Truly, a man that died penniless while spouting rather fanciful and discredited claims of superweapons (earthquake machines, intercontinental death rays, for two) is clearly the man to emulate.

Yes. Who would want to be the genius who discovered a revolutionary paradigm in energy transmission and created numerous world-changing inventions when you could be the rich asshole who ripped him off?

And also who claimed to have invented a telephone that talked to the dead[0], btw.

[0]https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/dial-a-ghost-on-thomas...

Truly, the psychopath torturing animals with live current in public is the man to emulate!

Never happened, that's an urban legend

>Eventually, Edison’s team would kill 44 dogs, six calves, and two horses in their quest to discredit alternating current.

https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/the-cruel-animal...

Okay, I might have to mea culpa here, as I thought it was a reference to the infamous Topsy the elephant, which Edison was not involved with.