Ok, so I've been changing out camera batteries like it's my day job... which ok, it kind of is, but I can tell you I'm super grateful for rechargeable batteries (and I'm thinking the Earth probably is too, but to be honest, I'm not super sure about the environmental impact of making rechargeable batteries... so let's just hope I'm doing the lesser of two evils). Which lead me to my Daily Doodle question of, "when were batteries invented?".
Now, this is going to surprise you... well, it surprised the heck out of me. The first "true" battery was invented by Alessandro Volta in 1800! That's 79 years BEFORE the lightbulb! So 79 years before electricity was accessible to the masses, someone created a battery cell... So the question remains, what would someone need a battery for?
This being said, there are suggestions that batteries were possibly being discovered/made/used in 250BC in Mesopotamia, but that is surrounded with controversy and therefore, Volta gets the nod to the first "true battery". And, no big surprise, Benjamin Franklin was the one who coined the term "battery" in 1749, he was discussing experiments he was doing with electricity using a set of linked capacitors.
All I can say is thank you, Mr. Volta, for your genius. Without batteries I would be a much different person... still creating art, I'm sure, just more old world art rather than a combination of old and new.
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