As a huge history nerd, I'm definitely an advocate for having properties that have had a significant historical contribution to our world being designated as historical sites. I believe that people these days don't care enough about the past, they don't care to know their history or where we, as an up-and-coming global society, came from. So when I see a chance to spread the word about something like this, I jump on it.

If you don't know who Nikola Tesla is, I highly recommend reading up on him. It will open your eyes to what types of technology are really possible (in case you didn't already know ;)). They were possible a hundred years ago, and they are most certainly possible now. The world just doesn't get told about great minds like Nikola Tesla, and are, instead, fed stories about brilliant minds douche-bags like Thomas Edison. Knowing about Nikola Tesla will (most likely) give you a new disdain for Thomas Edison - and, perhaps, make you a little disgusted at how greedy people can be, even a hundred years ago.

I've already given money to help purchase this property and turn it into a Tesla Museum. If you can spare some cash, won't you do the same?

- Jessica ♥


(The post below is taken from this link) Let's Build a Goddamn Tesla Museum

Nikola Tesla was the father of the electric age. Despite having drop-kicked humanity into a second industrial revolution, up until recently he's been an unsung hero in history books. If you don't know who Tesla is, go read this.

Tesla's final laboratory is located in the sleepy town of Shoreham, New York. It's known as Wardenclyffe and it's where Tesla attempted to build a tower that would provide free wireless energy to the entire earth. Unfortunately, Tesla lost his funding before the project was completed and in 1917 the Wardenclyffe tower was demolished. Subsequently, the land was sold to a film and paper manufacturer.


However, the land, laboratory, and foundation beneath the tower are still there and very recently went up for sale. And right now a non-profit is trying to buy the property and turn it into a Nikola Tesla Museum. The property is listed at $1.6 million, and this non-profit has received a matching grant from New York State of up to $850k. This means that if we can raise $850k, New York State will match us for that same amount -- putting the total raised at $1.7 million.

There is currently another offer on the table from someone who wants to purchase the property potentially tear it down or turn it into a retail establishment. There is no Tesla museum in the United States, despite Tesla's extraordinary accomplishments. If we can outbid this other person and buy the land it will permanently be protected as a historic site and eventually converted into a Nikola Tesla Science Center.

The folks behind this project are a 501(c) non-profit organization and they've spent the past 15 years trying to find a way to save this property. This IndieGoGo account is linked directly to their bank and all the funds will go directly to them.

Even if we raise the full amount and end up with $1.7 million, this isn't enough to build an actual museum / science center. But it will effectively put the property into the right hands so it can eventually be renovated into something fitting for one of the greatest inventors of our time.

Internet, this is where you come in: HELP ME BUILD A GODDAMN TESLA MUSEUM.


More details about the campaign can be found over here.

The Indiegogo campaign is linked directly to the bank account of Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, formerly known as Friends of Science East, Inc. It is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization registered with the State of New York.

Can you imagine if we had wireless back in 1917...man, if people weren't so damn against change, he could have bumped us ahead of the game by so much. I'd be down with a Tesla museum.

i knew this was the oatmeal before even clicking the link.

nikola tesla was a fucking bamf. i wish we had more people like him. well minus the insanity.

The insanity is what made him such a crazy genius. ;D

Why else would he chose to stay celibate? ;)

i don't think the crazy and the smart were really related to each other for him. there are plenty of smart people that aren't crazy and crazy people that aren't smart. i think the celibacy was wise on his part, considering how much sex can be a massive distraction.

Yes but there's a fine line between genius and insanity.

not in all cases. steven hawking certainly isn't crazy. i don't think it's crazy to dedicate your life to science and never have sex.

Here here! And FUCK YES TESLA MUSEUM.

First off, it's a joke, and generally a very well-known one (at least here). It was meant as a lighthearted comment, and I certainly didn't expect anyone to take it any other way.

Secondly, hence the "fine line". That doesn't mean "everyone who is a genius is insane." It means, "it isn't hard to cross the line from simply being a genius to being crazy."

i know what a fine line entails. didn't really need that explained to me, cheers. you could also tone down the whole patronising thing you have going.

i wasn't annoyed with you or anything, i was just engaging in a discussion. i didn't realise you were making a joke. maybe throw an emote in there next time as with text it's generally a lot harder to purvey humour online.

Jeff wants to name our next son Nikola he is in LOVE with that man...as in love with a man as a straight guy can be ;)

looks like this got funded in six days. well done internet, there is hope for humanity yet.

Hella yes. Lets do eeeeeeeeeetttttt!

Regarding the genius and insanity thing, I think it's more that a lot of people who are considered geniuses are on the autism spectrum - which is not actually a mental illness, but is often interpreted as such because the mind works differently from the norm. And it's because the mind works differently (eg. focuses on one thing very intensely, and isn't very influenced by popular attitudes and assumptions and group mentality) that a person can make discoveries that most regular people don't make. Nikola Tesla was considered insane in his time, but nowadays people tend to speculate that he was on the autism spectrum. Daniel Tammet, a autistic savant, has written a book called 'Embracing the Wide Sky', which is about how different minds work - I'm reading it at the moment and it's very interesting. He argues that there is not as much difference as people assume between, say, his mind and anyone else's mind, and that people can learn to use their minds differently.

I reckon Tesla stayed celibate because he was asexual, and had no desire for physical intimacy. ;D

So true I have a friend who is asexual everyone thinks she's insane and I am autistic we make th dynamic crazy duo. Oh and hell yes let's do it! Now where's my wallet :)

I'll just place this right here as a musical side note to the discussion:

http://youtu.be/-2zwBRa0YhA

I wished I had money to contribute...is there anything else I can do? I want to see this happen!!