IN HIS OWN WORDS – MY EARLIEST INVENTIONS
By Nikola Tesla
I shall dwell briefly on these extraordinary experiences, on account of their
possible interest to students of psychology and physiology and also because this
period of agony was of the greatest consequence on my mental development and
subsequent labors. But it is indispensable to first relate the circumstances and
conditions which preceded them and in which might be found their partial expla-
nation.
From childhood I was compelled to concentrate attention upon myself. This
caused me much suffering but, to my present view, it was a blessing in disguise
for it has taught me to appreciate the inestimable value of introspection in the
preservation of life, as well as a means of achievement. The pressure of occupa-
tion and the incessant stream of impressions pouring into our consciousness thru
all the gateways of knowledge make modern existence hazardous in many ways.
Most persons are so absorbed in the contemplation of the outside world that they
are wholly oblivious to what is passing on within themselves.
The premature death of millions is primarily traceable to this cause. Even among
those who exercise care it is a common mistake to avoid imaginary, and ignore
the real dangers. And what is true of an individual also applies, more or less, to a
people as a whole. Witness, in illustration, the prohibition movement. A drastic, if
not unconstitutional, measure is now being put thru in this country to prevent the
consumption of alcohol and yet it is a positive fact that coffee, tea, tobacco, chew-
ing gum and other stimulants, which are freely indulged in even at the tender
age, are vastly more injurious to the national body, judging from the number of
those who succumb. So, for instance, during my student years I gathered from the
published necrologues in Vienna, the home of coffee drinkers, that deaths from
heart trouble sometimes reached sixty-seven per cent of the total. Similar obser-
vations might probably be made in cities where the consumption of tea is exces-
sive. These delicious beverages superexcite and gradually exhaust the fine fi-
bers of the brain. They also interfere seriously with arterial circulation and should
be enjoyed all the more sparingly as their deleterious effects are slow and imper-
ceptible. Tobacco, on the other hand, is conducive to easy and pleasant thinking
and detracts from the intensity and concentration necessary to all original and
vigorous effort of the intellect. Chewing gum is helpful for a short while but soon
drains the glandular system and inflicts irreparable damage, not to speak of the
revulsion it creates. Alcohol in small quantities is an excellent tonic, but is toxic in
its action when absorbed in larger amounts, quite immaterial as to whether it is
taken in as whiskey or produced in the stomach from sugar. But it should not be
overlooked that all these are great eliminators assisting Nature, as they do, in
upholding her stern but just law of the survival of the fittest. Eager reformers should
also be mindful of the eternal perversity of mankind which makes the indifferent
“laissez-faire” by far preferable to enforced restraint.
The truth about this is that we need stimulants to do our best work under present
living conditions, and that we must exercise moderation and control our appe-
tites and inclinations in every direction. That is what I have been doing for many
years, in this way maintaining myself young in body and mind. Abstinence was
not always to my liking but I find ample reward in the agreeable experiences I am
now making. Just in the hope of converting some to my precepts and convictions
I will recall one or two.
A short time ago I was returning to my hotel. It was a bitter cold night, the
ground slippery, and no taxi to be had. Half a block behind me followed another
man, evidently as anxious as myself to get under cover. Suddenly my legs went
up in the air. In the same instant there was a flash in my brain, the nerves re-
sponded, the muscles contracted, I swung thru 180 degrees and landed on my
hands. I resumed my walk as tho nothing had happened when the stranger caught
up with me. “How old are you?” he asked, surveying me critically. “Oh, about
fifty-nine,” I replied. “What of it?” “Well,” said he, “I have seen a cat do this but
never a man.” About a month since I wanted to order new eyeglasses and went to
an oculist who put me thru the usual tests. He lookt at me incredulously as I read
off with ease the smallest print at considerable distance. But when I told him that I
was past sixty he gasped in astonishment. Friends of mine often remark that my
suits fit me like gloves but they do not know that all my clothing is made to mea-
surements which were taken nearly 35 years ago and never changed. During this
same period my weight has not varied one pound.
In this connection I may tell a funny story. One evening, in the winter of 1885,
Mr. Edison, Edward H. Johnson, the President of the Edison Illuminating Com-
pany, Mr. Batchellor, Manager of the works, and myself entered a little place op-
posite 65 Fifth Avenue where the offices of the company were located. Someone
suggested guessing weights and I was induced to step on a scale. Edison felt me
all over and said: “Tesla weighs 152 lbs. to an ounce,” and he guest it exactly.
Stript I weighed 142 lbs. and that is still my weight. I whispered to Mr. Johnson:
“How is it possible that Edison could guess my weight so closely?” “Well,” he
said, lowering his voice. “I will tell you, confidentially, but you must not say any-
thing. He was employed for a long time in a Chicago slaughter-house where he
weighed thousands of hogs every day! That’s why.” My friend, the Hon. Chauncey
M. Depew, tells of an Englishman on whom he sprung one of his original anec-
dotes and who listened with a puzzled expression but - a year later - laughed out
loud. I will frankly confess it took me longer than that to appreciate Johnson’s joke.
Now, my well being is simply the result of a careful and measured mode of
living and perhaps the most astonishing thing is that three times in my youth I was
rendered by illness a hopeless physical wreck and given up by physicians. More
than this, thru ignorance and lightheartedness, I got into all sorts of difficulties,
dangers and scrapes from which I extricated myself as by enchantment. I was
almost drowned a dozen times; was nearly boiled alive and just mist being cre-
mated. I was entombed, lost and frozen. I had hair-breadth escapes from mad
dogs, hogs, and other wild animals. I past thru dreadful diseases and met with all
kinds of odd mishaps and that I am hale and hearty today seems like a miracle. But
as I recall these incidents to my mind I feel convinced that my preservation was
not altogether accidental.
An inventor’s endeavor is essentially lifesaving. Whether he harnesses forces,
improves devices, or provides new comforts and conveniences, he is adding to
the safety of our existence. He is also better qualified than the average individual
to protect himself in peril, for he is observant and resourceful. If I had no other
evidence that I was, in a measure, possest of such qualities I would find it in these
personal experiences. The reader will be able to judge for himself if I mention
one or two instances. On one occasion, when about 14 years old, I wanted to scare
some friends who were bathing with me. My plan was to dive under a long float-
ing structure and slip out quietly at the other end. Swimming and diving came to
me as naturally as to a duck and I was confident that I could perform the feat.
Accordingly I plunged into the water and, when out of view, turned around and
proceeded rapidly towards the opposite side. Thinking that I was safely beyond
the structure, I rose to the surface but to my dismay struck a beam. Of course, I
quickly dived and forged ahead with rapid strokes until my breath was begin-
ning to give out. Rising for the second time, my head came again in contact with a
beam.
Now I was becoming desperate. However, summoning all my energy, I
made a third frantic attempt but the result was the same. The torture of supprest
breathing was getting unendurable, my brain was reeling and I felt myself sink-
ing. At that moment, when my situation seemed absolutely hopeless, I experi-
enced one of those flashes of light and the structure above me appeared before
my vision. I either discerned or guest that there was a little space between the
surface of the water and the boards resting on the beams and, with consciousness
nearly gone, I floated up, prest my mouth close to the planks and managed to
inhale a little air, unfortunately mingled with a spray of water which nearly choked
me. Several times I repeated this procedure as in a dream until my heart, which
was racing at a terrible rate, quieted down and I gained composure. After that I
made a number of unsuccessful dives, having completely lost the sense of direc-
tion, but finally succeeded in getting out of the trap when my friends had already
given me up and were fishing for my body.
That bathing season was spoiled for me thru
338+ pages - 11 x 8½ softcover
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