Hear Thomas Edison's talking doll that scared kids in 1890

William Steakin
Updated
Hear Thomas Edison's Talking Doll That Scared Kids in 1890
Hear Thomas Edison's Talking Doll That Scared Kids in 1890


Thomas Edison invented a lot of things, including the doll version of the day after tomorrow.

In the 1800's Edison figured out a way to record sound and he brought that technology to dolls.
So they could say things like: 'as they lay me down to sleep, I pray the lord my soul to keep.' As a part of 3 fun phrases.

You may be saying, I bet kids loved these dolls. But they did not.

The kiddies found these dolls so scary they were discontinued in 1890 after only 6 weeks of production. The sounds have probably not been heard since, as the people at Thomas Edison National Park, where some of the dolls are on display, didn't want them to be damaged.

Collecter, Ward Harris, holds a talking doll with a metal torso that was invented by Thomas Edison, in San Francisco, Calif., Feb. 9, 1949. Harris holds in his other hand the inside mechanicals of the doll of which there is a wheel that contains phonograph impressions. Sound comes out of he cone at top of the doll and through holes below its neck. Edison gave the doll to the daughter of an expressman in Orange, N.J. when she was ill. It is one of only two dolls that are known to exist. The other doll is in the Henry Ford collection. (AP Photo/Ernest K. Bennett)


Now, a new technology is able to read the grooves with a laser and recreate the sounds. It's not like dolls have backed off on the creepy level sense. Remember Baby Laugh a Lot?

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