Is nature a gigantic cat?
Is nature a gigantic cat?
Nikola Tesla on his fascination with cats and electricity
It’s International Cat Day, as you well know, so I’m sending you a letter about electricity and cats, written by the one and only Nikola Tesla. A winning combo. It can be found in the book, Letters of Note: Cats.
Born in 1856 in Smiljan, Croatia, Nikola Tesla was an inventor whose invaluable impact on the modern world is difficult to comprehend. During the course of his eighty-six years he made numerous breakthroughs in the realm of electrical engineering, particularly around his AC induction motor, and by the time of his death, the ‘Father of Electricity’ had approximately 300 patents to his name. In Washington DC in 1939, aged eighty-three and in failing health, Tesla met Pola Fotić, the daughter of the Yugoslav ambassador to the United States, and they bonded over their shared love of cats. Soon afterwards, from his home in New York City, Tesla wrote to his new friend and revealed one of the reasons behind his lifelong fascination with electricity.