In honor of the release of Stranger Things 2 on Netflix today, here are 5 “stranger things” you didn’t know about radio:
- Radio saved the Eiffel Tower from destruction. The Parisian government planned to disassemble the tower for scrap metal. To prove it could be used as a strategic utility, designer Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel built an antenna stop the tower and funded experiments with wireless telegraphy in 1898. Today, more than 100 antennae on the tower broadcast radio and TV signals around the world. *History.com (3/31/14)
- More Americans 6+ listen to radio (93%) each week than watch TV (89%), use a smartphone (83%), PC (50%) or tablet (37%). *2017 Nielsen Audio Today (6/22/17)
- Nikola Tesla, not Marconi, invented the radio. As early as 1892, Nikola Tesla created a basic design for radio. However, Marconi claimed all the first patents. The U.S. Supreme Court declared Marconi’s patents invalid and awarded them to Tesla in 1943, six months after Tesla’s death. Marconi generally still gets the credit. *Radiobroadcaster.org (2/24/14)
- Marconi was the great-grandson of John Jameson, founder of Jameson Irish Whiskey. *Clifdenheritage.org (12/1/10)
- Officially, from 1922-1971 you could not listen to radio in the UK without having a license. The government wanted citizens to pay ten schillings to get a license. *Radiolicence.org.uk
