The question I have to ask is which is worse...us giving the credit wrongly, or being taken by the wrong folks under false pretenses?
Electric Chair—Alfred Southwick
Credited To Thomas Edison
Photo via Wikimedia
In 1890, the electric chair was first used in the US to execute wife-killer William Kemmler. The chair had been built by employees of Thomas Edison, who was against the death penalty but believed the chair was more humane than hanging. However, New York dentist Alfred Southwick came up with the idea for the electric chair first.
For years, he had experimented with using electric current to numb pain in his dental practice. After witnessing an accidental electrocution at a local dock in 1881, he was inspired to create an apparatus like a dentist’s chair that used electricity as a painless form of execution. Southwick and a partner electrocuted animals to find the right voltage.
When they had trouble with their electric chair, they contacted Edison for help. Although he initially refused, Edison obviously warmed to the idea later.
I find it ironic that the chair was developed as a less painful way of execution, don't you?
Coffee in the kitchen this morning. Too hot outside!
