Edison’s Torchlight

On his way to perfecting the light bulb, Thomas Edison failed 2,774 times before reaching his final design. In The Hesperus Prophecy, he also failed at making a portable light.

In 1898, on the night of the Obturavi attack, he led the Powell family through the library’s ceiling hatch and into the dark tunnel leading to the Jefferson Pier. To illuminate their way, Edison produced a foot-long cylinder that lit up the tunnel. When the Powell children “oohed” and “aahed” at the magic stick, the inventor called it a torch light. “It’s something I’ve been working on for years,” he explained, “though I just can’t seem to keep it lit very long. More like a flash of light, if you ask me. I may keep tinkering with it but it’s not yet worth my time filing a patent.”

The following year, 1899, David Misell invented and patented the first flashlight. Similar to how two people working on separate continents discovered the extraction of aluminum at the same time, other inventors such as Germany’s Paul Schmidt independently created flashlights.

They were originally called flashlights because the batteries couldn't hold a steady charge, so the light would flash on and off, which limited their utility. Undeterred, Misell donated flashlights to the New York City police, who found them useful, and as the technology improved, their use spread.