New York City

Nikola Tesla, an FBI file and a “death ray” in a hotel safe — he was born 170 years ago today. When Nikola Tesla died poor and alone at the Hotel New Yorker in 1943, the Office of Alien Property seized around 80 boxes from his estate. The rumor at the time: his legendary “death ray” was locked in the hotel safe. The safe was opened by MIT professor John G. Trump — uncle of the later U.S. president. His report: a harmless measuring device. That’s the official version — and the FBI file is public for anyone to read today. Also in our documentary reel (2:15): how Tesla sent 250,000 volts through his own body in 1891, how his radio-controlled boat “answered” the cube root of 64 with four blinks of light in 1898 — and why every MRI in the world still measures in “tesla.” Born 170 years ago today — at midnight, legend says, during a lightning storm. We remember the man who lit the world. 🕯️ You can light a candle for him on his memorial page at emoria.app. Which part surprised you most: the safe, the 250,000 volts or the boat? PS: At the 1893 World’s Fair, Tesla and Westinghouse won the lighting contract with a $399,000 bid — against $1.72 million from Edison’s General Electric. 92,000 lamps. #NikolaTesla #History #Inventor Photos: The Nikola Tesla Museum · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Death-ray scene: AI illustration

Did you know? Two years after his Oscars for "The Deer Hunter", Michael Cimino was hailed as an untouchable directing genius. Then came "Heaven's Gate" — a western epic so lavish that its 1980 failure became a turning point. United Artists was sold soon after, and the freewheeling director-driven cinema of the 1970s was declared over. A single film made Hollywood history — as a cautionary tale.

Did you know? After his liberation from Buchenwald in 1945, Elie Wiesel did not speak of what he had endured for ten years. "I made a vow: not to speak, not to touch upon the essential for at least ten years," he later explained — long enough to find the right words. Only then did he write "Night," which became an enduring testimony to the Holocaust.

Did you know? Back in 1970, long before the internet or the smartphone, Alvin Toffler described in "Future Shock" the feeling of being overwhelmed by too much change in too little time – and coined the term "information overload." His most important collaborator was his wife Heidi, who co-wrote for decades uncredited before finally being named as co-author.

Did you know? Eli Wallach acted in more than 90 films across six decades — from Tuco in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" to the bandit Calvera in "The Magnificent Seven." Not one of those roles ever earned him an Oscar nomination. Only in 2010, at the age of 94, did he receive an Honorary Academy Award for his life's work — becoming the oldest Oscar recipient ever.

Did you know? Jonas Salk developed the first polio vaccine — and deliberately chose never to patent it. Asked who owned the patent, he replied: "The people. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?" A fortune was within reach; he chose to give it to everyone.

Did you know? George Carlin's legendary „Seven Dirty Words“ routine reached the US Supreme Court. The 1978 ruling still shapes what may air on US broadcast media.

Today marks 25 years since Carroll O'Connor (1924–2001) passed away. American actor.