Hello, American history teller listeners. I have an exciting announcement. I'm going on tour and coming to a theater near you.

This live show is a thrilling evening of history, storytelling, and music with a full band accompanying me as we look back to explore the days that made America.

And they aren't the days that you might think. Sure, everyone knows July 4th, 1776. We'll be hearing a lot about that date this year,

but there are many other days that are maybe even more influential. So come out to see me

live. More shows to be announced soon. So for information on tickets and upcoming dates,

go to American History Live.com. That's American History Live.com. Come see my Days That Made America tour, live on stage.

Go to American History Live.com.

Imagine it's April 17, 1888 in New York City. You're an editor with a popular tabloid and working on the morning shift in the newsroom. You've got a break, so you sit down at your desk for a breakfast of lukewarm coffee and a pastrami sandwich. As you take your first sip, you hear knock at your door. A young

reporter rushes in. Sorry to interrupt, sir, but I just got tomorrow's front page story. Front page story,

huh? Well, I'll be the judge of that, kid. What is it? You know the corner of East Broadway and

Catherine Street? Yeah, I know it. I walk past it every morning. Well, last night, a boy was playing around a

lamppost and happened to touch a loose wire. Zapp! He falls dead. Dead? Just like that? Yeah,

witnesses say he was just horsing around. They saw him grab a dangling telegraph wire and

danced around the pole. But then when it came in contact with another

loose wire, it sparked. The boy staggered back and fell down on the sidewalk dead as a doornail.

So the electricity killed him? Apparently. And it was only a matter of time before someone got hurt.

Folks told me those wires have been damaged and hanging down for weeks.

Well, now, there are loose wires all over this city. It's hard to tell which ones are electrified. Everyone complains about them. Yeah, but no one's doing anything about it. And this kid,

he was just 15 years old. He had eight brothers and sisters and was selling pocket

combs to help his mother put food on the table.

Oh, that poor family. Yeah, it sounds like this is a final straw for folks. Yeah, what do you mean?

Well, I talked to a shop owner and a couple of witnesses who are planning march down to the mayor's office and demand that all the wires be taken down. The shop owners got a mess of them right over his

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