The Talking Doll
Once Edison had patented his phonograph, he began to develop ways to use it. One idea was to miniaturize the phonograph and insert it into a doll or other toy. The phonograph was enclosed in a tin casing that composed the doll's chest. Then arms, legs, and head were attached for the complete look. Little girls sat in factory stalls and recorded the songs and nursery rhymes that were inscribed on the wax cylinders for the phonographs to play.
Unfortunately, the idea of a talking toy was far ahead of the technology needed to execute it. In 1890, sound recording was in its infancy, and the cracklings and hissing on early records were more disturbing when they were supposed to be the voices of sweet-faced dolls. Also consumers complained the dolls were too fragile and broke …show more content…
The idea, which Edison's laboratory experimented with during the 1880s and 1890s, was to use magnets to split iron ore from unusable lower-grade ores and separate them into two bins. This would mean that abandoned mines could be profitable once again through the extraction of iron from sand at the sites. At the time, iron ore prices had risen to unprecedented heights and many companies were interested in finding a similar solution to extract this precious ore.
While Edison's laboratory was developing a magnetic ore-separator and putting it to practical use, Edison himself acquired rights to 145 abandoned mines and set up a pilot project at the Ogden mine in New Jersey. Edison constructed several large-scale plants that he believed could process 5,000 tons of ore each day. Edison poured money into the project, gradually selling most of his interest in the General Electric Company to pay for his work. The engineering problems were never worked out and the price of iron ore fell, leading Edison to finally abandon his precious separator after a decade of
Once Edison had patented his phonograph, he began to develop ways to use it. One idea was to miniaturize the phonograph and insert it into a doll or other toy. The phonograph was enclosed in a tin casing that composed the doll's chest. Then arms, legs, and head were attached for the complete look. Little girls sat in factory stalls and recorded the songs and nursery rhymes that were inscribed on the wax cylinders for the phonographs to play.
Unfortunately, the idea of a talking toy was far ahead of the technology needed to execute it. In 1890, sound recording was in its infancy, and the cracklings and hissing on early records were more disturbing when they were supposed to be the voices of sweet-faced dolls. Also consumers complained the dolls were too fragile and broke …show more content…
The idea, which Edison's laboratory experimented with during the 1880s and 1890s, was to use magnets to split iron ore from unusable lower-grade ores and separate them into two bins. This would mean that abandoned mines could be profitable once again through the extraction of iron from sand at the sites. At the time, iron ore prices had risen to unprecedented heights and many companies were interested in finding a similar solution to extract this precious ore.
While Edison's laboratory was developing a magnetic ore-separator and putting it to practical use, Edison himself acquired rights to 145 abandoned mines and set up a pilot project at the Ogden mine in New Jersey. Edison constructed several large-scale plants that he believed could process 5,000 tons of ore each day. Edison poured money into the project, gradually selling most of his interest in the General Electric Company to pay for his work. The engineering problems were never worked out and the price of iron ore fell, leading Edison to finally abandon his precious separator after a decade of