
00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:38.560
known as one of the most impactful inventors in American history.
9
00:00:39.159 --> 00:00:41.960
Some of his most notable inventions were the light bulb
10
00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:46.359
and distribution systems for electricity that led to what became
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00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:49.000
known as the War of Currents. As Edison was using
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00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:52.159
the direct current system and he wanted to discredit the
13
00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:55.799
rival system of alternating current which was being promoted by
14
00:00:55.799 --> 00:01:00.759
George Westinghouse and Nicola Tesla, his propaganda efforts ended up
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00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:05.359
involving brutal animal demonstrations and public misinformation about the dangers
16
00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:09.719
of his competitor's technology. The most famous of those public
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displays is the electrocution of Topsy the elephant, but Thomas
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Edison wasn't actually involved in that act of animal cruelty.
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Topsy started her life at the four Past Circus, where
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she gained the reputation as a bad elephant. She killed
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a drunk spectator who burned her trunk with a lit cigar.
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Luna Park at Coney Island bought her, but her troubles
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didn't end there. Her handler often drunk abused her. She
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retaliated against workers who struck her with a pitchfork. So
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like the story of Murderous Mary, Topsy was condemned to
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death for simply defending herself, instead of just finding her
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a new home or even simply putting her down. Luna
28
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Park's owner saw an opportunity. Unlike Edison's calculated animal demonstrations,
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00:01:57.239 --> 00:02:00.560
they planned Topsy's death as a publicity stunt to promote
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their park's grand opening in May of nineteen oh three.
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Because nothing makes me want to visit an amusement park
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more than the smell of burning elephant flesh, the park's
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management wanted to hang Topsy and charged twenty five cents admission.
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John Peter Haynes, president of the American Society for the
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Prevention of Cruelty they Animals or the ASPCA, stepped in.
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He banned hanging as needlessly cruel and stopped them from
37
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charging admission, so on January fourth, nineteen oh three, the
38
00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:33.840
park used a combination of poison four hundred and sixty
39
00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:40.360
grams of potassium cyanide in carrots, electrocution and strangulation that,
40
00:02:40.599 --> 00:02:43.360
along with people watching it for free, apparently made it
41
00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:47.960
less cruel. Needless to say, Thomas Edison played no direct
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part in Topsy's death. Workers from the Edison Electric Illuminating
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Company of Brooklyn handled the electrocution. By then, the company
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no longer had any ties to Edison. Sharky, the chief electrician,
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oversaw the process, using six six hundred volts of alternating
46
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current from the Bay Ridge plant, but that was not
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in an effort to show the dangers of AC current.
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The War of currents had ended a full decade before
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Topsy's execution. Edison had lost control of his company after
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its eighteen ninety two merger into General Electric, and he
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had sold his g stock during the eighteen nineties. Topsy's
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death was recorded by Edison's film company, so his name
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appeared in the credits, which led reports to claim he
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was involved. But there was a good reason that Thomas
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Edison was easily assumed to be involved in electrocution of animals.
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That's because he had been abusing animals in an effort
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to discredit AC long before Topsy was executed by the
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owners of Luna Park. AC systems spread into territories covered
59
00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:55.680
by DC systems, and Edison's business faced growing challenges. The
60
00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:58.680
rising price of copper added much expense to his low
61
00:03:58.759 --> 00:04:02.520
voltage DC CYSM that needed much heavier copper wires than
62
00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:06.800
the higher VOLTA JC alternatives. It also helped that AC
63
00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:11.039
could send electricity over longer distances without losing much energy,
64
00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:16.199
which gave Westinghouse's system a clear technical edge. Edison's own
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colleagues and engineers asked him to think about using AC technology,
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but he refused. Stubbornly. Edison wrote to Edison Electric president
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Edward Johnson in a November eighteen eighty six private letter, saying, quote,
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just as certain as death, Westinghouse will kill a customer
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within six months after he puts in a system of
70
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any size. Harold Brown idolized Edison, and he stepped forward
71
00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:43.360
in June of eighteen eighty eight, becoming a vital figure
72
00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:47.160
in Edison's anti AC crusade. He wrote to The New
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00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:52.160
York Post claiming alternating current was quote inherently dangerous and damnable.
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Brown reached out to Edison about running experiments that would
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prove Ace's dangers. Edison jumped at the chants and gave
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00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:03.879
him space and equipment in his West Orange laboratory. Along
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with laboratory assistant Arthur Kennelee, Brown staged his first public
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00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:12.879
demonstration at Columbia College on July thirtieth, eighteen eighty eight
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to prove his claims. The event drew seven hundred electricians,
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00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:23.439
government officials, and policymakers. Brown explained the differences between Edison's
81
00:05:23.480 --> 00:05:27.839
direct current and Westinghouse's alternating current. He and his assistance
82
00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:31.040
then brought in a seventy six pound Newfoundland mixed dog
83
00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:33.680
onto the stage and secured it in a wooden cage
84
00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:37.639
surrounded by wire mesh. They muzzled the dog and attached
85
00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:41.800
electrodes to its fore and hind legs. He started by
86
00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:44.839
giving the dog direct current shocks that increased from three
87
00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:48.720
hundred volts to one thousand volts. The dog yelped and
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struggled violently, even tearing off its muzzle at one point,
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but stayed alive. He then switched to alternating current at
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just three hundred and thirty volts, which killed the dog
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on the spot. The Sun reported quote the duration of
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the current was only five seconds, but when it was
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cut off, the troubles of the big black dog were over.
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Brion ran another demonstration four days later to answer critics
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who said the DC had weakened the first dog. That time,
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he killed three more dogs, one after another, using only
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three hundred volts of AC. The experiments grew more extreme
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as Brown moved onto bigger animals. He killed calves and
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lame horses with seven hundred and fifty volts of AC.
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A total of forty four dogs, six calves, and two
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horses lost their lives. Those results are what led the
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Medico Legal Society to recommend using one thousand to fifteen
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hundred volts of alternating current to execute prisoners with the
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electric chair. The demonstration horrified many spectators. Some walked out,
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while others yelled for it to stop. The public's reaction
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turned into significant backlash against Brown's demonstration. Newspapers expressed outrage
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at the cruel experiments. In the trade magazine The Electrical
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Engineer criticized the demonstrations as unscientific. Edison tried to keep
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his distance from those demonstrations publicly, but his involvement ran deep.
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In fact, he had secretly encouraged Brown to conduct public
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demonstrations after inviting him to his West Orange laboratory. Edison
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not only gave Brown equipment in laboratory space, but he
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also set specific rules for work. He told Brown to
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keep the experiments secret and work only at night so
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people wouldn't hear the animals howling in pain. Someone put
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up a sign near Edison's laboratory that offered twenty five
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cents for each stray dog. Local children brought many strays in,
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including setters, terriers, Saint Bernards, and bulldogs for the experiments.
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The fact that the dogs were so different made people
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claim the experiments didn't offer any scientific value. Their purpose
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was to just kill using alternating current. Witnesses described it
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as quote a litany of suffering. Edison attempted to claim
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that his animal experiments came from SPCA founder Henry Burgh
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Junior's question about humane ways to euthanize unwanted animals, but
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many people saw through his statement. The technical advantages of
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AC proved too strong to ignore. AC's transformers could increase
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voltage for long distance transmissions and safely decrease it for
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home use. That benefit became clear in nineteen eighty six
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when the Niagara Falls hydroelectric Plants successfully sent AC electricity
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twenty six miles to Buffalo. Edison Electric saw the writing
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on the wall and merged with Thomas Houston in eighteen
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ninety two to form General Electric, which adopted AC technology.
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The pain and suffering inflicted on animals became even more
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tragic as it had no effect on the growing popularity
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of AC current. The cruel animal experiments, including Topsy's execution,
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showed troubling at the failures in the interest of commercial gain.
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Edison's team killed dogs, calves, and horses to discredit AC
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simply because Thomas Edison was too stubborn to accept that
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his system was inferior to someone else's. At the end
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of the day, the story is a good reminder that
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despite a solid campaign of propaganda, the truth will always
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come to light. Trying to prove your right by causing
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suffering to another life is not something that should give
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you a positive legacy. Though Thomas Edison created many things
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that affect us positively today, that shouldn't excuse him of
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torturing animals due to a childish rivalry. Thanks so much
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for letting us tell you this sinister story. If you
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enjoyed it, subscribe on whatever platform you're on and hit like,
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rate it, or leave a comment. Join us again for
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more dark and interesting stories from around the world. Be safe.
