Here at GOOD, we’ve long had a crush on Nikola Tesla. We published a heartfelt ode to him in the energy issue of our print magazine. We also produced this infographic distilling the epic smackdown between Tesla and his early employer and bitter rival Thomas Edison (who once electrocuted an elephant to prove the “dangers” of Tesla’s alternating current). Alternating current, of course, is now what powers our residences and businesses through the commercial grid.
This eccentric Croatian genius has never gotten his deserved place in the history books. Sure there’s the Tesla Coils that wow crowds at Coachella and Elon Musk’s electic hot rod, but for the most part, Tesla is a side note. The dude behind the webcomic The Oatmeal wants to change that and we’re on board one hundred percent. It seems that Tesla’s old lab in New York, the Wardenclyffe Tower, is up for sale and a nonprofit dedicated to preserving Tesla’s legacy needs to outbid a retail developer to secure the property.
Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal launched an indiegogo campaign (“Let’s Build a Goddamn Tesla Museum”) Wednesday to raise $850,000 towards a New York State matching grant. He explained to WIRED why:
Tesla is a hero of mine, and very rarely does an opportunity present itself where you can make a difference to your hero’s legacy nearly a century after his time. It’d be like starting a crowdfunding campaign to keep Abraham Lincoln’s original home from getting bulldozed and turned into a Krispy Kreme. I’d be all over Operation Make-Lincoln-Not-Doughnuts.
So, GOOD community, let’s do this. After all, the guy responsible for radar, neon, fluorescent lighting, remote control, and arguably robotics, deserves a goddamn museum.
Image (cc) Flickr user Recuerdos De Pandora
