Vitali Vitaliev is darkly fascinated with the most macabre invention from the world of electrical engineering. Out of all the groundbreaking inventions in the field of electrical engineering, I've always been darkly fascinated with one - a contraption more readily associated with digging the ground than breaking it. I am talking about the electric chair, or 'Old Sparky', as it is often referred to in the States. A bit of history. In 1887, New York State established a committee to determine a new, more humane, system of execution to replace hanging. Neither Edison nor Tesla as part of the 'War of Currents' wanted their electrical system to be chosen because they feared that consumers would not want the type of electricity used to kill criminals in their homes. In order to prove that AC electricity was dangerous and better for executions, Brown and Edison, who promoted DC electricity, publicly killed many animals with AC for the press to ensure that alternating current was associated with electrical death. The term "electrocution" was coined.
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