Thomas Edison had an estate in my hometown of Fort Myers. It has a botanical garden, and my brother would climb the walls there and steal fruit from the sausage tree.
My brother told me that over at the Edison Home they had Thomas Edison's last breath in a jar. I found this very disturbing and had nightmares about it. I asked my science teacher if this was true, and he said "Of course not. A man's laying there dying, and someone's going to stick a jar over his nose and mouth?"
Fast forward twenty-five years and I'm standing in a bookstore. I see a book by Tim Powers called "Expiration Date". On the cover is Thomas Edison, and HIS LAST BREATH is coming out of a broken vial.
Posted by floridacracker at December 28, 2003 12:04 PM