
Thomas Edison’s Ambitious “To-Do” List from 1888 - MarlonPro
http://www.openculture.com/2016/11/thomas-edisons-hugely-ambitious-to-do-list-from-1888.html
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Animats
Looking at the list:

* Cotton Picker - _didn 't get done in Edison's time, done in mid 20th century_

* New Standard Phonograph, Hand turning phonograph - _product improvements_

* New Slow speed cheap Dynamo - ?

* New Expansion Pyromagnetic Dynamo - ?

* Deaf Apparatus - _hearing aid. Edison never developed a good amplifier_

* Electrical Piano - _also needed an amp, (but see Teleharmonium)_

* Long distance standard Telephone Transmitter which employs devices of recording phonogh - _something else that needed an amp_

* Telephone Coil of Fe [iron] by tt in Parafine or other insulator - _loading coil?_

* Platina Point Trans using new phono Recorder devices - _point-contact microphone, a dead end._

* Grid Battery for Telephones, etc. - _a battery improvement_

* Improved Magnetic Bridge for practical work - _something to replace the Wheatstone bridge and mirror galvanometer, a sensitive but un-amplified lab instrument. Again, if only he 'd had an amp..._

* Motograph Mirror, relay, Relay, Telephone practical - _the motograph was a really clunky way to amplify, using an unusual physical effect where the friction between a rotating chalk cylinder and a contact changes with the current through the contact. Dead end, although the phenomenon was used once in an IBM line printer paper drive clutch._

* Artificial Cable - ?

* Phono motor to work on 100 volt ckts - _routine job_

* Duplicating Phono Cylinders - _the Edison Amberoll process; many playable cylinders still exist._

* Deposit in vacuo on lace, gold + silver also on cotton molten chemical compound of lustrous surfaces to imitate silk— also reg plating system - ?

* Vacuous Ore milling Large Machine, Magnetic Separator Large, Locking material for Iron sand - _part of Edison 's cement and rock crushing period_

* Artificial Silk, Artificial filaments - _trying to find something better for incandescent lamps, pre-tungsten_

* Uninflammable Insulating Material - _General Electric Deltabeston felted asbestos insulation - "Will not age or crack". Worked great, except for the asbestos hazard_

* Good wax for phonograph - _he did that_

* Phonographic Clock - _" speaking clock - was done eventually, but not by Edison_

* Large Phonograph for Novels, etc. - _long-playing records, not in Edison 's time_

* Pig Iron Expmts with Electricity + Magnetism, Malleablizing Cast now in Vacuo - ?

* Drawing fine wire - _figuring out how to draw tungsten wire for lamps was really tough, but GE eventually did it. Edison not involved_

* Joy phonograph for Dolls - _somebody did that in Edison 's time. Mass produced as Mattel's Chatty Cathy in the 1950s._

* Cable Motograph, Very Loud Motograph telephone with 1/3 siz phonogh motor. - _more attempts to amplify_

* Magneto telephone with actual contact end magnet compression of an adjustable rubber press as in new phones - ?

* Snow Compressor - ??

* Glass plate water ore repeator - ??

* Tinned faced [illeg.] for Stove Castings - _somebody did that, old stoves often have tin facings_

* Refining Copper Electrically - _somebody did that too, but not Edison_

* Quad neutral relay - _another multiplex telgraphy component_

* Cheap low induct Cop Insulating material for Lead Cable people - _insulating materials were a big problem in Edison 's day. No plastic, no synthetic rubber. Lots of wood, fabric, paper, tar, etc., all bad._

* 200 volt 20 cp lamp - _another size of light bulb_

* Recording Volt Indicator - _done, but not by Edison_

* Box balancing System - ?

* Alternating Machine + Transformer - _Tesla 's department_

* Platinum wire [illeg.] cutting Machine, silver wire wood cutting system - _hot wire cutting? Dead end for wood, although today we have laser cutters._

* Boron fil. - _Boron filaments didn 't happen_

* Hg [mercury] out of Lamp - _beginnings of environmentalism?_

* Phonaplex Repeater - _another problem that needed an amp._

* Squirting glass sheet tube etc. Nickel [illeg.] - _glass extrusion worked fine, but Edison didn 't invent it_

* Artificial Mother Pearl - _too early for plastics_

* Red Lead pencils equal to graphite, India Ink, Tracing Cloth - _shopping list?_

* Ink for blind - _not by Edison_

* Fluffy Incandescent Burner for gas - _lantern mantle. Done, but by Edison?_

* Regenerative Kerosene Burner - ?

* Centralized arc in arc Lamp, Cai–[illeg.] Tesla arc lamp test - ?

* Strengthening alternating cli by sternt Dynamo - ?

* Electroplating Machines for Schenectady - _OK, must do day job_

* Condenser Transformer - _a charge pump? Common today in IC size_

* Sqr ft diffraction gratings in silver by 5000 [illeg.] tool special [illeg.] lathe for ornamental purposes - _popular with hippies in the 1960s_

* Cheap plan produce Mimeograph surfaces - _Edison mimeograph upgrade?_

* Miners battery + lamp - _good product idea, done by many_

* Sorting Coal from Slate Machine - _mechanize a job done by kids. Coal floats, slate doesn 't, and coal breakers exploit this._

* Butter direct from Milk - ?

* Burning asphalt Candles by high chimney - _bad idea_

* Magnets RR signals - ?

* Soften [illeg.] of books transfer to Cop plate + plate to [illeg.] matrix - ?

* Telephone Repeater - _another need for an amp_

* Substitute for Hard rubber - _not really solved until neoprene in WWII_

* Artificial Ivory - _ABS plastic was a long way off_

* Revolving Thermo - ?

* Caller Indicator for Jump Telegh - ?

* Marine Telegraphy - _undersea cable, or ship to shore?_

* Long distance speaking tube filled H20 2 dia pressure - _dead end_

* Lend plate battery for modifying attending Current - ?

* Two revolving bands in battery Lead faced press in liquid close together + out into separate chambers to [illeg.]reduce by gas the other - ?

* Siren phonogh - _another need for an amp_

* Perm mag like an electromag of [illeg.] hand steel high polish separately magnetized + forced together powerfully[illeg.] - _magnetic materials in Edison 's day were weak by modern standards. If he'd tried adding some cobalt..._

* Telephone working more [illeg.] - _yes, focus on day job_

* Eartubes formed crescent [illeg.] wire - ?

* Cheap Voltmeter - _outsource to New Jersey?_

* Chalk Battery - _dead end_

* Dynamo or motor long tube in long magnetic field top + bottom contacts forcing water through generator current by – passage. [Illeg.] - _the beginnings of magnetohydrodynamics?_

* Thermo battery slick Copper oxidized then plated over surface oxide nailed to make good contact [illeg.] - ?

* Disk Phonograph - _that worked out very well_

~~~
Animats
Looking through this, you can see the two big problems that had Edison stumped
- plastics and amplifiers. Insulation and phonograph records needed better
materials. Plastics and synthetic rubber solved those problem, but not until
the 1940s-1960s did synthetic materials surpass natural ones.

His telephony and phonograph inventions all suffered from the lack of an
amplifier. He was close. He discovered the "Edison effect", the beginnings of
electronic vacuum tubes, in 1875, but didn't follow up. Instead, he developed
workarounds - a loudspeaker driver connected to carbon button microphone, the
clunky motograph, and a microphone diaphragm driving a needle valve on a steam
line, the "steam shout" PA system. None worked well. Not until 1906, when de
Forest invented the triode vacuum tube, was there a useful electrical
amplifier.

Having all the gain you can use in a small, cheap package was a century in the
future for Edison.

~~~
LV8
You can probably add "magnets RR signals" (a reference to remotely operated
railroad switches) to the list of things that he could have done with
amplification.

~~~
Animats
Probably train detection or train stop there, not switch operation. Edison
never did much with railroad switches and signals, though.

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woofyman
Todo: 1) Electrocute a dog 2) Electrocute an elephant 3) Electrocute a man

All to prove the dangers of AC power.

[http://knowledgenuts.com/2013/10/19/edison-publicly-
tortured...](http://knowledgenuts.com/2013/10/19/edison-publicly-tortured-
animals-to-discredit-ac-power/)

~~~
vlunkr
Yeah I saw that episode of Bob's Burgers too.

Edit: In all seriousness, the man and the elephant were already scheduled to
be killed. So it sucks, but he did so many amazing things that this is easily
overshadowed.

~~~
projektir
> he did so many amazing things that this is easily overshadowed

Torture is never "easily overshadowed" in my book. Some things just cannot be
erased, no matter how many great things you accomplish.

I don't see the difference between this statement and saying that it's alright
to conduct experiments on inmates as long as we discover something amazing.

~~~
vlunkr
What you're calling torture later became a legal way to execute someone. I
don't think it's fair to expect people from the past to have modern morals.

~~~
projektir
Legal executions are actually pretty notorious for being poorly done, so I
think I can call it torture just fine when the procedure takes too long.

There's nothing "modern" about not hurting things. That is something a person
understands on a fundamental level, because it can happen to them. People just
rationalize and don't care and think they're above it. There were people who
were against such things in all times, perhaps just not a lot of them.

Wonder what it says about genius and hard work if something so trivial was
impossible for them despite all their accomplishments?

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simonsarris
For those that missed it I assume this is on the heels of yesterday's post:

Leonardo Da Vinci’s To Do List (circa 1490)
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13187316](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13187316)

~~~
agumonkey
I'm sorry, you'll have to wait til I die to see my awesome todo list.

------
WalterBright
Edison invented the modern industrial research and development laboratory. He
created multiple entire industries. Who else has done anything remotely like
that?

~~~
unknown2374
Nikola Tesla always gets wrongfully overshadowed by Edison for some reason.
Although Edison actively shunned down innovations by Tesla time and time again
just so he can make more money. He also stole credit for some of the stuff
that Tesla did [1].

[1] Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century

~~~
euyyn
> Nikola Tesla always gets [...] overshadowed by Edison for some reason.

I get the exact opposite impression.

~~~
Larrikin
Tesla has recently been getting his due, but most people of a certain age
remember having Edison drilled into their heads all through elementary,
middle, and high school, with barely a mention of Tesla unless the teacher was
really into history and science

~~~
euyyn
Oh, I see. I guess it must be a US thing?

------
monkmartinez
> Large Phonograph for Novels, etc.

Audio books as thing in 1888!

I wonder what Elon Musk's "To-Do" list looks like... or Bezos or anyone with
the resources like these two gagillion-aires.

~~~
jdhawk
Discover immortality.

------
pontifier
These items sparked my interest, because they are quite similar to things I'm
working on or thinking about doing...

-New Expansion Pyromagnetic Dynamo

-Deposit in vacuo on lace, gold + silver also on cotton molten chemical compound of lustrous surfaces to imitate silk also reg plating system

-Malleablizing Cast now in Vacuo

-Snow Compressor

I'm working on a fusion reactor, have wanted to evaporate and experiment with
metals in a vacuum chamber, and I want to build a snow brick maker for fun in
the winter...

~~~
Kroniker
Farnsworth Hirsch fusor? Those things are crazy fun.

~~~
ch4ch4
Wow, thanks for sending me down that hourlong Wikipedia rabbithole ;)

------
dexwiz
Proving once again the Ideas are Cheap but Execution is Everything.

~~~
coldcode
You still have to have the ideas as well, plus the means to make them real.

------
mstade
"Uninflammable" is my new favorite word.

~~~
saycheese
Oddly, according to Merriam-Webster it's a word:

[https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/uninflammable](https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/uninflammable)

Even more oddly, the double-negative (un & in) has no impact on its meaning
"not flammable."

~~~
seszett
> _Even more oddly, the double-negative (un & in) has no impact on its meaning
> "not flammable."_

But in- is not necessarily negative, it's also a prefix that can mean "in"
(like indoors, ingrown): inflammable means it "can be _in_ flames".

Actually, French makes it more obvious, as the verb for setting aflame is
"enflammer" where "en-" is clearly the prefix that means "in", not the prefix
that means "not".

At least English uses two different prefixes for "uninflammable", even if
there's some confusion possible. French has it as "ininflammable", with two
"in-" prefixes that mean different things.

~~~
oliv__
The verb might be more obvious but the translation is actually the same:
_inflammable_

------
brachi
This reminded me that most TO-DO lists will be lost when we die, unless we
meticulously set up a backup scheme and an 'inactivity management'[1] like
google has. Probably not that interesting to anyone but close relatives,
though. However, I find that they reflect our personalities a lot and are
pretty valuable. [1]
[https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546?hl=en](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546?hl=en)

------
phasnox
\- Cotton Picker

\- New Standard Phonograph

\- Invent the lightbulb

\- Trick Telsa to do work for free

------
ideonexus
I find myself more than a little disappointed in this "todo" list. It looks
more to me like an "ambitions" list. These are future long-term projects. It
doesn't look much different to me than someone with a todo list that includes
multiple long term software development projects.

A much more insightful todo list for me would be to see one of the day-to-day
todo lists I find myself writing for every weekend. These include things like
"Finish writing chapter 15" or "Refactor [component] into [design pattern]." I
want to see the granular tasks Edison and other "great men" worked on in the
day-slivers of their lives.

Seeing a big list like this reinforces my impression of Edison as a less of
the hands-on inventor our society tries to make him out to be and more of a
high-level manager who put mostly signed the patents for everything his
workshop of inventors produced.

------
pre4646744
I have only one item in my todo list to end all todo lists: Invent general
artificial intelligence

------
6stringmerc
It's all fun and games until trying to make a point by electrocuting a
pachyderm.

------
oliv__
How many of these were actually invented?

------
terrib1e
I love looking at these old To-Do lists. I personally think Edison was a thief
and jerkoff BUT I gotta give credit where credit is due for his
marketing/business genius. I really really want to see a to-do list from
Nikola Tesla. Really almost ANYTHING from him would be awesome.

~~~
cr0sh
> I personally think Edison was a thief and jerkoff

If you haven't, read some more biographies about the man. You'll discover that
things were a bit more complicated than what you may currently believe; above
all else, Edison was a businessman who invented, and an inventor who knew
business, and saw opportunities where others didn't.

That doesn't mean he was a saint - he had and did plenty of things that on
retrospect weren't very moral, and questionably illegal. The way he treated
his wife and children was terrible - but wasn't out of the norm for the era
(unfortunately). And he was a master of taking and expanding on other's ideas
and marketing them as his own; you can call that theft - perhaps plagiarism is
a better term? - but it isn't anything different than what still happens
today.

Excusable? No - but again, it's more complex - and Tesla had his own faults.
I've found in my reading about both men, that they were both complex
characters of their time. The real tragedy, IMHO, is that their individual
prides got in the way of the possibility of their mutual cooperation; had they
done so, history would likely be much different today.

~~~
terrib1e
I completely agree. My wording was a bit strong and I can see from the
downvotes that it was unacceptable. I wasn't trying to be ignorant about
Edison. I apologize for that. I'm definitely seeing this from a biased view
because of my admiration for Tesla. I'm going to read these books about Edison
that everyone is posting. I should probably admire Edison alot more than I do.
I carry small notebooks around and do the same thing he did, my flaw is that I
'think' more than I 'do'. Regardless of his method or personality, it really
is incredible that Edison created so much. If Tesla had been more like Edison
and played the social game more than he did, the world might be a different
place but it was it is. I'd love to learn more about Edison and would love
some recommendations. Thanks

