Facts about Nikola Tesla

8 facts you might not know about the genius Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla was an electrical engineer, inventor and one of the most outstanding physicists in the history of science. But beyond his brilliant work, some aspects of his life remain hidden in the pages of history.

Recently a new statue in honor of Tesla was unveiled in Long Island of New York, which, according to historical data, was the final resting place of the brilliant scientist.

Tesla won more than 700 patents and became famous for developing AC (alternating current), while his work became the basis of developments in wireless communications, radar, laser X rays, lighting, robotics, and many other areas.

Beyond the scientific heritage that made him famous worldwide, his life had some aspects of it remain unknown to most people.

Read the secrets of Tesla’s life as presented by Jane Alcorn, president of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe.

1. The Tesla museum was funded by a cartoon
In May, the Wardenclyffe was purchased by the Tesla Science Center for $ 1,370,000 donated by the website IndieGoGo. The campaign was started by Matthew Inman, creator of the popular comic Oatmeal.

2. Some of Tesla’s inventions were classified
In 1943, when Tesla died, the Office of Alien Property took his stuff. Most of these things were given to his family, and many were taken to the Tesla Museum in Belgrade. However, some documents still remain classified by the U.S. Government.

3. Tesla was an environmentalist
As Alcorn said, Tesla was “worried about the fact that people consume the Earth’s resources too fast, so he wanted to make sure that these resources were renewable“. Thus he studied the ways to gather the natural energy from the ground and air. He created artificial lightning in his lab and detected differences in electrical potential on Earth and on high objects.

4. Tesla died a very poor humanist
Except of being environmentalist, the famous inventor was also a humanist. According to Alcorn, “he did what he did for the sake of the betterment of mankind and wanted to give people an opportunity to have a better quality of life. Thus, he never seemed to care about monetary gain and never had enough money for his research.” Although he had famous friends such as Mark Twain and French actress Sarah Bernhardt, he was never a wealthy man, unlike Edison and Westinghouse who proved much more successful entrepreneurs.

5. Tesla suffered from insomnia and obsessive compulsive behaviors (OCD)
He claimed that he needed only two hours of sleep a night, although he occasionally took an afternoon nap. Tesla hated round objects and jewelry and could not bear to touch hair. Also he was obsessed with the number three and had a habit of polishing each point of the dining room before dining, using precisely 18 napkins.

6. He was celibate
Married life was not for Tesla, who once said: "I do not think you can name many great inventions that have been made by married men." He reportedly thought that sex would hinder his scientific work.

7. He was a "health-nut"
Tesla believed, as many modern-day health experts would agree, that a sound body encouraged a sound mind. As such, he walked eight to 10 miles a day and was very aware of staying fit.  In the evenings before bed, Tesla would complement his walks by curling his toes 100 times per foot. He believed this stimulated brain cells. Tesla even became a vegetarian in his later years, living on only milk, bread, honey, and vegetable juices, as he believed this would benefit his health.

8. Hyper polyglot
Tesla spoke eight languages – Serbo-Croatian, Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, and Latin – and the polyglot was more of a hyper polyglot (one who can speak more than six languages with fluency) with a high degree of proficiency.