{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 23: Before Chatty Cathy, Edison Gave Us the Ultimate Creepy Doll","description":"Before Chatty Cathy made us flinch, the Wizard of Menlo Park not only perfected the lightbulb, he also gave us a creepy humanoid with a nightmarish shrill. Have you ever heard of Thomas Edison\u2019s talking dolls? DOWNLOAD NOW Credit: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Paul Israel, the director and general editor of the Thomas A.&amp;nbsp;Edison&amp;nbsp;Papers at Rutgers University and Patrick Feaster, a three-time Grammy nominee and specialist in the history, culture, and preservation of early sound media, including  Edison\u2019s recordings. Sources:  Origins of Sound Recording: Edison's Path to the Phonograph; Feaster, Patrick; Thomas Edison National Historic Park; Retrieved September 2018.  Edison Talking Doll Recordings, 1888-1890; National Park Service; Retrieved September 2018.  Edison: A Life of Invention; Israel, Paul; John Wiley &amp;amp; Sons; February 11, 2000. Thomas Edison\u2019s Greatest Inventions; Bellis, Mary; ThoughtCo.; September 24, 2018.  Thomas Edison\u2019s Creepiest Invention: The Talking Doll; Hartzman, Mark; Weird Historian; May 10, 2017.  Listen to the creepy voices of Thomas Edison\u2019s talking dolls; Starr, Michelle; C\/NET; May 5, 2015.  Hear Edison Talking Doll Sound Recordings; Thomas Edison National Historic Park; Retrieved September 2018. ","author_name":"Historium Unearthia: Unearthing History's Lost and Untold Stories","author_url":"http:\/\/historiumunearthia.com","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/7121927\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/23684182"}