Smithsonian.com

Nikola Tesla invented a device that uses lightning to play music. No, seriously.

You want more? Dueling Banjos. Mario. House of the Rising Sun.

Here is the group ArcAttack on the show America’s Got Talent explaining how it works:

Long story short, the Tesla Coil, invented by Serbian-American engineer Nikola Tesla, is really, really cool. But more than cool, Tesla’s coils were a key tool used by the famed scientist, engineer, and inventor to unlock a staggering number of the world’s secrets. The New York Times:

Today, his work tends to be poorly known among scientists, though some call him an intuitive genius far ahead of his peers. Socially, his popularity has soared, elevating him to cult status.

When he was alive, culminating much of Tesla’s prowess was his plan to design a wireless energy distribution network, a project which lead to the construction of the Wardenclyffe tower and laboratory in Long Island.

In 1901, Nikola Tesla began work on a global system of giant towers meant to relay through the air not only news, stock reports and even pictures but also, unbeknown to investors such as J. Pierpont Morgan, free electricity for one and all.

A debate over what to do with the historic site has loomed for years. But as Forbes reports, a fundraiser was launched this week to raise the $850,000 needed to buy the land such that it can be turned into a science museum devoted to the late genius. After only two short days, and at the time of this writing, that fundraiser has already met more than half of its goal, raising nearly $500,000.

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