Nikola Tesla is well known for his rivalry with Thomas Edison, but little do many know he was a pioneer of research in electricity and robotics. Tesla was born in Serbia, and from there the world learned about his quirks and crazy inventions. Here are five reasons to love Nikola Tesla.
Number One: He fell in love with a pigeon. Yes, you read that correctly. Tesla was known to lure back pigeons to the hotel room he lived in, but one day he felt a connection between himself and that special pigeon. He stated “I have been feeding pigeons, thousands of them, for years. But there was one, a beautiful bird, pure white with light grey tips on its wings, that was different. It was a female. I had only to wish and call her, and she would come flying to me. I loved that pigeon as a man loves a woman, and she loved me. As long as I had her, there was a purpose to my life.”
Number Two: Tesla lived a life of celibacy. Although Tesla apparently had women falling to their knees wanting to have a relationship, he was too focused on his studies to have a woman. He claimed that all of his intellectual energy and scientific curiosity was overpowering in his life, so he never maintained loving anyone but his pigeon, and many claimed he was asexual.
Number Three: He was good friends with Mark Twain. Tesla normally denied social interaction, but he actually had many close friends, one of them happening to be Mark Twain. Tesla and Twain spent a lot of time together in Tesla’s lab, and Twain actually posed for one of the first photographs to be lit by incandescent lighting, which ended up being the first X-Ray. Twain even helped Tesla test the first alternating currents oscillator.
Number Four: Tesla rarely slept. Next time you’re awake for 24 hours straight cramming for exams, or staying up until three in the morning writing an essay, never forgot what Tesla could do. Tesla claimed to sleep for no more than two hours at a time, which he called “spurts.” Studies show that he once stayed up for nearly 84 hours straight.
Number Five: Tesla believed in living healthy lifestyles. Tesla claimed that his intelligence was from his extremely fit lifestyle known as “A healthy body is a healthy mind.” With such strong feelings towards this lifestyle, he walked eight to 10 miles a day and was also a devout vegetarian.