A little story on how you can not always believe what you read.

I grew up in the 80’s and one of my favorite bands was Tesla. I looked into why they named the band Tesla and found out it was after Nikola Tesla. I have never heard of Nikola Tesla up to that point. Long story short, I researched everything I could on him and did a science report in high school and an English paper in college on him. Both of those teachers had never heard of him.

Fast forward to Kylie in 5th grade. She was doing homework and I walked by and saw it was on Marconi and how he invented the radio. I told her the book is wrong, Marconi did not invent the radio, Nikola Tesla did. She looked at me confused and asked why the book would tell her that if it was not true. I told her it was American history and politics, since Tesla was Russian.

I told her she should tell her teacher the next day that the book is wrong. I would even give her $5 if she did. She said no way.

I came home from work the next day and she told me I owed her $5 because she did it. She said her knees were knocking, her hands were sweaty, her mouth was dry and she thought she was going to throw up but she went to the teacher and told her. She told the teacher what I told her. The book is wrong and Marconi did not invent the radio, Tesla did. The teacher did a google search right there and then and said wow, I did not know that. I have never heard of Tesla.

Tesla died in his room on January 7, 1943. Later that year the U.S. Supreme Court voided four of Marconi’s key patents, belatedly acknowledging Tesla’s innovations in radio. The AC system he championed and improved remains the global standard for power transmission.

He also invented AC current that we use today for electricity, even though most people think Edison did.

The band Tesla has a song called Edison’s Medicine that has a verse which sums it up for our school books :

I spent twelve years of hard time,
More like the best years of my life.
Never heard or read a single word
About “the man” and his “wicked mind.”
They’ll sell you on Marconi.
Familiar, but a phony.
Story goes they sold their souls
And swore that you’d never know.

Tesla is getting more notoriety these days as several movies and documentaries have been made about his life. Check them out.

Edison’s Medicine by Tesla –