Today, Edison's Experiment Would be a Felony

In the movie Young Tom Edison, he secretly made nitroglycerin to satisfy his scientific curiosity. At fourteen, I followed in his footsteps. I chilled fuming acids… carefully added glycerin drop by drop…and watched golden droplets settle to the bottom… transferred the droplets to the lab bench…and experimented with controlled ignitions and detonations. Then, one drop of the vasodilator touched my skin. My heart raced. My head pounded. I never did that again.

Edison walked away from explosives. He chose discovery over destruction. That choice made him great. Ethical scientists don't just chase power. They learn from their mistakes, and in that way they turn awe into wisdom...and wonder into progress.

Today, Edison's experiment would be a felony under 18 U.S.C. § 842(a)(1) and Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.17. Don’t do this experiment at home.

Edison Handling a Bottle of Nitroglycerine

In the movie, the trainmaster discovered a bottle of nitroglycerine in his laboratory

At age 13, Thomas Edison transformed a train’s baggage car into a mobile marketplace, publishing house, and experimental laboratory. He worked as a newsboy, selling newspapers, candy, and vegetables, but didn’t stop there—he installed a printing press and published his own newspaper, the Grand Trunk Herald. His publication not only entertained passengers but also showcased his ambition and ingenuity. Earning $50 a week (equivalent to $2,000 per week today) demonstrates that curiosity and initiative could turn opportunity into enterprise. But the awe of Edison’s story deepens. He converted the same baggage car into a chemistry lab, experimenting freely during train journeys. In the movie, the trainmaster discovered a bottle of nitroglycerine in his laboratory. Edison was forced to make an emergency disposal of the explosive over a bridge. The incident ended his train-based lab, but it did not extinguish his passion for discovery.

Young Tom Edison

Movie poster for ‘Young Tom Edision” MGM 1940.

Picture a 12-year-old who turns a train’s baggage car into a rolling laboratory—then grows up to light the world. Magazines, movies, and Boy Scout handbooks praised Thomas Edison’s fearless tinkering, and the nation’s children took notes. In MGM’s 1940 biopic, Young Tom Edison casts Mickey Rooney as the inquisitive teenager who peppers teachers with “why?” and tests backyard inventions until sparks fly. Released when America craved heroes of ingenuity, the film framed Edison as living proof that disciplined curiosity powers progress. Rooney’s portrayal reminds every viewer that behind each breakthrough stands a child who refuses to accept “because” for an answer.

Thomas Edison “The Wizard of Menlo Park.”

Witnessing Edison at 75 is witnessing a man who transformed curiosity into power. His life evokes surprise, admiration, and awe, the emotional sparks behind scientific breakthroughs. At age 75, Thomas Edison held 1,093 patents, more than any American in history. He created the phonograph, the light bulb, and the motion picture camera, turning silence into sound, darkness into light, and stillness into moving images. Edison founded the world’s first industrial research lab in Menlo Park, hiring 60 inventors to mass-produce ideas. He tested over 6,000 materials to find the right filament for a practical light bulb. His Pearl Street power station lit 400 lamps in Manhattan in 1882, birthing the electric age. He not only built inventions, but also industries. Edison was a hero of mine.