Edison’s Demon Dolls

Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution

African American History And Culture, Tony Cohn, Natural History, Air And Space, Society & Culture, Art19, Smithsonian, Science, Sidedoor, History Of The World, The Smithsonian, Pop Culture, Zoo, Dc, National Museum, Exhibit, History, National Zoo, American History, Exhibits, Postal Museum, Washington, Museum

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 29 December 2021

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1890, Americans were delighted when they heard the news that Thomas Edison was using his phonograph technology to give voice to porcelain dolls. But their delight soon turned to horror. In this episode of Sidedoor, we’ll hear a short story that imagines what happens when two little girls receive one of Edison’s talking dolls as a holiday gift. And we’ll speak with an expert from the National Museum of American history to learn what went wrong with Edison’s invention.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Side Door, a podcast from the Smithsonian with support from PRX.
0:13.9	I'm Lizzie Peabody.
0:26.5	Okay, it's the end of a long year.
0:36.0	And if you're anything like me, you're probably feeling exhausted, like the kind of sugar-drenched post-holiday limbs melting into the couch upholstery kind of tired.
0:38.4	Which means it is the perfect time to curl up with a blanket and a warm drink and listen to a story.
0:44.7	And luckily for you, we have just the one, an old favorite from the side door vault.
0:50.5	This story begins at an auction for toys.
0:55.5	Bess, what does it like to go to a toy auction?
0:59.0	Well, there are a lot of old ladies, usually.
1:03.4	I fit right in.
1:04.8	Yeah, me too.
1:06.6	And, you know, I was seven or eight when I was going to these auctions.
1:11.6	This is author Bess Winter.
1:13.7	They were specifically doll auctions.
1:16.5	I think your eyes would water at the amount of money that is spent.
1:21.9	There are certain American dolls that are like American folk art.
1:25.3	And those go for like $10,000, $15,000.
1:30.3	Wow.
1:31.3	Yeah, yeah.
1:32.3	It's a lot for a doll.
1:33.3	It is a lot for a doll.
1:35.3	It basically is an investment piece, like buying a piece of art.
	...

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