This week, we find out why some ideas are better left on the drawing board. Thomas Edison, the inventor behind the light bulb and phonograph, thought it would be a great idea to make dolls talk. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. What was supposed to be a groundbreaking toy turned into a nightmare, with dolls spewing scratchy, eerie nursery rhymes that left children and parents terrified. And you know if it creeped the Victorians out, it was seriously creepy. So grab your phonographs and ready your ears for some serious nightmare fuel!

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VIDEO:

ItWorks - How does a record player work with sound…

RECORDINGS:

Wikipedia - Edison’s Phonograph Doll

SOURCES: 

Wikipedia - Phonograph

Smithsonian - Edison Talking Doll

npca.org - The World’s First Talking Dolls

Smithsonian Magazine - The Epic Failure of Thomas Edison’s Talking Doll

The Henry Ford - Edison Talking Doll, 1889-1890

Smithsonian Magazine - How Porcelain Dolls Became the Ultimate Victorian Status Symbol

Reddit - "Victorian Mourning Dolls"- Where's The Evidence?

Burials and Beyond - The World of Victorian Grave Dolls

The Order of the Good Death - Cabinet of Curiosities: Victorian Death Dolls

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