Ankā
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Ankā
@ankaaology
I'm not sure what I'm doing here either. | Not on any apps.




Anti-electricity propaganda from 1900.... At the turn of the 20th Century, electricity, now the lifeblood of modern civilization, was once seen as a terrifying force. This anti-electricity propaganda cartoon titled "The Unrestrained Demon", was created during a period when the public had significant fears about the dangers of new electrical technology and the messy, unregulated wiring, a skull-shaped lightbulb and citizens struck down by invisible energy that was common in cities. Such propaganda reflected public anxiety toward a new and poorly understood technology. Early electrical systems were dangerous. Overhead wires frequently sparked fires, electrocuted horses, and caused fatal accidents. Competing inventors, notably Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, fueled fear campaigns known as the War of Currents. Edison’s backers portrayed alternating current (AC) as deadly, even sponsoring public electrocutions to sway opinion. The cartoon depicts a chaotic scene with people and a horse being harmed by a tangled mess of electrical wires and a light bulb with a skull inside it. The man tangled in the wires is believed to be a depiction of John Feeks, a lineman who was electrocuted in Manhattan in 1889, an event that highlighted the real safety concerns of the time. The image reflects the "War of the Currents" between Thomas Edison (advocating for direct current) and Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse (advocating for alternating current). The cartoon is an example of how new technologies often face public skepticism and fear, often fueled by safety concerns and competing interests. This artwork reveals how innovation often enters society under a cloud of suspicion. Electricity, which promised illumination, also embodied mankind’s uneasy relationship with progress. Today, it seems almost absurd, yet it reminds us that every technological revolution, from steam to AI, first evokes fear before acceptance. In 1890, Edison’s company helped design the first electric chair to demonstrate the “dangers” of alternating current, a grim marketing move in the battle over electrical standards. © Historyfeels #archaeohistories

















