Electric Chair

After watching the hanging of Saddam, I got to thinking... Why doesn't
the United States do hangings instead of electric chairs for
executions. With all stories I hear of faulty electricutions, you'd
think the US would start hanging again like they did in the old west.
Damn Edison!!!

from wiki;
The first practical electric chair was invented by Harold P. Brown.
Brown was an employee of Thomas Edison, hired for the purpose of
researching electrocution and for the development of the electric
chair. Since Brown worked for Edison, and Edison promoted Brown's work,
the development of the electric chair is often erroneously credited to
Edison himself. Brown's design was based on George Westinghouse's
alternating current (AC), which was then just emerging as the rival to
Edison's less transport-efficient direct current (DC), which was
further along in commercial development. The decision to use AC was
entirely driven by Edison's attempt to claim that AC was more lethal
than DC.

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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Electric Chair (curious questions)
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    (sci.electronics.design)
  • Re: Electric Chair
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    (sci.electronics.design)