Ugh! The new year is off to a morbid start! First we lose the main lineup of the Pointer Sisters, then we have the sad 120th anniversary of Edison’s sick proof of concept…how dangerous Alternating Current (AC) was by killing an elephant via 6600 volts. I always thought Direct Current (DC) was used for the electric chair.
Thomas Edison was a shitty human being in his day (never any shortage of them in any era) but at this point in his life, he wasn’t really involved as he was more concerned about phonographs (the future record player) and the infant film industry. His fight with Tesla and Westinghouse had been delegated.
Meanwhile, Topsy the elephant had killed three people much earlier and the owners we’re looking for a more humane way to execute her for these actions. Animal control was pretty disgusting then too. Many were either hanged (not hung) or drowned. So sad and sick. The SPCA vetoed hanging yet agreed to electrocution because electricity was still novel, quick and magical to the majority. Topsy’s handlers guaranteed she’d die by feeding her carrots laced with cyanide before running the current through her if this didn’t work. It did. Topsy died within 10 seconds.
Given what Topsy did, they should’ve just released back in the wild where she came from. I get the anger from the victims’ families but elephants don’t have the same moral compass as people. Plus this is an animal humans have never succeeded in domesticating. Cultures which have voluntold elephants from Hannibal to places where they’re used in place of heavy Caterpillar equipment, capture young adults and beat them into submission. When I read Guns, Germs and Steel, the author said nobody has really bothered to raise one from birth due to costs, elephants take some years to get to adulthood. I think circuses would have some input on this and the answer, like the zebra, alpaca and hippopotamus, is they just lack the compliant nature of dogs, cats, chickens, pigs and sheep.
In the longer run, we all know Edison lost the current war. AC is how power is transmitted around the world via great distances. If we stuck with his plan, there would be DC power-generation stations every few square blocks, creating thousands of eyesores in the major cities and for less populated areas…tough luck. NYC did have a few remaining into the 21st Century and the last one was replaced by AC in 2007.
Lastly, now most of us know the basics about Topsy via the clip below. If you want more of the mythbusting, click here.