Who Was Thomas Edison questions
How many patents did Tom have?
1,093
Who invented the telephone?
Alexander Graham Bell - mom almost totally deaf; he and grandfather taught the deaf
When was Thomas Edison born?
February 11, 1847
What was the weekly newspaper?
Grand Trunk Herald
Where was Thomas Edison born?
Milan, Ohio
How was Tom's second wife, Mina, unlike his first wife, Mary?
Mina loved having company
How did Tom propose to his second wife?
Morse code in her palm
What is the Eiffel Tower?
Paris, France; 984 feet high; took two years and 300 men to build
What happened to Tom when he was a boy?
Scarlet fever and as a result could not hear as well
Who was the greatest inventor of his time?
Thomas Alva Edison
Where was Tom's printing press set up?
baggage car of the train
Who was Henry Ford?
came up with the assembly line; first affordable car
How did Tom help improve the telephone
carbon transmitter
What did Tom say was the best way to learn?
doing it yourself
What nickname did Tom have for his children?
dot and das after Morse code
What did the newspaper cost?
eight cents a month
Why did mostly businesses only use telegrams?
expensive
Why was gas lighting not more popular?
expensive, made walls black and dirty, smell caused headaches and dangerous fires could happen
Who was Matthew Brady?
famous civil war photographer
How long did it take to take a photograph back then?
fifteen seconds
What did Tom take a long time to do when inventing the light bulb?
find the right filament
What was the Black Maria?
first motion picture studio in America
Why did Al's mother take him out of school?
furious when the teacher said his brain was scrambled
Why did the conductor throw Tom off of the train?
his mix of chemicals started a fire
Why did Tom's mom teach him at home?
his teacher said his brain was scrambled
What happened in 1884?
his wife Mary died at the age of 29
Why was Tom in a big hurry to finish the phonograph?
important magazine announced his invention
What is Morse code?
invented by Samuel Morse 1791-1872 in Massachusetts; message sent through a wire and much faster than a letter
What did Tom call Menlo Park?
invention factory
Why did he keep a small notebook in his pocket?
jotting down ideas
What happened October 22, 1829?
light bulb glowed for thirteen and a half hours
What did President Herbert Hoover ask on the night of Tom's funeral?
lights to be turned off at 10:00 pm for one minute to honor Tom who had lit up the world
Why did the invention of the telephone concern Tom?
might replace his telegraph
Why was Tom's wife Mary often frustrated?
more time at work than at home
What was wrong with Alexander Graham Bell's telephone?
needed a different transmitter
What is a phonograph?
recording device
What did Tom do that the station master offered to teach him telegraphy?
save his three year old son from being hit by a train
Why did he remove the springs from the clocks?
so no one would pay attention to the time
What invention became Tom's biggest moneymaker?
storage battery
What did Tom call audiotapes?
talking books
What did the stationmaster offer as thanks for saving his son?
teach Thomas a lot about telegraphy
Why did Tom not want a hearing aid or surgery to improve his hearing?
the noises would be too distracting from his work
What was one reason arc lights were not used indoors?
threw off sparks and could start a fire
Why did he break open a bumblebee nest?
to see what was on the inside
