Wednesday in Wyoming - November 6, 2024

 

When you think of Thomas Edison, you probably remember his laboratory in New Jersey, but did you know that he also did some experiments in Wyoming?

He did, which is why the Carbon County museum in Rawlins has a room dedicated to him. 

Isn't this phonograph beautiful?

Wednesday in Wyoming -- July 8, 2015

The Mural Tour -- Part 2

We're going to continue our exploration of Rawlins' mural tour throughout July.  This mural is the first one you encounter as you enter town from the east.  As you can see, it's mounted on the side of a building.  But what are the objects in the mural?  Let's take a closer look.

This mural celebrates Thomas Edison's fishing trip to Battle Lake, approximately 70 miles south of Rawlins.  Who would have thought that a fishing trip would inspire the famous inventor?  That's exactly what happened.  While he was at Battle Lake, Edison paid particular attention to the fiber line on his fishing pole and later experimented with it as a filament for the incandescent light bulb. 

I've always said that inspiration can come at any time, and here's proof.

Wednesday in Wyoming -- August 27, 2014

Do you know what is this?  You're right.  It's part of a phonograph, specifically one that Thomas Edison designed.  Now that we've established that, you're probably wondering why I've included something from the inventor who's more closely associated with New Jersey than Wyoming in a Wednesday in Wyoming post. 

A little known fact is that Edison visited Wyoming in 1878 to view a total solar eclipse and to test one of his new inventions, a tasimeter.  That was a new word to me, too, and my dictionary doesn't even include it.  According to the article I've linked below, the tasimeter was designed to measure small changes in temperature.  Unfortunately for Edison, the temperature changes were too great for his instrument to work properly, but he had an unforgettable visit to the Equality State.

You can find the whole story here:  
http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/edison-light-bulb-and-eclipse-1878