1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:08,960 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology? With 3 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: tech Stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hello again, everyone, 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: and then welcome to tech stuff. My name is Chris 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: Poulette and I'm an editor and how stuff works dot 6 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 1: Com sitting in a cross from me as always a 7 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: senior writer Jonathan. Everyone my age remembers where they were 8 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: and what they were doing when they first heard about 9 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 1: the contest. Oh, I know I have an idea where 10 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:37,879 Speaker 1: that might be from excellent. Um. Actually, today we're off 11 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: to see the Wizard. Yes, well sort of the Wizard 12 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: of Men. Yeah, so before we before everyone gets excited, 13 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:50,160 Speaker 1: we are not doing an episode specifically about Thomas Alva Edison. 14 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: In this episode We're gonna be talking about him a lot, 15 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 1: but this episode is really about the first of a 16 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: three part series about the company General Electric or g E. 17 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: And why might we be mentioning uh, Mr Thomas albat Edison. Well, 18 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: probably because he was one of four people that you 19 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: could credit the whole existence of GE. Uh, you know, 20 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 1: without whom g would not exist, right. Yeah. The other three, 21 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:20,839 Speaker 1: I would argue would be Charles A. Coffin, Eli, Hugh Thompson, 22 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: and Edwin Houston or Houston. I have no idea how 23 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: he would have pronounced his name. I've heard it both ways. 24 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: So but but Edison of clearly is the the name 25 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: that jumps out at people when you talk about General Electric. 26 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: And it's no surprise. He was a famous inventor, UH, 27 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: an engineer. He was a great businessman. He was a 28 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: very good showman. UH and UH and in his day 29 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: he was the equivalent to a rock star, you know. 30 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: I mean the newspapers wrote about them, and people would 31 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: flock to see demonstrations the same way you might go 32 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: and try and get those second row seats to see 33 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: you know, a C D C. Yeah, there we go. 34 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: That's that's awesome. I'm sorry, I just had to throw 35 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: that in there. I was struggling to figure out a 36 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: good band name to throw in. But a C D 37 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 1: C S works so well. Yeah. Yeah, Well, the reason 38 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: I wanted to uh to start with UH with Edison 39 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: specifically and Jonathan Thrt. The these uh, these four gentlemen 40 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:27,919 Speaker 1: are crucial in understanding where ge comes from. But uh, 41 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: you know, in in business, the business world, when two 42 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: companies decide to merge, they will often take the name 43 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: that they think will be the most successful. And G 44 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: E actually the name itself derives mostly from Edison's company 45 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 1: that he started, Edison General Electric. And to to know 46 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: about ess in General Electric, we actually have to go 47 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: a little further back, because g traces its history back 48 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:57,079 Speaker 1: to even before Edison General Electric existed. All right, so, uh, 49 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 1: you've got in eighteen seventies six. Okay, so Edison was 50 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: born in eighty seven. Uh So Esson goes in E 51 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,679 Speaker 1: and moves to Menlo Park, New Jersey, which is now 52 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:17,359 Speaker 1: called Edison, New Jersey. Yes, no relation, there's no muection. No, 53 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 1: just no, it was it was weird. I don't know. No, No, 54 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: it is of course named after Thomas Alva Edison. Um. So, 55 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy six he creates and an industrial research 56 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: lab in Menlo Park. And and this was a lab 57 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: specifically meant to help study and and push innovation in industry, 58 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: not just not just you know, a think tank, but 59 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: they were Esson was really looking at ways to improve 60 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: systems and create technology that would be useful in some way. 61 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: And and that was his focus. So that's what GE 62 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: traces its history back to, was that the formation of 63 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 1: that lab up in eighteen seventy six, which is kind 64 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: of funny because when you think about it, there were 65 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: other things going on at the same time. That ge 66 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: also owes its existence too, And really you could argue 67 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: since the Edison, the General Edison or the Edison General 68 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:18,159 Speaker 1: Electric Company didn't exist yet. In fact, that wouldn't exist 69 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 1: until eighteen ninety. It's kind of interesting to see the 70 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: centennial trace back to um eighteen seventy six. But in 71 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy eight Edison formed the Edison Electric Light Company, 72 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: which was one of the many companies that would eventually 73 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:37,480 Speaker 1: kind of meld together to become Edison General Electric. And uh, 74 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: you guys probably know or at least have heard about 75 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: Edison and his relationship with the lightbulb. He did not 76 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:49,240 Speaker 1: invent the light bulb. He he created an incandescent lightbulb 77 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: that actually was useful, But there were other inventors who 78 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 1: had come up with incandescent light bulbs before Edison. It's 79 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: just that they were they would light for very brief 80 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: amount of time and then they burn out, and so 81 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: Edison was the one who actually managed to improve upon that. 82 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: So we often credit him with creating the lightbulb, because 83 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: he really created the first useful one, right. And then, 84 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:16,359 Speaker 1: of course, uh, one of the things that we touched 85 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: on a moment ago about him being a shrewd business person, um, 86 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: he was good about once he had uh set out 87 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: to create this, this new lightbulb, this more effective lightbulb. 88 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 1: He also got into the business of helping wire people's 89 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: homes because hey, I mean, let's let's look at it 90 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 1: from this perspective. You've got a lightbulb, but people's homes 91 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 1: aren't wired for electricity. So what's the point. Yes, how 92 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:42,839 Speaker 1: many people does it take? The scruminal label doesn't matter. 93 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: We don't have electricity exactly. And so there there were 94 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:49,720 Speaker 1: a lot of um, wealthy business people who wanted electricity. 95 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,720 Speaker 1: I mean, hey, this is pretty cool, um. And so 96 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,599 Speaker 1: Mr Edison was in the habit of, um he really 97 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,839 Speaker 1: wanted to set up an entire system and uh, you 98 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:03,239 Speaker 1: know that's really kind of the background. But behind starting 99 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: this uh laboratory, as Jonathan likes to say, is hey, 100 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: let's find ways to capitalize on this. We can we 101 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,280 Speaker 1: can do this, and we can wire homes. Let's let's 102 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:16,480 Speaker 1: what else can we do to capitalize on what we 103 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,279 Speaker 1: know about electricity, and so he really got into the 104 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:21,920 Speaker 1: business along with all the other people with whom he worked, 105 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:27,039 Speaker 1: of really making an electrical industry. And that's really what 106 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: g E is about. And he was even looking at 107 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: things like electric railways, which that that was that was 108 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:34,919 Speaker 1: the method of transportation back at that time. You know, 109 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: if you were traveling, if you weren't traveling by rail, 110 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:42,680 Speaker 1: you're traveling by horse like electric trolleys, street cars. So 111 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: that these were really important projects for him, and and 112 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:48,040 Speaker 1: you know, to be able to develop these things, you 113 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:50,600 Speaker 1: also had to develop the infrastructure. I mean the infrastructure 114 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: didn't exist either. So this was an enormous undertaking. And 115 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: he employed lots and lots of other folks working with him, 116 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: many of whom contributed UH to the innovative developments in 117 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 1: the General Electric Company, both before and after it actually 118 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: became GE. So nine he starts to UH to merge 119 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 1: these different companies that he started together and calls it 120 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: Edison General Electric. So it makes sense it's all these 121 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: different specialized companies and now it's General Yes exactly. Yeah, 122 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 1: because because it wouldn't make sense to call it one thing, 123 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: like call it the Electric you know, the Electric Light Company, 124 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: but they also work in rail. Yes, you know, that 125 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: just doesn't make sense unless it's light rail. But anyway, 126 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 1: so at the same time that this is going on, 127 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: there's another company called the American Electric Company. Yep. Now 128 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: we touched on on one of Edison's major rivalries before 129 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: on the podcast, of course, that being a Mr Tesla 130 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 1: who's photo is still staring a hole into the side 131 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: of your head. Yes. Yes. One of the funny things 132 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: about this studio that we record in is, I mean, 133 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 1: everybody on all the House stuff works dot Com podcast 134 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: records in this room. Yet we have Edison and Tesla 135 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 1: in here with us, and all the other famous people 136 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: photos are out out there. So yeah, anyhow, we we 137 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 1: touched on his relationship. We also, um, I don't recall 138 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:21,320 Speaker 1: if we mentioned George Westinghouse in that podcast. He have 139 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: He of course was uh sort of instrumental in working 140 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: with Tesla to bring around a C when when Edison 141 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: wanted d C as the standard. But there were other 142 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: people who were competing with Edison for the purposes of 143 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: wiring homes and bringing electric lighting to homes and businesses. 144 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:43,559 Speaker 1: I should say, yeah, no, no, the American Electric Company 145 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,040 Speaker 1: was one of those, and they were They were out 146 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: of New Britain, Connecticut, and there was a group of 147 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,680 Speaker 1: investors there that was in charge of financing the company. 148 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: But the company was kind of struggling, and the company 149 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 1: had been founded had been founded by two of those 150 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:03,000 Speaker 1: gentlemen I had engined earlier, Elihu Thompson and Edwin Houston, 151 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:06,959 Speaker 1: both of whom were engineers Uh and Uh. Thompson was 152 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 1: an engineer, an inventor, and Houston was an electrical electrical engineer. 153 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 1: And they they had founded this company. The investors had 154 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:16,719 Speaker 1: put their money into it, but they were kind of 155 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: stuck in this tiny little region. There were some other 156 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 1: investors who thought that the company had potential to grow 157 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:26,560 Speaker 1: and blossom, but it needed to get out from under 158 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 1: the thumb of those investors, and so they called in 159 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: a fellow named Charles A. Coffin, who was a businessman. 160 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: He was not an engineer. He was a guy who 161 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:39,720 Speaker 1: had a shoe factory um and what a very successful one. 162 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,440 Speaker 1: Had become quite a wealthy man, and he was called 163 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: in to actually buy out this company from under these investors, 164 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: and it was renamed the Thompson Houston Electric Company, and 165 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 1: it actually flourished. It did really well, in fact, so 166 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: well that it was rivaling Edison's General Electric Company, especially 167 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:02,960 Speaker 1: in specific regions. In fact, Thompson Houston Electric, you know, 168 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:05,439 Speaker 1: one of the city's, one of the stays we're very 169 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: very close to right now, was wired by Thompson Houston originally. 170 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:17,080 Speaker 1: Really yeah, they'd be hard Lanta, Georgia. What, yes, indeed, yeah, 171 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:20,320 Speaker 1: it turns out that Mr Coffin was there for the undertaking. Yes, 172 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: and both talk more about Coffin as well. So well, 173 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:26,080 Speaker 1: now I was gonna say, you remember when we talked 174 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 1: about the Colombian Exposition, the Chicago World's Fair. Uh, Thompson 175 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: Houston was one of the rivals to Edison for lighting 176 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: that exposition, and they you know, there was a bitter, 177 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:42,400 Speaker 1: bitter rivalry between the two companies there for a while, 178 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 1: but they kissed and made up because in eighteen ninety two, 179 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 1: so just two years after Edison General Electric was founded, 180 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: in Edison, General Electric and Thompson Houston Electric merged and 181 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:59,839 Speaker 1: they formed General Electric. And the very first CEO of 182 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:04,439 Speaker 1: General Electric was Charles A. Coffin. Well, look at that, 183 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: so Edison was considered a founder of General Electric and Coffin, 184 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:13,680 Speaker 1: since he had shown a very acute sense of business acumen. 185 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:19,240 Speaker 1: As it was an obtuse, it was acute. Uh. He 186 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:22,680 Speaker 1: he ended up being the guy in charge and he 187 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:27,679 Speaker 1: started to um to really take take initiative. And in 188 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:31,080 Speaker 1: fact he had a big test early, early, early on 189 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,640 Speaker 1: in the history of ge in eight so just one 190 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 1: year after the company had been founded, out of these 191 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: other two separate companies, Uh, Coffin had to guide the 192 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 1: company through what was called the Panic of eighte. Yeah, 193 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:51,240 Speaker 1: it was a it was an economic depression. So we're 194 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:53,319 Speaker 1: just getting weird sound effects through the rest of this podcast. 195 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,439 Speaker 1: It's great, it's no work at all for our producer. Hi, Annie, 196 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:02,680 Speaker 1: we have a new producer today. Uh, she's stepping in capably. 197 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 1: I might add. So in eightee, you have this economic 198 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:10,120 Speaker 1: depression that actually was part of an economic bubble. In 199 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:13,200 Speaker 1: this case, in e it was a railroad bubble. There 200 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: was such a run on trying to build out railroads 201 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: throughout the country that there was an overbuilding problem, and 202 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 1: this overbuilding problem ended up having a bubble burst and 203 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:28,120 Speaker 1: then banks began to fail. So if this sounds familiar, 204 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:31,040 Speaker 1: it's because you could say the housing bubble was very 205 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: similar to the railroad bubble, and that, in fact, we 206 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 1: do not learn from our own history. But that's first 207 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,680 Speaker 1: stuff you missed in history class. This is tech stuff. 208 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:43,199 Speaker 1: I will concentrate on the tech anyway. Coffin ended up 209 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 1: making this deal with banks where they would lend loans 210 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,880 Speaker 1: to g E in return for utility stock, and that 211 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:53,000 Speaker 1: actually kept the company going during this depression and they 212 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,440 Speaker 1: were able to ride it out and as a result, 213 00:12:55,520 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 1: they're still around today. So in eighteen five ge builds 214 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: the world's largest electric locomotive, wow, ninety ton electric locomotive, 215 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 1: and also builds transformers capable of moving this electric locomotive 216 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: because without it, now you just have this enormous thing 217 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:17,440 Speaker 1: that sits there, just like the light bulb in the 218 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: house that has no electricity. Uh. The transformers, which were 219 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: not Optimist Prime nor Megatron. We're talking about the transformers 220 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 1: that are able to change electric current from one voltage 221 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:33,160 Speaker 1: to another effectively could handle up to eight kilowatts. And UH. 222 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: Also that year in something else happened that would become 223 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:43,360 Speaker 1: an important part of GEES history. It was not directly 224 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:45,599 Speaker 1: involving g at this point, but there was a scientist 225 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: named Vilhelm Conrad Rutgen. Yes, he discovered something. He discovered 226 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: X rays. Yeah, you know, I've I've heard about this guy, 227 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: and uh I see right through him. Yeah, totally transparent. Actually, 228 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: uh Renchen's work played a big part in GE. I mean, 229 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: he's he's his work, UH will come up many times 230 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,080 Speaker 1: over the course of the next three podcasts two and 231 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,320 Speaker 1: a half podcast I should say, because GE one of 232 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:22,880 Speaker 1: gs major um industries that it's involved in is medical equipment, 233 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:26,920 Speaker 1: especially medical imaging, but but medical equipment in general. And 234 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: in fact that that first instance happened the next year, 235 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: in so just one year after X rays had been 236 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: first demonstrated to exist, Ali Hu Thompson created electrical equipment 237 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: that was capable of producing X rays, which that that 238 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:50,080 Speaker 1: actually launched gees foray into medical imaging equipment. That was 239 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 1: the same year the GE got listed on the Dow 240 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: in eight So yeah, they're UM, they're already making headway 241 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 1: into to the industries that they would become known for 242 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,960 Speaker 1: further on in their in their history. And one of 243 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:08,240 Speaker 1: the really good things if you can, if you're a 244 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:10,680 Speaker 1: business person, if you can find an industry that is 245 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:15,280 Speaker 1: uh getting started and jump in with both feet, like 246 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:18,960 Speaker 1: like these people did, um, you can make us pretty 247 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 1: big um impact on the industry. And that's exactly what 248 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 1: what G was doing at this point, because they were 249 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: founding whole industries. Really, when you get down to it, 250 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: I mean, the medical imaging field really didn't exist as 251 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: we know it today. And of course now we know 252 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: so much more about these things, but GE was certainly 253 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,440 Speaker 1: a leader in that department. Yeah, and if you've listened 254 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:44,280 Speaker 1: to our other podcasts about companies, you've heard sort of 255 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:47,600 Speaker 1: similar stories, things like Texas Instruments being really into the 256 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:51,440 Speaker 1: whole the solid state electronics. I mean, uh, there are 257 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 1: certain companies that really shaped the way these technologies developed. 258 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 1: It's not just that they were innovators, but they actually 259 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: because they got in so really they almost dictated to 260 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,560 Speaker 1: the rest of the world how these technologies would take form. 261 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,520 Speaker 1: And uh and occasionally you'll see a company really depart 262 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:12,480 Speaker 1: from that and make something pretty cool, but more often 263 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 1: than not, you find out that the form that was 264 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 1: settled on by the company that founded it is the 265 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:22,680 Speaker 1: one that's the most stable. So yeah, G was doing 266 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: some some really important work here, and in nineteen hundred 267 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 1: they registered the trademark for the GE monogram. Yeah, that's 268 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 1: the logo. Yeah. Um. And and this is not especially 269 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:37,640 Speaker 1: significant in a way, but in another it is because 270 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: they're still using that exact same logo. They have established 271 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: themselves as a leading brand and they are. You know, 272 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 1: it's it's a name known worldwide, and brand recognition is 273 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:48,840 Speaker 1: a tricky thing, right, you don't want to mess with 274 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,240 Speaker 1: it too much. And so GE has done a good 275 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:55,120 Speaker 1: job at preserving that the monogram itself has changed slightly. 276 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 1: Sometimes the color scheme changes a little bit, sometimes the 277 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 1: the the lines are adjusted a little bit, but in 278 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 1: general it's the same monogram as was trademarked back in 279 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 1: And also in nineteen hundred, they established a research and 280 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:12,360 Speaker 1: development lab and uh, this was this is the one 281 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:14,399 Speaker 1: that most people say is the first lab in the 282 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:18,240 Speaker 1: United States that was dedicated just to scientific research. That's 283 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,080 Speaker 1: all it was meant for. Yeah, they realized that if 284 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,639 Speaker 1: if they could come up with a lab, a lab. 285 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,040 Speaker 1: So now you're doing that. That's why I that's why 286 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 1: I'm shortening it to lab. Now you don't hear me 287 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: saying laboratory, Yes, that's true. Um, Yeah, the reason they 288 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:36,399 Speaker 1: wanted to start a lab was, uh, you know, you 289 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:40,119 Speaker 1: might think it's counterproductive. Well, if they're not necessarily working 290 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:44,000 Speaker 1: on uh ge stuff, how are they making money from this? Well, 291 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,359 Speaker 1: they figured out that. Um, if they're working on uh, 292 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: you know, in a in a general direction towards something 293 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,360 Speaker 1: that they want to accomplish that uh, they will make 294 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: discoveries that they can use and capitalize on later. Um. 295 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:00,600 Speaker 1: And uh you know that's actually pretty common in the 296 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:03,680 Speaker 1: podcast that we've talked about that other companies have followed 297 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:06,880 Speaker 1: ges lead in this regard and has paid off for them. Yeah, 298 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: I mean look at look at Google, and it's twenty 299 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:12,280 Speaker 1: percent time. Now. You could also argue that a lot 300 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 1: of the Google projects that came out of time ultimately 301 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:19,440 Speaker 1: kind of didn't go anywhere. But the point is is 302 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: that a lot of innovation that eventually finds its way 303 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 1: into Google products and services comes out of that twenty 304 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 1: percent time. It may not be its own individual thing. 305 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 1: Like you might not point out a specific product and 306 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,920 Speaker 1: say this is the result of twenty time from Google, 307 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 1: but you might see a feature that's in another product 308 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,639 Speaker 1: and say, actually that that grew out of other project 309 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 1: that it wouldn't exist without it. So yeah, that's really 310 00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:49,200 Speaker 1: gees recognition that the innovation is going to play a 311 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 1: major role in an industry. And and of course this 312 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,879 Speaker 1: is an era in the United States history where industry 313 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:01,719 Speaker 1: and innovation were paramount in in people's minds. I mean, 314 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,159 Speaker 1: it was one of those things that was just uh 315 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:08,679 Speaker 1: stressed by by the news and just the development of 316 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:13,520 Speaker 1: the industrial age overall. So it was an exciting time. Yeah, 317 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,080 Speaker 1: in the United States. Right around the same time, you've 318 00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:20,879 Speaker 1: got the physicists who are making incredible discoveries. I mean, 319 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: this is an era of discovery that is is hard 320 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,480 Speaker 1: to it's hard to exaggerate, you know, because it was 321 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 1: so amazingly important. It's like right up there with the 322 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:35,879 Speaker 1: Renaissance as far as uh, as as discoveries and and 323 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:40,040 Speaker 1: uh and the advancement of thought goes. Yeah, oh, by 324 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:42,960 Speaker 1: the way that that lab, that lab was in Schenectady, 325 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 1: New York. Yeah, I keep on saying just New York. 326 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 1: If I ever say just New York, it's chances are 327 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:51,600 Speaker 1: M saying s connected e, which I can't say. I 328 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,639 Speaker 1: just like saying Schenectady. Actually, that's going to come up 329 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:57,520 Speaker 1: a lot too, which is why I'm just going to 330 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:00,280 Speaker 1: say New York. And then Chris can pop in with 331 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:03,159 Speaker 1: the actual town name, because I want to embarrass myself 332 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 1: as as as a few times as possible in this podcast. 333 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,160 Speaker 1: You could say an area just northwest of Albany. There 334 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:13,159 Speaker 1: we go, just northwest of Albany. Is the place in 335 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:16,800 Speaker 1: New York? All right? In nineteen o two, a fellow 336 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 1: names James J. Wood received a patent for an invention 337 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,720 Speaker 1: that GE ended up turning into a product. Do you 338 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:27,520 Speaker 1: know what I'm talking about? That would be the electric fan? Yes, indeed, 339 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,680 Speaker 1: something that is incredibly important down here in the South. 340 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:36,120 Speaker 1: Also incredibly important for those of you who have computers, Yes, 341 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,320 Speaker 1: or at least a lot of computers, which require a 342 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:42,639 Speaker 1: very small electric fan to keep the processors from overheating 343 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: and your computer from shutting down. Yes, we can thank 344 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 1: James Wood for that. Not James Woods, different guy. I mean, 345 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:52,760 Speaker 1: he's awesome and everything, and you could go up and 346 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:54,959 Speaker 1: thank him for the electric fan and he might even 347 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:59,240 Speaker 1: say you're welcome, But that's not the right guy. That 348 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 1: was actually done for the Fort Wayne Electric Works. There's 349 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: a really cool well to me, it was really cool, 350 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:08,120 Speaker 1: uh photo of this on the GE website because it's got, 351 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,000 Speaker 1: you know, the big f W E W thing right 352 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:13,080 Speaker 1: in the hub in the center of the fans. So 353 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:17,440 Speaker 1: it's it's um, very um turn of the century looking. Yeah, yeah, 354 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:21,800 Speaker 1: it's pretty cool stuff. In n three, they created the 355 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,479 Speaker 1: world's largest steam turbine engine at that point. It was 356 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:29,159 Speaker 1: capable of generating five thousand kilowatts. They went to the 357 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,040 Speaker 1: Fisk Street station in Chicago, UM, and that was this 358 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:37,400 Speaker 1: is one of those things that Edison and his company beforehand, 359 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 1: we're doing. They were working on ways to electrify parts 360 00:21:42,119 --> 00:21:45,480 Speaker 1: of the city. So they were very big into creating 361 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:49,359 Speaker 1: these stations that could be placed in local areas to 362 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 1: provide electricity to uh, you know, different parts of the town. 363 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:58,800 Speaker 1: And um, how many people was it? It was? Uh, 364 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:01,840 Speaker 1: well it was it? Well, yeah, you said that you 365 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:06,000 Speaker 1: were talking about the killer watts, used less space and 366 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 1: came in um under budget, and was more efficient than 367 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:12,399 Speaker 1: they expected it would be. Yeah, they thought that it 368 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,199 Speaker 1: was going to be. I think it was something like 369 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:17,040 Speaker 1: four times larger than what it actually was. So it 370 00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:20,959 Speaker 1: was it really spoke to the the skills of the 371 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 1: engineers and the designers behind it, who were able to 372 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: create a much more efficient system than they had originally imagined. Well, 373 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,119 Speaker 1: considering that we were talking about at the beginning of 374 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:33,879 Speaker 1: the podcast how this all started. This whole venture was 375 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:38,480 Speaker 1: started in the mid eighteen seventies, and we're talking about 376 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 1: thirty years later and they're already making these these huge advances. 377 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,160 Speaker 1: It just you know, and they really moved quickly. Speaking 378 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,680 Speaker 1: of huge advances, in nineteen o five, the Model D 379 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:54,600 Speaker 1: twelve hits the scene and changes the world. It was 380 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: the greatest thing since sliced bread. Yes, the electric toaster. 381 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:01,679 Speaker 1: There's another really cool picture of the toaster because it 382 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,160 Speaker 1: has no side. Yeah. I just sit there and look 383 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:06,520 Speaker 1: at them like that just looks like potential second degree 384 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 1: burn written all over it. Yes, keep the cat off 385 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:12,800 Speaker 1: the counter, Yeah, keep keep everything off again. Put the 386 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 1: electric toaster in the backyard. Yeah. Imagine if you will, 387 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 1: the the traditional style vertical toaster where you dropped the 388 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:23,879 Speaker 1: bread inside the toaster and everything with the slots. But 389 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,480 Speaker 1: the thing is, yeah, and remove the casing so it's 390 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:29,880 Speaker 1: basically just the metal framework. And I'm sure it worked great. 391 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:33,880 Speaker 1: But yeah, but here again g is coming up with 392 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: ways to monetize electricity. So hey, it's something else you 393 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,040 Speaker 1: can put in your home along with your fan and 394 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:41,280 Speaker 1: your light bulb. Yeah, that's right, that's right. That's another 395 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,200 Speaker 1: thing is that you know, G had a vested interest 396 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 1: in making sure that there were lots of products that 397 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 1: ran on electricity so that you would want it. Uh. 398 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: They also in nine to know five they established the 399 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:55,920 Speaker 1: Electric Bond and Share Company, which was designed to provide 400 00:23:56,280 --> 00:24:00,240 Speaker 1: financing too smaller companies out there that would so in 401 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:02,280 Speaker 1: a way to try and help out other companies that 402 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:06,320 Speaker 1: could potentially buy electricity from them, by electricity from them, 403 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:09,520 Speaker 1: or create things that they could then you know, these 404 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:12,280 Speaker 1: could be companies that that the G might acquire later, 405 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,560 Speaker 1: but or things that made electrical equipment that made it 406 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:19,120 Speaker 1: necessary for people to buy more electricity. Lots of different reasons. 407 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:23,639 Speaker 1: And then eventually this this UM division, this service actually 408 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:28,920 Speaker 1: would evolve into Gas Commercial Finance Division. Back in nineteen 409 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 1: o six, on Christmas Eve, there was an historic event. 410 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:40,000 Speaker 1: Ernst Frederick Verna Alexanderson. Yeah, that's a thrish Dish. He 411 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:44,360 Speaker 1: was an an inventor who created a high frequency alternator 412 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:48,080 Speaker 1: which was used in a radio broadcast, the world's first 413 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 1: voice radio broadcast, so not a not radio communication that 414 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,640 Speaker 1: had been around for a little bit. And uh, and 415 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:56,800 Speaker 1: some some tests have been done, but this was the 416 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:01,200 Speaker 1: first time there was a radio broadcast made on Christmas Eve. UM, 417 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,320 Speaker 1: so that's pretty interesting that it was a g E 418 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:08,200 Speaker 1: employee who created the high frequency alternator that made that possible. 419 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:16,800 Speaker 1: GE built thirty ton gearless electric locomotives for the New 420 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:21,159 Speaker 1: York Central Railroad. Uh So, again, still very much in 421 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:24,400 Speaker 1: that railroad mode of transportation. I mean we're still talking 422 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:27,200 Speaker 1: the earliest parts of the twentieth century, so that's still 423 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,800 Speaker 1: the best way to get lots of stuff across large spaces. Well, 424 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:35,719 Speaker 1: at the time, they if you coupled two locomotives together, 425 00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:40,840 Speaker 1: and these were horsepower locomotives each. Uh So if you 426 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,359 Speaker 1: couple two of them together, they could pull pretty much 427 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:46,480 Speaker 1: anything that they could put on, you know, on a 428 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,960 Speaker 1: train car. They were saying that they could handle the 429 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:52,480 Speaker 1: loads that they were putting on them at that point. 430 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:55,880 Speaker 1: So these were substantial machines. The heaviest loads that had 431 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,240 Speaker 1: been pulled at that by that time were pull double 432 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:02,959 Speaker 1: by these things. Uh In nineteen o nine, the Research 433 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:08,440 Speaker 1: and Development Lab produced a duct tile tungsten filament which 434 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:12,199 Speaker 1: made incandescent bulbs much more efficient. It was William D. 435 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:14,520 Speaker 1: Coolidge helped out with that. William D. Coolidge is the 436 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:18,440 Speaker 1: guy responsible and uh so yeah, this this made incandescent 437 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,560 Speaker 1: bulbs last longer than they had before, and which was 438 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:25,200 Speaker 1: good because even back when they were first hitting the scene, 439 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:31,679 Speaker 1: they weren't They didn't last terribly long. With a few exceptions. 440 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:33,919 Speaker 1: It all depended on what the filament was made out of. 441 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,360 Speaker 1: And Edison's I believe was made out of a bamboo 442 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:42,520 Speaker 1: if I'm not mistaken, Um, the old bamboo. Uh well, 443 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,200 Speaker 1: and uh the funny thing about this tungsten filament that 444 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,880 Speaker 1: Mr Coolidge came up with, it's still basically the one 445 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:53,160 Speaker 1: that incandescent bulbs used today use. So um, it's it's 446 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:56,880 Speaker 1: proved long lasting. Yes, yes, and g E Is also 447 00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:59,719 Speaker 1: looked into alternatives two incandescent bulbs, which we will talk 448 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:04,120 Speaker 1: about further in but uh. In nineteen ten, they developed 449 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,240 Speaker 1: the company developed the first electric cooking range. Do you 450 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:09,359 Speaker 1: know what that was called? Yes, well, it was a 451 00:27:09,359 --> 00:27:12,840 Speaker 1: brand that's still used today for appliances hot Point hot 452 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:16,520 Speaker 1: Point nineteen twelve. So in nineteen twelve, a lot of 453 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:18,840 Speaker 1: stuff happens. First of all, Coffin steps down as the 454 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:24,280 Speaker 1: president of ge UH and E w RICE takes the 455 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:28,800 Speaker 1: Helm and uh GE and starts to introduce improvements in 456 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:33,120 Speaker 1: vacuum tube design, so not inventing vacuum tubes, but improving 457 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:37,760 Speaker 1: upon them. Also was they contributed to the creation of 458 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:43,800 Speaker 1: the very first electrically propelled navy vessel, the U S. S. Jubiter. Yeah, 459 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 1: used a seven thousand horsepower horsepower turbine processor and uh 460 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,480 Speaker 1: was a twenty tho ton collier. Yeah, and you know 461 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:56,240 Speaker 1: what happened in nineteen twenty with the Jupiter. It's pretty exciting. 462 00:27:56,359 --> 00:28:00,640 Speaker 1: So you have the first electrically propelled navy vessel. So 463 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:04,719 Speaker 1: that's that's the Jupiter. In nineteen twenty, the Navy decided 464 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:10,160 Speaker 1: to refit the Jupiter to to transform it into the 465 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,840 Speaker 1: U S. S. Langley, and it became the very first 466 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:17,440 Speaker 1: aircraft carrier. So the Jupiter would eventually become the first 467 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,439 Speaker 1: aircraft carrier. So it's two firsts, the first electrically propelled 468 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:24,920 Speaker 1: vessel for the Navy and the first aircraft carrier. Also 469 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:30,119 Speaker 1: in nineteen twelve, GE began its plastics department, which just 470 00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:34,640 Speaker 1: goes to show you they've graduated. Nice thanks, um, Yeah, 471 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 1: they they're not going to do a seduced joke that 472 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 1: not gonna happen. But they you might say, you know, 473 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,959 Speaker 1: wow that I didn't really realize that plastics were around. 474 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:46,040 Speaker 1: Well they, I would say, they probably weren't in the 475 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:49,080 Speaker 1: way that a lot of us think of plastic. Now, yeah, 476 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:52,520 Speaker 1: this was mostly these were mostly used for industrial purposes 477 00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:55,880 Speaker 1: like wire insulating wires. Yeah, and they were phenomic, which, 478 00:28:56,600 --> 00:29:00,280 Speaker 1: based on my own personal limited knowledge of plastics, sort 479 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 1: of a hard, brittle plastic. Yeah, this isn't multiple plastic 480 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:07,800 Speaker 1: that would come later. So in the EN they developed 481 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:12,320 Speaker 1: the hot cathode high vacuum X ray tube, which helped 482 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:16,920 Speaker 1: make U make it X rays more efficient and uh 483 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:21,080 Speaker 1: and reliable, so that doctors could use this technology in 484 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:24,880 Speaker 1: a way that would uh it would it would consume 485 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 1: less energy and it was easier to control. Hey, and 486 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:30,320 Speaker 1: you know what it used? What's that tungsten? Yeah, of 487 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 1: course it did so a cold cathode, aluminum cathode. So ntour. Well, 488 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:40,040 Speaker 1: this is the year where one of those four men 489 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:44,320 Speaker 1: I mentioned, Edwin J. Houston or Houston when he passes 490 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:48,200 Speaker 1: away in nineteen fourteen. That same year, g E starts 491 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:53,200 Speaker 1: to provide electrical components that are used within the locks 492 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:57,880 Speaker 1: in the Panama Canal. Thanks President Roosevelt. There we go. 493 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:02,240 Speaker 1: Nineteen fifteen, GE develops cal Rod, which is a heat 494 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:06,800 Speaker 1: conducting ceramic that also acts as an insulator. Yeah, used 495 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:10,160 Speaker 1: in electric range tops. Sorry, um yeah, one of the 496 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:12,680 Speaker 1: uh one again, this is one of the topics that 497 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:16,440 Speaker 1: will come up probably a handful of times in this discussion. 498 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:20,640 Speaker 1: Um cal Rod is still in use. Um G has 499 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:27,600 Speaker 1: been pretty good about finding materials that have multiple uses 500 00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:31,640 Speaker 1: and just do so well that they you know, they 501 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:35,440 Speaker 1: hang around for years. Yeah, yeah, if it ain't broke. Uh. 502 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:42,480 Speaker 1: Nineteen seventeen, they developed the first hermetically sealed refrigerator refrigerator. Yeah, 503 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:46,600 Speaker 1: so uh, when we're talking about the icebox, we're starting 504 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:50,320 Speaker 1: to speak metaphorically, right, finally, Yeah, because before before that 505 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 1: it was literal. Do you actually did have to get 506 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:53,880 Speaker 1: a big block of ice and put it in a 507 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:58,000 Speaker 1: box to try and keep stuff cold. Meanwhile, dozens of 508 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:02,320 Speaker 1: of ice men are hanging out outside Menlo Park and 509 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 1: Schenected Eat, shouting and waving their fist and big signs 510 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:11,680 Speaker 1: made out of ice rapidly melting in. They developed the magnetron, 511 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,000 Speaker 1: which was a vacuum tube that uses magnetic fields to 512 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,800 Speaker 1: control power output. And you guys have probably heard us 513 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,680 Speaker 1: talk about magnetrons before because they've been used in a 514 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:24,200 Speaker 1: couple of different technologies, one of which was radar. Yes. 515 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:26,480 Speaker 1: But then one of the guys who was working on 516 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:30,120 Speaker 1: radar with a magnetron noticed something interesting. Oh, yes, the 517 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:33,400 Speaker 1: chocolate bar melting in his pocket. Yes, which indicated that 518 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:35,720 Speaker 1: there was something hinky going on. And that led to 519 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:40,160 Speaker 1: the discovery of microwaves and their potential use as a 520 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:44,320 Speaker 1: heating element. And so yes, magnetrons now are used in 521 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:48,480 Speaker 1: not just radar, but also microwaves. I feel like I'm 522 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:53,600 Speaker 1: being cooked slowly. This could probably be useful for something. UH. 523 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:56,920 Speaker 1: And that same year they also developed a two watt 524 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:02,320 Speaker 1: alternator that allowed for trans oceanic radio broadcasts. So now 525 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:05,400 Speaker 1: people can talk to each other across the ocean, and 526 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:09,160 Speaker 1: UH and Yale insults at each other directly. Actually, it 527 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:13,440 Speaker 1: was used during World War one two to transmit information 528 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:19,160 Speaker 1: between UH, the Allied Expeditionary Yeah, Expeditionary Force, and UH 529 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:22,320 Speaker 1: in the United States itself from from back and forth 530 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:25,920 Speaker 1: during during the war to communicate plans and things. And 531 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:28,640 Speaker 1: speaking of World War one, alright, so in nineteen nineteen, 532 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:30,239 Speaker 1: this is this is where I'm going to go off 533 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:32,840 Speaker 1: in a little bit of a tangent en. Here's a 534 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:35,840 Speaker 1: big mess in World War One. So the United States 535 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:39,000 Speaker 1: government decided during World War One that it would be 536 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:42,200 Speaker 1: really important to gather together all of the different companies 537 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:45,600 Speaker 1: and technologies that had to do with radio because that 538 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:48,479 Speaker 1: would be very useful during the war effort. So they 539 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:52,280 Speaker 1: essentially commandeered everything. More or less. I am oversimplifying for 540 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,120 Speaker 1: the purposes of this podcast, but the United States essentially 541 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:59,000 Speaker 1: commandeers all these different companies assets that are dealing with 542 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:05,120 Speaker 1: radio technology. When the war is over. Uh, the the 543 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:08,480 Speaker 1: United States says, um, well, we don't really want to 544 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:12,040 Speaker 1: give all this stuff back to companies that have overseas 545 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:15,239 Speaker 1: elements because that could eventually be bad. We need an 546 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:20,560 Speaker 1: American company, gosh darned patriotic American company, to take over 547 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:24,479 Speaker 1: a radio development. And so they go to several different companies, 548 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:29,200 Speaker 1: including g E, and say, form an American company that's 549 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:32,680 Speaker 1: all about radio. So they formed the Radio Corporation of 550 00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:37,800 Speaker 1: America or r c A, and g E is Uh. 551 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:41,880 Speaker 1: The the has controlling interest in our c A, but 552 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:45,880 Speaker 1: other companies do to, including Westinghouse and A. T. And 553 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:50,160 Speaker 1: T as well as others. Uh So, it's kind of 554 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:57,080 Speaker 1: a complicated relationship here, but yes, so G, Yeah, it's complicated. 555 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:00,560 Speaker 1: G has controlling interests in our ci A and the 556 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:02,760 Speaker 1: very first CEO of our c A is a man 557 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,920 Speaker 1: named Owen D. Young and he will become important in 558 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:10,320 Speaker 1: a little bit. So moving on, In nine creates a 559 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:13,200 Speaker 1: portable X ray machine, so now you can look at 560 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:16,560 Speaker 1: people on the go. Yeah. They they put in an 561 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:20,720 Speaker 1: X ray tube and the transformer assembly uh in basically 562 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:25,600 Speaker 1: was immersed in oil um which enabled this technology to work. 563 00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:29,120 Speaker 1: But the device only weighed twenty pounds UM and it 564 00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:31,919 Speaker 1: could be used also for for dental X rays, which 565 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:35,160 Speaker 1: is important. Now we still haven't reached the point where 566 00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:38,279 Speaker 1: we have X ray specs, but that's probably a good thing. 567 00:34:38,640 --> 00:34:41,279 Speaker 1: Well that didn't come along until the invention of the 568 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:46,440 Speaker 1: comic book ad. Yeah, yeah right there with Charles Atlas. Yeah, no, 569 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:50,600 Speaker 1: we you wouldn't want those ionizing radiation staying close to 570 00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:52,239 Speaker 1: you for a long bad time. Turns out to be 571 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:54,439 Speaker 1: a bad thing. Yeah, and then there are the people 572 00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:57,719 Speaker 1: that you know never mind um so yeah, like wow, 573 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:03,640 Speaker 1: look at her skeletal structure. U. Anyway, so one a plane, 574 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:09,000 Speaker 1: UH sets an altitude record of hundred feet And the 575 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:12,080 Speaker 1: way it does is it uses something called a supercharger, 576 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:15,960 Speaker 1: which was developed by General Electric and UH. Yeah, the guy, 577 00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:19,880 Speaker 1: the guy I love these stories, a guy named Sanford 578 00:35:19,960 --> 00:35:24,759 Speaker 1: Moss who who realized that sixteen years old that if 579 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:28,319 Speaker 1: you compress UH fuel where if you if you burn 580 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:31,120 Speaker 1: fuel and compressed air environment, you could get more energy 581 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:36,440 Speaker 1: out of the the Actually exactly, the combustion creates more 582 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:39,879 Speaker 1: energy than it would without the compressed air. What he said, 583 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,439 Speaker 1: and Uh and he you know, was working for GE 584 00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:47,120 Speaker 1: and they turned that into a well into a whole 585 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:51,040 Speaker 1: line of jet engines, which would happen later, but yeah, 586 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:57,160 Speaker 1: huge deal. In nineteen twenty two, Coffin retires from the board. 587 00:35:57,239 --> 00:35:59,600 Speaker 1: He had already retired as president. Now he had become 588 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:02,200 Speaker 1: a member of the board and now was retired. UH 589 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:06,839 Speaker 1: and Rice retires as the president. And that's when O. N. D. Young, 590 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:09,840 Speaker 1: the former head of our CIA, becomes the new chairman 591 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:13,040 Speaker 1: of the board and a guy named Gerard Swope becomes 592 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:16,759 Speaker 1: the new president of g E and Swope and UH 593 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:22,279 Speaker 1: and Young together began to really focus on creating UH 594 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:27,240 Speaker 1: gadgets for the home appliances for the home. They really 595 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:30,040 Speaker 1: started to push g E to make more of those, 596 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:35,319 Speaker 1: and and not not to abandon its industrial uh it's 597 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:37,960 Speaker 1: it's industrial efforts as well. It was still making stuff 598 00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:41,200 Speaker 1: for industry and for companies, victories, that kind of stuff, 599 00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:44,120 Speaker 1: but that they wanted to have a whole line of appliances. 600 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:48,880 Speaker 1: And that's also when uh oh and and Swope, by 601 00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:51,360 Speaker 1: the way, another thing that's interesting about him, Gerard Swope 602 00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:55,680 Speaker 1: the president at that point, he was known for really 603 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:59,680 Speaker 1: working to improve labor conditions. He was he was really 604 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:03,680 Speaker 1: on the side of employees more often than not, and 605 00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:06,960 Speaker 1: so he worked to make sure that the uh, the 606 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:11,279 Speaker 1: labor conditions within GE were the best they could be. 607 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:14,279 Speaker 1: He also worked with labor relations and was very much 608 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:19,400 Speaker 1: on their side for um uh negotiations. So Swope was 609 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:23,719 Speaker 1: kind of a kind of a popular president really m 610 00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:27,480 Speaker 1: G while he was there. And they also in nineteen 611 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:30,840 Speaker 1: twenty two created a radio station in New York. What 612 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,000 Speaker 1: town was that that would be in Schenectady. There you go, 613 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:39,239 Speaker 1: and it was w g Y. Yeah, this might not 614 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:41,960 Speaker 1: sound very exciting, but it was one of the very 615 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:46,400 Speaker 1: first to begin regular broadcasting using a and this is 616 00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:50,880 Speaker 1: funny in today's in today's thinking a fifteen hundred transmitter 617 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:56,400 Speaker 1: which probably would get you a few miles away. Here's 618 00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:58,799 Speaker 1: your traffic report. We got Charles up in the tree 619 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:01,480 Speaker 1: outside the office. Charles is, what's what's going on out there? 620 00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:04,800 Speaker 1: There's a horse, all right? And moving on to your requests. 621 00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:10,160 Speaker 1: So it would get better, yes, yes, eventually you had 622 00:38:10,200 --> 00:38:14,839 Speaker 1: the Zoo crew in there. So in nineteen race car 623 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:18,160 Speaker 1: driver named Peter de Polo wins the Indianapolis five hundred 624 00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:20,759 Speaker 1: driving a car that also happens to have a G 625 00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:24,920 Speaker 1: e U supercharger in it, So thanks Mr Moss. Not 626 00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:27,279 Speaker 1: a little jet engine right there in the car. Well no, 627 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:30,120 Speaker 1: but it did the same, had the same effect on 628 00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:35,640 Speaker 1: It was the same effect, and that it went really fast. 629 00:38:35,719 --> 00:38:42,640 Speaker 1: It didn't reacht I hope. So in uh six, Charles 630 00:38:42,719 --> 00:38:48,000 Speaker 1: Coffin passes away, so he's you know, his passing was 631 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:51,920 Speaker 1: another end of an era. At that same time, our 632 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:55,600 Speaker 1: c A, the Radio Corporation of America, acquired several other 633 00:38:55,760 --> 00:39:01,800 Speaker 1: networks and formed something called the National Broadcasting Company or NBC. 634 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:06,320 Speaker 1: I feel like i've heard of that, do do do? Okay? 635 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:09,239 Speaker 1: Actually I told you before we started that I had 636 00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:11,080 Speaker 1: a bit of color to add to the r C. 637 00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:15,440 Speaker 1: A discussion UM found out and and apparently this is 638 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:18,200 Speaker 1: a myth. But but the the musical nature of that 639 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:23,040 Speaker 1: is true. The notes that you just sang, which are 640 00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:25,879 Speaker 1: recognizable to those of us in the United States as 641 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:29,719 Speaker 1: uh than the tones that NBC uses on its broadcasts, 642 00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:36,000 Speaker 1: happened to work out to G E c uh clever. Now, 643 00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:42,399 Speaker 1: apparently the myth is that that that's for General Electric Corporation. UM. 644 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:46,400 Speaker 1: From what I understand, that is just a myth. But 645 00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:49,440 Speaker 1: if they are in the right position, So if you 646 00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:52,080 Speaker 1: play GEO, go out to your piano, if you've got one, 647 00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:54,920 Speaker 1: play g E C and you will. I want to 648 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:56,800 Speaker 1: believe that just as much as I want to believe 649 00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:59,279 Speaker 1: how is how because it's three letters off from my 650 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:03,680 Speaker 1: IM so I think that's probably more more true. It's 651 00:40:03,719 --> 00:40:07,319 Speaker 1: more true than this less true thing. So it's more 652 00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:11,160 Speaker 1: true than this. In nineteen seven, G. S W g 653 00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:13,680 Speaker 1: Y starts sending out the first TV signals to be 654 00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:15,920 Speaker 1: picked up by a home television and it's in a 655 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:19,279 Speaker 1: little town in New York. It's called that's right. So 656 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:22,920 Speaker 1: in nineteen nine g E installs this. This excites me 657 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:26,279 Speaker 1: because I'm such a theater geek. Right In N nine 658 00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:29,440 Speaker 1: g E installs electronic theater lighting controls at the Chicago 659 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:32,040 Speaker 1: Civic Opera. Alright, So, as a theater geek, I have 660 00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:35,799 Speaker 1: to say, this revolutionizes the way the way people can 661 00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:40,759 Speaker 1: perform theater because before you typically had lighting that was 662 00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:43,359 Speaker 1: very much stationary because you couldn't really do a whole 663 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:45,640 Speaker 1: lot with it, or you couldn't turn lights on and 664 00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:51,120 Speaker 1: off easily because you were using sometimes open flames. Um. 665 00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:55,279 Speaker 1: Switching to electronic lights means that you could turn things 666 00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:58,279 Speaker 1: off and on very quickly. There was no you know, 667 00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:00,680 Speaker 1: it wasn't going to fade up or fade down if 668 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:03,520 Speaker 1: unless you wanted it to. But it allows you to 669 00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:07,800 Speaker 1: do some very dramatic staging opportunities that just weren't available 670 00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:10,400 Speaker 1: before that. So it's really done a lot to change 671 00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:14,560 Speaker 1: the way live theater works, which is exciting to me 672 00:41:14,719 --> 00:41:17,839 Speaker 1: and no one else. So we'll move on ninety um. 673 00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:23,400 Speaker 1: So that was the very I was gonna sorry, Oh 674 00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:29,160 Speaker 1: there we go. Uh In g introduced the first washing machine. 675 00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:31,399 Speaker 1: Did you see a picture of this? Yes? I did. 676 00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:34,680 Speaker 1: It looks like an oil drum with a home appliance 677 00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:37,560 Speaker 1: of some sort. On top of it. Yeah. Yeah, well 678 00:41:37,600 --> 00:41:40,360 Speaker 1: that's the way they used to look. I mean, the 679 00:41:40,719 --> 00:41:43,280 Speaker 1: thing is that with those old washing machines, you didn't 680 00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:46,040 Speaker 1: you know, we think of them as being sort of 681 00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:49,400 Speaker 1: square now, but they also have a brokage totally square. 682 00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:54,120 Speaker 1: That's because you're such a hep cat. I just wear 683 00:41:54,200 --> 00:41:58,040 Speaker 1: clothes once and then I burn them. Um yea. But yeah, 684 00:41:58,080 --> 00:42:01,800 Speaker 1: these didn't have the holes that and a spin cycle 685 00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:04,359 Speaker 1: that you know, would drain the water you were, you'd 686 00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:05,839 Speaker 1: wash it and then you'd take them out of there 687 00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:09,160 Speaker 1: and you'd bring them yourself. So but they worked. You 688 00:42:09,200 --> 00:42:11,160 Speaker 1: didn't have to take it down and pound your stuff 689 00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:13,160 Speaker 1: on rocks down by the river, that's right. Yeah, that 690 00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:17,520 Speaker 1: was definitely an improvement. Was also when ge began to 691 00:42:17,680 --> 00:42:20,600 Speaker 1: provide electrical systems for a building that was going up 692 00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:24,080 Speaker 1: in New York City, a tall building, a very tall building, 693 00:42:24,120 --> 00:42:27,359 Speaker 1: the tallest one at that point, the Empire State Building. Yeah, 694 00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:29,040 Speaker 1: they did a whole lot of stuff with the wiring, 695 00:42:29,080 --> 00:42:32,520 Speaker 1: their safety switches, switchboards, panel boards, and all sorts of 696 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:36,600 Speaker 1: other electrical uh infrastructure that went in the building. And 697 00:42:36,719 --> 00:42:38,680 Speaker 1: of course, you know, people rushed right in to pick 698 00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:41,640 Speaker 1: up spaces and that. Oh wait, no, they didn't, but 699 00:42:41,719 --> 00:42:44,400 Speaker 1: that's another story. Yeah, we could do a whole podcast 700 00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:46,759 Speaker 1: just on the Empire State Building. Actually, they're quite a 701 00:42:46,760 --> 00:42:49,560 Speaker 1: few podcasts. We could do a podcast on our c A. 702 00:42:50,120 --> 00:42:51,920 Speaker 1: It would be fascinating. Yeah, we can do that. Uh, 703 00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:53,840 Speaker 1: and we're gonna actually talk a little bit about that 704 00:42:53,880 --> 00:42:56,239 Speaker 1: in just a second. Anyway, Um show save the G 705 00:42:56,400 --> 00:42:59,160 Speaker 1: E C for that. So G E starts it's uh, 706 00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:02,799 Speaker 1: it's mold Bowl Plastic division within the company. Yeah. Now 707 00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:05,480 Speaker 1: this is when we start getting into plastics such as 708 00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:08,000 Speaker 1: we know them now, where you can you can form 709 00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:09,800 Speaker 1: them into different shapes, and I mean not that you 710 00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:12,959 Speaker 1: couldn't before, but they're flexible, more flexible, and they start 711 00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:16,279 Speaker 1: taking the place of other materials in home appliances. So 712 00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:18,879 Speaker 1: you'd find stuff that fewer things made out of metal 713 00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:21,040 Speaker 1: and more things made out of plastic from this point forward. 714 00:43:21,560 --> 00:43:26,080 Speaker 1: Also in ninety so r c A is formed. In 715 00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:30,440 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty, the United States holds antitrust hearings against General 716 00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:35,919 Speaker 1: Electric regarding our CIA. And didn't they weren't they supposed to? Wait? 717 00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:38,479 Speaker 1: This is where I ran. Wait, right, So the United 718 00:43:38,480 --> 00:43:41,480 Speaker 1: States nineteen tells GE, Hey, you guys need to make 719 00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:44,520 Speaker 1: this company. So they do, and then in nineteen thirty 720 00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:47,360 Speaker 1: US says, hey, you guys have a monopoly on this 721 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:53,000 Speaker 1: company we made you make get rid of it. I know, right, 722 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:55,800 Speaker 1: that doesn't make a lot of It drives me crazy. 723 00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:59,439 Speaker 1: You've got I mean, like you weren't there already? Yeah, 724 00:43:59,480 --> 00:44:02,239 Speaker 1: I know real Uh this short trip the United States? 725 00:44:02,320 --> 00:44:04,560 Speaker 1: So yeah, the United States says, all right, we can't 726 00:44:04,640 --> 00:44:07,280 Speaker 1: let all these different assets go back to the companies 727 00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:10,279 Speaker 1: they belong to originally, because who knows what could happen. 728 00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:13,560 Speaker 1: So let's make this one company by telling these other 729 00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:15,800 Speaker 1: companies to form it. And then comes up to G 730 00:44:15,920 --> 00:44:18,359 Speaker 1: and says, hey, you can't do that anymore, that thing 731 00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:20,880 Speaker 1: we told you to do. Stop doing that. And so 732 00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:24,920 Speaker 1: G divested itself of the controlling interest to our c A. 733 00:44:25,480 --> 00:44:28,080 Speaker 1: And uh that's you might think, oh, well that's the 734 00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:30,440 Speaker 1: end of that story. No, but it's gonna take two 735 00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:33,680 Speaker 1: podcasts before we get back to it. Um anyway, the 736 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:39,439 Speaker 1: uh yeah, this drives me nuts. Oh. Also that same year, 737 00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:41,839 Speaker 1: there was another company that also had to divest its 738 00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:45,840 Speaker 1: interest in our ci A, Westinghouse. So you know G 739 00:44:46,080 --> 00:44:49,080 Speaker 1: and Westinghouse, these competitors both owned interest in our Cia. 740 00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:51,440 Speaker 1: Both of them had to divest interest in it so 741 00:44:51,640 --> 00:44:55,520 Speaker 1: that it would no longer be considered an antitrust issue. 742 00:44:56,160 --> 00:44:58,560 Speaker 1: All right, And that brings us to nineteen thirty one 743 00:44:58,640 --> 00:45:00,719 Speaker 1: and the end of our podcast. We decided to end 744 00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:02,920 Speaker 1: it in thirty one because nineteen thirty one is the 745 00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:07,319 Speaker 1: year that Thomas Alva Edison passed away, but he lived 746 00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:10,520 Speaker 1: long enough to see his company become pardoned upon, a 747 00:45:10,640 --> 00:45:14,600 Speaker 1: powerhouse in its industry and create several industries as well. Yes, 748 00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:17,759 Speaker 1: it was definitely an instrumental company at that time. It 749 00:45:17,800 --> 00:45:20,840 Speaker 1: will only grow to be more so over the following decades. 750 00:45:21,280 --> 00:45:24,680 Speaker 1: So we are going to conclude our podcast of part 751 00:45:24,800 --> 00:45:26,719 Speaker 1: one of the g E Story right here. We will 752 00:45:26,920 --> 00:45:30,279 Speaker 1: pick up in part two in nineteen thirty two, and 753 00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:32,560 Speaker 1: we will continue on and there will be a part 754 00:45:32,640 --> 00:45:34,840 Speaker 1: three because this is this is a company that's got 755 00:45:34,960 --> 00:45:39,400 Speaker 1: a storied past. So join us for our next episode. 756 00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:43,040 Speaker 1: And if you guys have any suggestions for episode topics, 757 00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:46,040 Speaker 1: whether it's a company we should feature, whether it's an 758 00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:48,640 Speaker 1: interview we should do, or just some other kind of 759 00:45:48,680 --> 00:45:50,640 Speaker 1: technology you would like to hear about, let us know. 760 00:45:51,680 --> 00:45:55,040 Speaker 1: You can contact us through email. Our address is text 761 00:45:55,080 --> 00:45:58,880 Speaker 1: stuff at Discovery dot com, or you can send us 762 00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:01,520 Speaker 1: a message on face Look or Twitter or handle at 763 00:46:01,560 --> 00:46:04,520 Speaker 1: both of those is text stuff H. S W and 764 00:46:04,640 --> 00:46:07,040 Speaker 1: Chris and I will talk to you again really soon. 765 00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:11,560 Speaker 1: Be sure to check out our new video podcast, Stuff 766 00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:14,200 Speaker 1: from the Future. Join How Stuff Work staff as we 767 00:46:14,320 --> 00:46:19,080 Speaker 1: explore the most promising and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. The 768 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:22,120 Speaker 1: House stuf Works iPhone app has arrived. Download it today 769 00:46:22,400 --> 00:46:29,520 Speaker 1: on iTunes, brought to you by the reinvented two thousand 770 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:31,560 Speaker 1: twelve camera. It's ready, are you