Today I revisited the podcast from which my favourite Tesla fact comes from, the episode of a show called Shut Up A Second titled "Bugs". Prior to starting this brief I learned on this podcast that as a child Tesla had envisioned plans for beetle powered electricity, using them as drivers for cogs similar to hamsters in wheels (that is mainly in cartoons I know but the principle is the same). He had this idea for a couple of weeks until he showed one of his fathers friends children, who immediately sat down next to Tesla's prototype and ate all the beetles he saw inside it. Aside from being hilarious, this anecdote is basically the core of what I want to explore about Tesla through my poster - that while being a genius, some of his ideas were really out there.
Some quick responses to a possible bug powered future.
Visual research into Coraline bug concepts based on feedback and suggestions from the Easter Crit
Coraline Bug Room Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JdZXhLTw4I
The quality on this video isn't great but this scene from Coraline is very visually compelling to me, as it is beautiful and eerie at the same time, because nothing in the background stays completely still, everything is shifting and clicking and twitching gently. I think if today's electricity was powered by bugs as young Tesla intended, it would be a variation on this scene. Or at least I'd hope so.
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