1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:05,440 Speaker 1: Hey everybody, and Happy Saturday. Today we are returning to 2 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:08,560 Speaker 1: the story of Philo T. Farnsworth, who first appeared on 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: our show on September. He is known as the father 4 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 1: of television and that invention led to a decade long 5 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: patent battle. If you like this kind of history, our 6 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,479 Speaker 1: network also has a brand new show that's all about 7 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 1: inventors and entrepreneurs. It's The Brink with Aerial Casting and 8 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. Every week they explore the story of people 9 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: who took big steps in the world of business without 10 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: knowing exactly where they were going to land on the 11 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: other side. So stay tuned at the end of this 12 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: episode for the trailer to The Brink. Welcome to Stuff 13 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: you missed in History Class from how Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, 14 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy Vie Wilson and 15 00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: we've had some Scientists episodes lately and we're going to 16 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: have another YEP. If any of our listeners watch Futurama, 17 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: you will recognize the name Farnsworth, But unless you listen 18 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: to the creator's commentary tracks on the show's DVD releases, 19 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:13,759 Speaker 1: or you are a fan of television history, you might 20 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: not know that the crotchety mad scientist on the show 21 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: is actually named for a real scientists of the twentieth 22 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: century who was a Utah farm boy that actually kind 23 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: of changed the way humans see the world. You know, 24 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 1: who might recognize the name and the connection. People who 25 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,479 Speaker 1: watch Warehouse their teen Oh, yeah, which I don't watch. 26 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 1: I have that point. They have these Farnsworth devices that 27 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: are totally based on this technology, and there is even 28 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: it's a little old at this point's got some age 29 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: on it hasn't been updated in a while. Free iOS 30 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: app that makes sure iPhone into a Farnsworth device. Interesting, 31 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: And the scientists we're talking about today is Filo T. Farnsworth, 32 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: and he was interested in science almost from birth. He 33 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: was inventing things as early as grade school. But his 34 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: real claim to fame in terms of technology is uh 35 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: in television. He also has become something of an icon 36 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: representing the little guy because he went up against a 37 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 1: big business in a patent lawsuit and kind of a 38 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: David versus Goliath situation. Yeah, which ends both happily and sadly. Yeah, 39 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:27,239 Speaker 1: it does. It doesn't have quite as satisfying and ending 40 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: as the David and Goliath story. Yeah, we'll talk about 41 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 1: that a little later. We will. He's a fascinating, fascinating 42 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: man and so insightful at such an early age that 43 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: it kind of blows my mind. Uh. And I also 44 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,240 Speaker 1: feel compelled to mention right out of the gate that 45 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: a lot of the history with him is all based 46 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: on verbal accounts that various people have given. So there's 47 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: some variation, like sometimes even his age will change, you know, 48 00:02:57,160 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: in two different versions of the story, even though they're 49 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: close and will account for most of those. But it 50 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: would really becombersome to be like, well, this person said 51 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: he was you know, it was this year. This person 52 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: said it was this year. If they're close, I don't 53 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: always like break out and go. No, this was two 54 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: different accounts that they they were assume there might be 55 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: some age range changes by you know, we're dealing with 56 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: an oral account, all oral history, coming from multiple people 57 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: for much of the earlier part. So he was born, 58 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: we know, in Utah in August of nineteen o six. 59 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: He was born in August nineteen His name was Philo 60 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,839 Speaker 1: Taylor Farnsworth, and Uh. He was born in a log 61 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: cabin that was actually built by his grandfather, who was 62 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: a Mormon pioneer, So he was part of a Utah 63 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: family that had really come over with the Mormon tradition 64 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:51,839 Speaker 1: as they came to kind of settle the area. When 65 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: he was twelve, the family moved to Franklin, Idaho, and 66 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: his first sort of scientific triumph happened when he was thirteen. 67 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: He entered at a National science contest which was sponsored 68 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: by Science and Invention magazine, and he won it. And 69 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: his idea was a tamper proof lock for a Model 70 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: T ignition switch. Apparently at the time there really wasn't 71 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: like a way to lock a Model T. All the 72 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: keys were basically the same for the ignition from car 73 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 1: to car to car, so he had figured out a 74 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:24,039 Speaker 1: way to make one key for one car. Somehow the 75 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: idea of of a Model T theft ring brought on 76 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: by non secure ignitions, which is it's really funny to me. 77 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:37,280 Speaker 1: During high school, he converted all of his family's home 78 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:42,919 Speaker 1: appliances to electric power, which is pretty impressive considering that 79 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: they had not had electricity in their home until he 80 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,559 Speaker 1: was fourteen. Yeah, and he allegedly learned all of this. Uh. 81 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: The sort of apocryphal story is that he found electrical 82 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,160 Speaker 1: manuals and like technical diagrams in the house that they 83 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: had moved did into at some point that the previous 84 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:03,479 Speaker 1: owner had left behind, and he just studied those and 85 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: learned how electricals worked. As a kid, you know, I 86 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:11,279 Speaker 1: can see an adult doing that, like having kind of 87 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 1: the focus of mine to like break it down. That's 88 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:16,599 Speaker 1: what happens on Orange is the New Black? Is this 89 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: what happens? Uh? And then when he was uh sixteen 90 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: or thirteen or fourteen or fifteen, depending on who you 91 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:28,839 Speaker 1: talked to. Uh. Some accounts say it was ninety one. 92 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,920 Speaker 1: There's actually a television appearance that Farnsworth made where he 93 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: says it's ninety two, but we know it's right around 94 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,479 Speaker 1: fifteen or sixteen. Uh. He sketched out a concept for 95 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: a vacuum tube and he showed it to his high 96 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 1: school chemistry chemistry teacher, Justin Tolman, and Farnsworth had detailed 97 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:50,400 Speaker 1: this idea that by controlling the speed and direction of electrons, 98 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: he could turn electricity into pictures using the vacuum tube. 99 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:56,720 Speaker 1: So the idea was that the tube would shoot electrons 100 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: toward a screen and project an image. And this was 101 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 1: all the radical he hadn't, of course, been able to 102 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:03,600 Speaker 1: test any of this. He was just thinking through how 103 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 1: he thought it would work. He had kind of made 104 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,159 Speaker 1: it up in his head and drawn it. Yeah, And 105 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: according to legend, he got the idea from the parallel 106 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: plowing rows on the family farm, thinking that an electron 107 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: beam could do a similar line by line scan of 108 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: an image. And there are different accounts of whether that 109 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: was a field of potatoes or beats, but we know 110 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,159 Speaker 1: it was a field with straight lines was being plowed 111 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 1: on the farm. So, as the story goes, his teacher 112 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:32,359 Speaker 1: did not quite get what he was talking about, and 113 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: his fellow students didn't either. I'm imagining the teacher kind 114 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: of patting him on the head and going, that's nice, dear, 115 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,280 Speaker 1: well you say, except he was fifteen. Well, and Tolman 116 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: hung onto that sketch. Yeah, there was something about it 117 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 1: that he thought like, this is interesting enough that I'm 118 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 1: going to keep it. Maybe this is a real thing 119 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:56,360 Speaker 1: and not space magic. Yeah. So after high school, Farnsworth 120 00:06:56,360 --> 00:07:01,919 Speaker 1: attended Brigham Young University, starting in but unfortunately his education 121 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 1: hit an early roadblock when his father died in nineteen 122 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: twenty four. He had to drop out of school so 123 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: that he could help work and support the family. And 124 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,480 Speaker 1: this really put an end to his formal education, but 125 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: his scientific work didn't stop there. He kept learning on 126 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: his own, tankering and experimenting. One of the many self 127 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 1: taught people that we've talked about in the podcast. Yeah, 128 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: we do. A lot of our big names in the 129 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 1: science history and invention are really self taught, which I 130 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: think is an interesting through line. And in Filo married 131 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: Elma pim Gardner and they would eventually have four children together. 132 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: We won't go into depth on their kids, but I 133 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 1: wanted to make a note that same year he was 134 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: able to get enough cash together to move into full 135 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: time research. He had been working for two professional fundraisers. 136 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: They were George Everson and Leslie Garrell in southern California 137 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 1: and their bulk mailing business. After Farnsworth told his bosses 138 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: about his concept for an electronic television, the pair formed 139 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: this venture partnership with him as Everson, Farnsworth and Garrel. 140 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: Additional investment came from the Cracker Bank under President William W. Crocker, 141 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 1: and a new group, Crocker Research Laboratories, was formed. Crocker 142 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: and yet another investor, Roy and Bishop were based in 143 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 1: San Francisco, and consequently they wanted Farnsworth to move closer 144 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: to where they were, So with all of this funding 145 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:33,839 Speaker 1: in place, Farnsworth set up a lab at two O 146 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: two Green Street, which is at the bottom of Telegraph 147 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,679 Speaker 1: Hill in San Francisco, with his wife Pim and her 148 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: brother Cliff Gardner as his assistants. In nineven. In January, 149 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: Farnsworth filed for his first patents for his television system, 150 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: and later that year, on September seven, he unveiled his 151 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,959 Speaker 1: electronic television prototype, and it was the first of its kind. 152 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:02,600 Speaker 1: It featured a video EEO camera tube, which he also 153 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: called an image dissector. It was essentially the same thing 154 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: he had sketched as a teenager and shown to his 155 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 1: slightly befottled chemistry teacher. Yeah, that's going to be important 156 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,680 Speaker 1: lead as well. The first image that he transmitted was 157 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 1: really just a blurry line. But working with his research team, 158 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 1: because he hired more people on and they were dubbed 159 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 1: the Lab Gang, he was able to pretty quickly advance 160 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:31,080 Speaker 1: the technology and he was sending progressively more complex shapes, 161 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 1: and within a few years he actually sent signals to 162 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:36,720 Speaker 1: a location that was eight blocks away at the Merchant's 163 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:41,240 Speaker 1: Exchange building. During all of this time of really rapid development, 164 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: they actually had an enormous setback in late ninety eight. 165 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 1: The lab and its assortment of chemicals and electrical components 166 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: caught fire and they had to completely rebuild it from scratch. 167 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: So basically they'd been rolling along and they had to 168 00:09:56,120 --> 00:10:00,480 Speaker 1: start completely over and completely rebuild. So thank how much 169 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:02,760 Speaker 1: faster it would have gone if they hadn't had this 170 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:05,640 Speaker 1: big chunk of time where they had starting completely over. Yeah. 171 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:10,120 Speaker 1: On September three, which is just a little before that 172 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,600 Speaker 1: fire happened, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story about 173 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: Farnsworth Television, and the article described how farnsworth All electronic 174 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:22,200 Speaker 1: approach was a total game changer, so to quote. All 175 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 1: television systems now in use employ a revolving disc two 176 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:28,840 Speaker 1: feet in diameter to break up or scan the image. 177 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:31,720 Speaker 1: A similar disc is at the receiving end, and the 178 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:35,040 Speaker 1: two discs must revolve at precisely the same instant and 179 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:39,320 Speaker 1: at precisely the same speed, or blurred vision results. Farnsworth 180 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: system employs no moving parts whatsoever. Instead of moving the machine, 181 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 1: he buries the electric current that plays over the image 182 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:50,160 Speaker 1: and thus gets the necessary scanning. The system is thus 183 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: simple in the extreme, and one of the major mechanical 184 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:57,320 Speaker 1: obstacles to the perfection of television is thereby removed. This 185 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: article is actually pretty detailed. Engines the frame rate, which 186 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: is twenty pictures per second and the resolution, which is 187 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 1: eight thousand elements or pinpoints of light for each picture. 188 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:12,960 Speaker 1: The screen he was using to demonstrate in was a 189 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,679 Speaker 1: mirror one point to five inches square. It is tiny. 190 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: As we mentioned earlier, the warehouse their teen viewers have 191 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:23,480 Speaker 1: a sense of what that looks like, and the words 192 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:26,320 Speaker 1: of the chronicle, it is a queer looking little image 193 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 1: in bluish light, now one that frequently smudges and blurs. 194 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: But the basic principle is achieved and perfection is now 195 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,800 Speaker 1: a matter of engineering. And at the time Farms was 196 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,720 Speaker 1: actually told the paper that he envisioned that his television 197 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:44,440 Speaker 1: receiver could actually be attached to a radio set, and 198 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 1: he thought it was gonna be sold at retail for 199 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 1: about a hundred dollars, which is a lot of money 200 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:55,080 Speaker 1: at the time. But uh, it's just interesting that he 201 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:57,080 Speaker 1: had this whole plan of how it was going to 202 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:09,160 Speaker 1: become a business so while he was just a privately 203 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 1: funded inventor and researcher, Radio Corporation of America, also known 204 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,960 Speaker 1: as r c A, was a giant. You couldn't legally 205 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,480 Speaker 1: build a radio in the United States without an r 206 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:25,200 Speaker 1: c A license. David Sarnoff, who was the acting president 207 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 1: of our CIA at the time, had established this business 208 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:31,800 Speaker 1: model of finding scientists and engineers, hiring them and buying 209 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:35,079 Speaker 1: out their patent rights to grow our CIA's legal holdings, 210 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,800 Speaker 1: and Sarnoff was really quick to protect his company's steak 211 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 1: in the home entertainment market when he got wind of 212 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:47,040 Speaker 1: Farnsworth's new television. On November eighteenth, uh an essay that 213 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: was actually written by Sarnoff appeared in the New York 214 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:53,120 Speaker 1: Times and it was entitled Forging an Electric Eye to 215 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: Scan the World, and it assured readers that Farnsworth Television 216 00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:59,559 Speaker 1: was nowhere near ready for the home market, and that 217 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,199 Speaker 1: TVs would first be available to consumers from our CIA, 218 00:13:03,679 --> 00:13:05,600 Speaker 1: and that they were going to beat Farnsworths of the market. 219 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 1: This reminds me of the competing advertisements in our episode 220 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 1: about the history of the sewing machine. A lot of 221 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:12,560 Speaker 1: this reminds me of it. Once we get into the 222 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: r C a portion of it. This is not really 223 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: a real thing. Ours are real thing. A month later, 224 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:25,640 Speaker 1: another New York Times piece was published entitled Leaders Dispel 225 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:28,840 Speaker 1: Television Fears, and this one was not written by Sarnoff, 226 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 1: but he was the main source for the article. This 227 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:37,079 Speaker 1: one encouraged readers to keep buying radios, particularly for the holidays, 228 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: instead of waiting for television. Sarnoff even hired another inventor, 229 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: Vladimir's working from the research team at Westinghouse, to do 230 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 1: a little bit of digging for him. He was, on 231 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:52,760 Speaker 1: paper hired to head up UH some labs, but it 232 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: was clear that Sarnoff also wanted him to kind of 233 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:58,920 Speaker 1: try to figure out what the heck Farnsworth was actually 234 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:03,040 Speaker 1: up to working. Actually visited farnsworth San Francisco Lab in 235 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:07,160 Speaker 1: n and when he returned from his mission, he attempted 236 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:09,839 Speaker 1: to reverse engineer the technology he had seen while he 237 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:13,160 Speaker 1: was visiting Farnsworth. And there are some versions of this 238 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:17,400 Speaker 1: story that say that was working actually telegraphed design and 239 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 1: Schamata information ahead to our CIA so that the lab 240 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:22,880 Speaker 1: could get to work on it. And by the time 241 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: he got back from visiting Farnsworth in San Francisco. The 242 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:29,800 Speaker 1: first model was there, but those seemed to be a 243 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 1: little bit tall talish. That's a that would be a 244 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:36,960 Speaker 1: very quick build of things for people that did not 245 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 1: have the first hand account of it for three D printers. So, 246 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 1: before you ask why in the world would Farnsworth let 247 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:48,080 Speaker 1: a competitor just come visit his lab, pretty sure that 248 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 1: he did not know that that's what's working was. Yeah, 249 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: there are accounts at the time to indicate that he 250 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: thought it's working was still under the Westinghouse umbrella, and 251 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 1: Westinghouse shown some interest in Farnsworth's work, and so the 252 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 1: financial backers of the Green Street Lab had been encouraging 253 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:10,480 Speaker 1: Farnsworth to sell his idea to Westinghouse or at least 254 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 1: licensed the rights to them. So I remember this was 255 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: all going on right after the stock market crash, and 256 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 1: while Farnsworth was an idealist then wanted to tanker and 257 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: not think a whole lot about money. The people who 258 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:26,160 Speaker 1: were paying for his work, we're pretty financially nervous at 259 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,960 Speaker 1: this point. Yeah, and some accounts will say that it 260 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: was clear that his working was still working for our 261 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:36,640 Speaker 1: c A and not Westinghouse. Um, but really the crux 262 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 1: of the matter was that Farnsworth thought this was like 263 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 1: a Oh, I'm gonna come and visit and hang out 264 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:43,440 Speaker 1: and see what licensing options we might be able to 265 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:45,640 Speaker 1: work out. Not and I'm coming to steal all of 266 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 1: your ideas and technology. Trip. So but when it's Workin's 267 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 1: attempts to recreate farnsworth device didn't work out. They completely 268 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:57,240 Speaker 1: fell flat. He wasn't able to deliver. Sarnoff actually decided 269 00:15:57,240 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: that he was going to go visit Green Street himself, 270 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: and he did so in spring of nine one. And 271 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,680 Speaker 1: there's some hint that he kind of thought he was 272 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 1: the big businessman that was going to go in strong 273 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:11,280 Speaker 1: arm this foolish farm boy. Uh. But Farnsworth actually wasn't 274 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 1: there at the lab when Sarnov dropped in unannounced, but 275 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 1: he was allowed to enter um staff let him in, 276 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: and he eventually, after looking around and returning back to 277 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,119 Speaker 1: r C headquarters, he made an offer to hire Farnsworth 278 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,800 Speaker 1: into the r C A family and to buy Farnsworth's 279 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,560 Speaker 1: company and his patents. What he made was a pretty 280 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: low ball offer, and Farnsworth said no. And this did 281 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:38,880 Speaker 1: not go over well at all. Yeah, and it really 282 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:41,480 Speaker 1: was low ball. Even the investors that have been kind 283 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 1: of urging Farnsworth to look into selling because of the 284 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: volatility of the stock market and the economy at the time, 285 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 1: even they were like, that doesn't sound like a fair 286 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: offered us um. So, as with most game changing inventions 287 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:59,640 Speaker 1: that also uh involved corporate intrigue and bruised egos, a 288 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 1: legal battle ensued, backed by our c A's huge legal power. 289 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:10,400 Speaker 1: Vladimir's working claimed that Farnsworth's work violated patents he already 290 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 1: had on a similar invention, and in three Zorkian had 291 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:18,280 Speaker 1: applied for a patent for an invention called an iconoscope, 292 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:22,560 Speaker 1: which was an electronic image scanner. So there were similarities, 293 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:26,440 Speaker 1: and this was the basis for a decade long war 294 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:30,880 Speaker 1: that our ci A morged waged against Farnsworth. Although it's 295 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:34,320 Speaker 1: of note that's work hean never was able to build 296 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:39,439 Speaker 1: a functioning model of his patent at all. He it 297 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:41,760 Speaker 1: was all theoretical. He never was able to make a 298 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:45,280 Speaker 1: real world version of it. You're right, this is just 299 00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:50,880 Speaker 1: like really really similar. It's worth noting that other inventors 300 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 1: were also on the trail of televised imagery. Charles Jenkins 301 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 1: came up with a scanning drum to display moving silhouettes. 302 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:02,879 Speaker 1: Ino and John Bard Scotland had made mechanical image transmissions 303 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 1: using a transparent rod array in in dr Herbert Ives 304 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 1: came up with a wire harness system for Bell Labs 305 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:19,160 Speaker 1: that sent electrical impulses to electrodes on its viewing screen. Individually, 306 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: there were televisions being developed in France, Great Britain and 307 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,720 Speaker 1: Russia by a number of different researchers. Yeah, so again 308 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: it really is similar to the sewing machine thing or 309 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:31,600 Speaker 1: everybody knew this was kind of the next step, and 310 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:34,679 Speaker 1: they were all kind of working towards creating it, but 311 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:38,720 Speaker 1: some different approaches. But even with all of this work, 312 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,960 Speaker 1: and as was mentioned in the newspaper article about him, 313 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,879 Speaker 1: like they talked about existing televisions too, So all of 314 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:49,720 Speaker 1: this work was going on. Uh and Zworkin's patent had 315 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:52,200 Speaker 1: happened before farms or TV, but he was the first 316 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:55,159 Speaker 1: one to actually produce an electronic TV based on his 317 00:18:55,640 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: research and designs. So now is when we bring back 318 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:04,639 Speaker 1: that high school chemistry teacher. Yeah, so the one that 319 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: kept filers drawing. This turned out to be really important 320 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,560 Speaker 1: when it came to all the legal proceedings because he 321 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:14,400 Speaker 1: was able to testify that Farnsworth had diagrammed and described 322 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:20,080 Speaker 1: this television idea way back in the drawing itself, which 323 00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:22,760 Speaker 1: he had hung onto. Was also a huge moon to 324 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:26,920 Speaker 1: Farnsworth's case, and while the case was dragging on, Farnsworth 325 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,720 Speaker 1: was still working in one he started the Philco Radio 326 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:35,960 Speaker 1: Corporation's television department. In an exchange for additional lab funding 327 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:38,719 Speaker 1: for his own research, Farnsworth had to move his family 328 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:41,720 Speaker 1: and his team to Philadelphia. That move was not really 329 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:44,720 Speaker 1: popular with his wife, Pam. She really loved San Francisco 330 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:48,640 Speaker 1: and she often spoke uh when you know, asked about 331 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:52,199 Speaker 1: their lives or giving interviews about how you know, the 332 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 1: West was really where their heart was. But in nineteen 333 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: thirty three, so just a couple of years later, Farnsworth 334 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:00,800 Speaker 1: left Philco and continued his work so low because phil 335 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:04,040 Speaker 1: COO had decided that the television division did not really 336 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:08,200 Speaker 1: fit in their corporate vision any longer. So after moving 337 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:11,760 Speaker 1: his entire family kind of against their will, it turned 338 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 1: out that wasn't going to work out so well. So 339 00:20:13,359 --> 00:20:18,640 Speaker 1: irritating five, the U S. Patent Office found in Farnsworth's favor, 340 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:22,680 Speaker 1: our C A appealed, but that same verdict came down 341 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 1: again and again. As you can imagine, there's some uh 342 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:31,040 Speaker 1: bruised e goes at play even after you know this 343 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:33,960 Speaker 1: element of the legal proceedings was done. Uh. And in 344 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:38,800 Speaker 1: y eight Farnsworth founded the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation. 345 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,600 Speaker 1: He was really ready to launch into the brave new 346 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: world of consumer television and broadcast reception. But as an 347 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:50,159 Speaker 1: independent inventor, which was just a creature that was basically 348 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: extinct in this environment of explosive growth of corporate labs 349 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,119 Speaker 1: in the thirties and forties, Farnsworth couldn't really stand up 350 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: to the pr machine that r c A was able 351 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:04,919 Speaker 1: to crank out. At the World's Fair, r c A 352 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,560 Speaker 1: sponsored a television pavilion and Sarnoff brokered a deal for 353 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:13,080 Speaker 1: the radio and television rights to air the opening ceremony. 354 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 1: But I feel like we should mention prior to being 355 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: named acting president of our CIA, Sarnov had actually founded 356 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 1: NBC Radio Network, which was owned by our ci A. 357 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,720 Speaker 1: So it kind of sets the stage of like broadcast 358 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,240 Speaker 1: rights and bitter battles really being at the heart of 359 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:34,160 Speaker 1: network television. Basically from day one, it was already about 360 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,720 Speaker 1: who had the rights to do what and kind of 361 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:40,679 Speaker 1: some you know, backbiting and really aggressive business practices. So 362 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:43,760 Speaker 1: our c A had been working on television technology throughout 363 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:46,879 Speaker 1: these whole legal proceedings, and it was selling televisions and 364 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,680 Speaker 1: department stores leading up to this event, and it announced 365 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:53,720 Speaker 1: just prior to the fair opening that NBC was starting 366 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:59,040 Speaker 1: a regular broadcast schedule. And at this point Farnsworth realized 367 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:01,920 Speaker 1: he was outgunned. I think I read a um A 368 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 1: statistic that right out of the gate r c A 369 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,439 Speaker 1: had an easy or greater market share, and there was 370 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:10,240 Speaker 1: just no way that Farnsworth was going to be able 371 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:13,440 Speaker 1: to keep up. So he actually sold our ci A 372 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:16,640 Speaker 1: a non exclusive license at that point for one million dollars. 373 00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:21,560 Speaker 1: After the r c A deal, Farnsworth was really exhausted 374 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,400 Speaker 1: and he had a nervous breakdown that resulted in him 375 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:28,960 Speaker 1: being hospitalized. He really struggled with depression and would continue 376 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:38,399 Speaker 1: to struggle with it for the rest of his life. 377 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 1: And meanwhile, World War two put television in a time 378 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:48,439 Speaker 1: out because all manufacture of non military electronics was banned 379 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:50,680 Speaker 1: by the U. S Government for the duration of the war. 380 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: When the war ended. The Farnsworth Corporation was making its 381 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,359 Speaker 1: home in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and it started to produce 382 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:01,840 Speaker 1: television sets. But our Cia had the resources to launch 383 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:06,400 Speaker 1: a much more successful manufacturing operation. Farnsworth just couldn't keep 384 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 1: his company afloat. It was eventually purchased by International Telephone 385 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:13,879 Speaker 1: and Telegraph Company, and under I T and T, Farnsworth 386 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,640 Speaker 1: continued his research into television as well as nuclear fusion. 387 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:22,760 Speaker 1: The television division was shut down before very long, though, Yeah, 388 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 1: so had uh. At that point, Farnsworth's work in television 389 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:29,680 Speaker 1: had basically been shut out a little bit by big business. 390 00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:32,919 Speaker 1: You know. He had battled our Cia, and while he 391 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:35,720 Speaker 1: tried to still kind of struggle with a little small 392 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 1: part of the market, it wasn't going to work out. 393 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:39,600 Speaker 1: And so when he sold his company, thinking he was 394 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:44,119 Speaker 1: going to bolster his his television work, they were like, no, 395 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:46,080 Speaker 1: we don't really want to be in the TV business 396 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:49,640 Speaker 1: after all. So, uh, he was, you know, shut out 397 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: of television at that point, but he kept on inventing, 398 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:57,360 Speaker 1: and he certainly kept on studying science. In nineteen fifty one, 399 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:00,239 Speaker 1: he was awarded an honor a Doctorate of Science by 400 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:04,159 Speaker 1: the Indiana Institute of Technology, Yeah, which was his first 401 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,679 Speaker 1: degree since he did not ever finish college. UH. In 402 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,920 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty seven he started the Farnsworth Research Corporation as 403 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,159 Speaker 1: its president and director of Research. In nineteen sixty seven, 404 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:18,600 Speaker 1: he moved back to Utah and became head of a 405 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:22,240 Speaker 1: fusion lab at Brigham Young University, and just a year 406 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: later that lab actually changed names to FILO. T. Farnsworth 407 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:29,159 Speaker 1: and Associates and it moved to Salt Lake City. But 408 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,720 Speaker 1: within two years funds had dried up for the lab. 409 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty eight, he was awarded his second honorary doctorate, 410 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:40,560 Speaker 1: this time from Brigham Young University, and he was inducted 411 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:45,399 Speaker 1: into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Nineteen seventy really 412 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 1: marked the beginning of the end for Farnsworth UH. As 413 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:52,439 Speaker 1: we mentioned, the lab was running out of money and 414 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:54,200 Speaker 1: he was forced to close it due to the lack 415 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:57,080 Speaker 1: of funds, and at that point the depression that he 416 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,879 Speaker 1: had really been battling for decades, you know, it had 417 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:04,880 Speaker 1: really started in the UH in the thirties, going through 418 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:08,959 Speaker 1: all of that battling with our ci A and patent 419 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:12,199 Speaker 1: suits and then having to deal with the war offsetting 420 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 1: their efforts. The depression just kind of one out at 421 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:18,480 Speaker 1: that point, and he started drinking and drinking heavily, and 422 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,320 Speaker 1: it really became a habitual drinking problem in the last 423 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:25,480 Speaker 1: few months of his life. He died of pneumonia on 424 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,560 Speaker 1: March eleventh, nine seventy one, in Salt Lake City. When 425 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:32,639 Speaker 1: he died, the televisions that were being made for consumer 426 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,800 Speaker 1: markets used components that were included in about a hundred 427 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,399 Speaker 1: of his patents, although he really didn't have any wealth 428 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:43,040 Speaker 1: to speak of. On the other hand, Sarnoff died the 429 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:49,120 Speaker 1: same year, but very wealthy, extremely wealthy. Uh so, well, 430 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 1: what I have to say about that he didn't get 431 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:54,080 Speaker 1: to take it with him, that's true. Uh yeah, I 432 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:55,600 Speaker 1: mean it is kind of one of those things where 433 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,439 Speaker 1: Farnsworth in so many ways was in the right, but 434 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:00,320 Speaker 1: it really did him no good. Even though he won 435 00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:03,040 Speaker 1: the patent lawsuit, and even though he made that big 436 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:06,639 Speaker 1: settlement with our c A, that money went towards funding 437 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 1: a lab that was really struggling and didn't didn't turn 438 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:14,080 Speaker 1: out so well in terms of um his his end 439 00:26:14,119 --> 00:26:18,399 Speaker 1: of life quality. But after his passing, his wife Pim 440 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:22,359 Speaker 1: really worked tirelessly to try to establish her husband's image 441 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:24,840 Speaker 1: in a positive way and ensure that he was recognized 442 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,040 Speaker 1: as the visionary that he really was. And Farnsworth really 443 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:31,840 Speaker 1: gave Pim a great deal of credit throughout his life 444 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:33,760 Speaker 1: for his most famous work, and he would often say 445 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:36,760 Speaker 1: that my wife and I started television and they had 446 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:40,639 Speaker 1: worked together. Pam had worked alongside her husband throughout his 447 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:44,399 Speaker 1: life in his various labs, and as he often became 448 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:46,720 Speaker 1: really engaged with his work, he would forget to eat, 449 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,640 Speaker 1: he would neglect to think about his health. He apparently 450 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,399 Speaker 1: had this weird habit where he was in insomniac so 451 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:54,879 Speaker 1: at night he would go to bed and kind of 452 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:58,120 Speaker 1: give himself a problem to solve, knowing that he would 453 00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:00,320 Speaker 1: wake up and hoping that he would be working through 454 00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:02,240 Speaker 1: it in that sort of half sleep state. Like he 455 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 1: really kind of was not doing things that were great 456 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:08,359 Speaker 1: in terms of like his quality of health as he 457 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:11,720 Speaker 1: went on. Uh. But Pam was always the constant that 458 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:13,840 Speaker 1: kind of kept their lives in order despite his sort 459 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:16,960 Speaker 1: of odd behaviors and his tendency to get really over 460 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:21,640 Speaker 1: absorbed into his work. In Night one, his two oh 461 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:25,080 Speaker 1: two Green Street address in San Francisco, which was home 462 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:27,960 Speaker 1: to the lab where the first televised image was projected, 463 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 1: was given a historical marker. There's also a memorial statue 464 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,080 Speaker 1: of Farnsworth at the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco. 465 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:39,960 Speaker 1: In the state of Utah gave the National Statuary Hall 466 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,880 Speaker 1: Collection in Washington, d C. A statue of Farnsworth by 467 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 1: artist James r Avadi which had the inscription father of Television. Yeah, 468 00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:53,719 Speaker 1: I love uh inn. He was inducted into the San 469 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:58,360 Speaker 1: Francisco Hall of Fame, and in he was inducted into 470 00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 1: the Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. 471 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:04,359 Speaker 1: And in his life he had held at least a 472 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,439 Speaker 1: hundred sixty patents, and he contributed to the development of 473 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:12,320 Speaker 1: many other things which we are actually relevant to, uh 474 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:16,399 Speaker 1: you know, other recent podcasts we've been working on. He worked. 475 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:19,000 Speaker 1: Some of his work contributed to the development of radar, 476 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:24,679 Speaker 1: infra red electron microscopes, baby incubators. UH So when you 477 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:27,800 Speaker 1: go to like the I c U or the Newborn 478 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,920 Speaker 1: i CEU, the nick you those incubators are in part 479 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:34,160 Speaker 1: due to the work that Farnsworth did, and even astronomical telescopes. 480 00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:37,120 Speaker 1: And Pim died in two thousand and six, but their 481 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:40,840 Speaker 1: kids have continued this tradition of kind of keeping his 482 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 1: image alive, and well, uh, there was also uh. In 483 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 1: two thousand four, they announced a screenplay. New Line Cinema 484 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:50,360 Speaker 1: had optioned the screenplay from Aaron Sorkin about the life 485 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:54,080 Speaker 1: of Farnsworth, which never came to fruition, and in two 486 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:57,160 Speaker 1: thousand five Sorkin adapted it to the stage. And it's 487 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:00,440 Speaker 1: been produced a couple of times, and may be will 488 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:04,480 Speaker 1: eventually go full circle and become a film again. But 489 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: if it ever does, I feel like I should pre 490 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:11,040 Speaker 1: warn people that it's it's not historically accurate, like that 491 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: was not the intent. We changed for dramatic effect. Is 492 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,440 Speaker 1: there a musical? I feel like there's a musical. I 493 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:21,560 Speaker 1: hope not. There might be, I have I'm not. We're 494 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:23,880 Speaker 1: in the opposite. You're like, I hope not because singing, 495 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 1: and I'm like, I hope so because the singing. Yeah, 496 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: I'm not the biggest fan of musicals. There's nothing wrong 497 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: with them. It's my personal I don't like to watch 498 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:33,560 Speaker 1: people sing. They don't like to look in their mouths thing. 499 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:37,200 Speaker 1: I know. That's my weird neurotic biz. I want fabulousness 500 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:41,120 Speaker 1: about filo Farnsworth with a big chorus line and lots 501 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:43,840 Speaker 1: of kicking doesn't seem right for him though. He just 502 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:46,440 Speaker 1: wanted to quietly work in the lab. Why that's why 503 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:51,600 Speaker 1: people can all do the kicking and the big boisterous 504 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:55,080 Speaker 1: show numbers, whereas he could have quiet little songs in 505 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 1: his lab. But yeah, that's Farnsworth. It's interesting because in 506 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:02,760 Speaker 1: some sort when you say bi loot of Farnsworth, people go, oh, 507 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:05,560 Speaker 1: I love his story, and other people just get a 508 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:09,160 Speaker 1: glazy look like he's he's kind of reached through history 509 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:12,000 Speaker 1: and hit certain people, and a lot of people have 510 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:14,959 Speaker 1: become very interested in his story, but for many others, 511 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 1: they have no idea he even existed, let alone lead 512 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: to the box that uh inhabits our lives all the time, 513 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 1: although modern day TV tech is very different. But I'm 514 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,959 Speaker 1: hoping that all the Warehouse thirteen fans who've been writing 515 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:35,160 Speaker 1: us and asking us to talk about Paracelsis can take 516 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:39,760 Speaker 1: some temporary solace in this episode about Farnsworth. I love him. 517 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:43,160 Speaker 1: I have a real soft spot for him, partially because 518 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:47,440 Speaker 1: I love television and entertainment, and partially because you know, 519 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:50,760 Speaker 1: he's just that guy who wants to work on projects 520 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:55,200 Speaker 1: and didn't really have business acumen and just was a 521 00:30:55,200 --> 00:31:03,920 Speaker 1: great thinker that kind of was an underdog. Love him. 522 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:06,320 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us on this Saturday. 523 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:09,360 Speaker 1: If you have heard an email address or a Facebook 524 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:11,520 Speaker 1: you are l or something similar over the course of 525 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:14,239 Speaker 1: today's episode, since it is from the archive that might 526 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:16,920 Speaker 1: be out of date now, you can email us at 527 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 1: history podcast at how stuff Works dot com, and you 528 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,000 Speaker 1: can find us all over social media at missed in History, 529 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:26,280 Speaker 1: and you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, 530 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:29,480 Speaker 1: Google podcast, the I Heart Radio app, and wherever else 531 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:36,280 Speaker 1: you listen to podcasts. For more on this and thousands 532 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:44,040 Speaker 1: of other topics, visit how stuff Works dot com. Hi, 533 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:47,560 Speaker 1: I'm Aerial Casting and I'm Jonathan Strickland, and together we're 534 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:49,320 Speaker 1: going to tell you the stories behind some of the 535 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:52,400 Speaker 1: biggest triumphs and failures in business. That's right. We're going 536 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:56,520 Speaker 1: to explore situations that tested the metal of entrepreneurs, pivotal 537 00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:59,920 Speaker 1: moments that required making tough decisions, some that led to 538 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:03,000 Speaker 1: huge success, like when Apple brought Steve Jobs back into 539 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,360 Speaker 1: the full and others that ended in failure, such as 540 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:09,360 Speaker 1: when a company with not one, but three of the 541 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:13,720 Speaker 1: most successful crowdfunding campaigns in history went out of business. 542 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:16,800 Speaker 1: We'll be talking about some big companies that everybody knows, 543 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:20,360 Speaker 1: like Disney, Lego, and Harley Davidson, and we'll cover some 544 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,520 Speaker 1: that might not be quite such a household name, like 545 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:27,120 Speaker 1: the Rocky Mountain Candy Company. Will learn about the different 546 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:30,640 Speaker 1: challenges these companies have faced, from difficult startups to keeping 547 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:34,280 Speaker 1: a global, multibillion dollar company under control. We'll see how 548 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:38,080 Speaker 1: sometimes the problems faced by a small company and those 549 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:41,520 Speaker 1: by a huge one aren't that different from each other, 550 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:44,320 Speaker 1: and we want to know more than just facts and figures. 551 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:47,240 Speaker 1: We'll talk about the human element behind it all, and 552 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:51,080 Speaker 1: together we try to answer the question, what do you 553 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:54,760 Speaker 1: do when you find yourself at the brink? Subscribe to 554 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,480 Speaker 1: the Brink and find out with a new episode each week. 555 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:00,440 Speaker 1: Two