Singer and broadcaster Lee Chan-won resonated with Tesla.
In the 22nd episode of KBS2’s ‘The Secret of Celebrity Soldiers’ airing on the 10th, the fierce ‘War of the Currents’ between the century's rivals Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, along with their mysterious experiments and deaths, will be highlighted.
Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla are prominent inventors and engineers who laid the foundation for the 20th-century technology industry. In his youth, Tesla worked at Edison’s electric company and successfully completed innovative projects, but Edison failed to pay the promised incentives. Disappointed, Tesla left the company and soon emerged as Edison’s most formidable competitor. The clash between the two proud geniuses ultimately escalated into the ‘War of the Currents’ over the dominance of direct current (DC) versus alternating current (AC).
In their later years, both men became engrossed in bizarre experiments that transcended the boundaries of science. Edison became obsessed with researching a ‘spirit communicator’ that could communicate with the dead, while Tesla dedicated himself to developing a ‘death ray’ weapon more powerful than an atomic bomb. ‘The Secret of Celebrity Soldiers’ investigates whether their final experiments were the future of science or the delusions of geniuses.
Edison had to drop out of school as a child due to being deemed too distracted, but he demonstrated extraordinary execution by founding a one-man newspaper in a train freight car at the age of 14. In contrast, even while battling cholera, Tesla expressed that “if I can study engineering, I think I will recover,” and declared that he would give up his sex life to focus on his experiments, showing his dedication to academia and research. When Tesla’s obsessive behavior, such as his fixation on the number ‘3’ and setting a specific number of hand washes, was revealed, Lee Chan-won reportedly exclaimed, “He’s so much like me,” unable to hide his surprise.
Lee Nak-jun, the author of the drama ‘Severe Trauma Center’ and a doctor, notes that the behaviors of Edison and Tesla are similar to ADHD and Asperger's syndrome, respectively, and interestingly analyzes the neurodevelopmental characteristics of the two geniuses.
On this day’s broadcast, Professor Kwak Jae-sik, a writer and engineer, will appear to explain in an easy and interesting way how Edison and Tesla have influenced our lives today. There will also be an intriguing story about why the lights go out when the Seoul subway passes between Seoul Station and Namyeong Station, which is related to ‘Edison’s secret,’ along with the voice of a Joseon student recorded in Washington in 1896.
‘The Secret of Celebrity Soldiers’ will air on the 10th at 8:30 PM.
