UNDERDOGS UNITE (the U.D. series #1)

This is the kickoff of a series I am going to do about the people out there that should have been on top, but were beaten down and ended up face down in the shit. THE UNDERDOG.

My favorite shit-eating victim by far is Nikola Tesla… not to be confused with the band Tesla. I am talking about one of the most underrated and brilliant inventors in history. He was not only ahead of his time, but possibly even ours. Some of his inventions still baffle some of the most respected modern scientists.

Nikola was born at the stroke of midnight on July 10th 1856 in what is now Croatia. When the curlies came in he left Croatia to attend Austrian Polytechnic in Graz, Austria. After completing degrees in Physics, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and receiving his graduate degree in Physics at Charles University in Prague, he worked around Europe as chief-electrical-guru at every important electric company. During this time he invented the first loud speaker and became known for memorizing complete books.

He finally made his way to America in 1884 to begin work with his soon to be adversary Thomas Edison. After arriving in America and basically cleaning house at Edison Machine Works, Edison realized Tesla’s potential and put him to work correcting Edison’s direct currant generators (DC). Edison promised $50,000 dollars (over $1,000,000 today) upon completion. Surprised by the quickness with which Tesla delivered, Edison reportedly laughed when our boy Nikola inquired about the monies owed to him. Surely Tesla knew that Edison was "joking" when he offered him the 50 grand! WTF! Tesla quickly resigned leaving behind patents that that made Edison’s company millions.

After leaving Edi-sin in 1886, Tesla hit the ground running starting his own company Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing. During the beginnings of his company he worked as a day laborer to fund his most well known achievement, the alternating current induction motor (AC). This would later be the fuel for the “war of the currents” (AC/DC) with Edison in which Tesla is named the victor. Later in 1886 Tesla invented the Tesla coil... an idea that lead him to inventing the radio. NIKOLA TESLA entered the first patent for the radio in 1896. A short year later he demonstrated radio control technology by controlling a boat from a distance at Madison Square Gardens. He went on to invent the spark plug, wireless telegraphy (precursor to T.V.), RADAR, the X-ray, and vertical take off and landing aircrafts. In 1899 he wirelessly transmitted electric signals from Pikes Peak to Paris. Around this time, he proved in his diary that the earth was a massive conductor after his experiments with the ionosphere and the grounds telluric currents via transverse waves and longitudinal waves. Through this dicovery Tesla claimed to have the ability to “split Earth like an apple” by resonating it to a certain frequency.

While experimenting with stationary waves in 1902, Tesla killed his reputation by claiming to have recorded extraterrestrial radio signals (a repeating pattern of one then two then three then four clicks.) During this time, Tesla began construction on the Wardenclyffe Tower, which was the realization of what would have been wireless power transmission. Had this tower been completed the world as we know it may have been completely different... imagine free flowing energy, ergo no electric bills (if I understand wireless power transmission correctly.) In 1904 for some unknown reason the patent office reversed Tesla’s patent, giving it to Marconi, DAMN! The Nobel Prize for physics was also awarded to Marconi in 1909, DOUBLE DAMN!! In 1915 Tesla and Edison were mentioned as possibilities for sharing the Nobel, but because neither would agree to sharing it, neither were awarded it. During WW1 Wardenclyffe was dismantled for scrap. After the war Nikola built Telefunkin wireless station in Sayville, Long Island. The government seized Telefunkin and deemed all of its contents top secret.

Toward the end of Tesla’s life he was working on a weapon. He called it teleforce, others called it the "death ray." Tesla claimed it had the potential to end all wars by having the ability to destroy up to 10,000 planes in the air before they even reached the target country’s borders. He was also working on a unified field theory that he called the “dynamic theory of gravity.” It was a middle finger to Einstein that he claims would have unified gravity and electromagnetism. Actually, Tesla had fairly strong feelings toward Einstein’s theory of relativity stating it was “like a beggar clothed in purple whom ignorant people take for a king.” Tesla died before unveiling this theory to the public. He was found dead alone on January 8th 1943 forgotten and living in poverty.

Like I said, underdog in the truest sense of the word.

My pal David Henderson wrote a song about it... "The Wizard of Menlow Park"

I would link you to David, but I have no idea where he is, what he is doing, or if he even has linkage.