Tierra Lab
Quick Kids! Come out! Look at the lights!
It’s that time of year again. Wanna be electricians step outside in the cold having learned everything they need to know about exterior illumination from their dad’s and Home Depot 1-2-3 books. It is a tradition that dates back to 1882 when the first holiday tree was wired up by Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison.
In 1989, Johnson’s initial idea was “reborn” by a small Chicago family man, Clark W. Griswold, who was attempting to have the happiest family holiday since Bing Crosby tap danced with Danny Kay. Griswold’s display touted 25,000 imported Italian twinkle lights, although he was never able to perfect the settings resulting in an absence of the little lights twinkling.
In 2005, an electrical engineer Carson Williams set up a light show in the front yard, driveway, windows, and roof of his house. It took him about two months and 3,000 lights. The lights were synchronized to the song “Wizards in Winter” by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and the show was free for anyone passing by who tuned to a specific low-power FM frequency on their car radio. Williams was able to power his display with a various array of lights totaling roughly 3000.
In 2008, Robert and Raquel Cox from Pittsburgh, PA went “Emeril Lagasse” on the tradition and threw in a little too much pepper. The result? 210,000 lights, 3 month of hanging lights and 6 month of computer programming. So behold, the craziest light show to date, and the marvel of a $5000-10000 electric bill. Recession what?!?
5 Responses to “Quick Kids! Come out! Look at the lights!”
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December 4th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Wow, do these folks move out of their homes for the holidays? How would you sleep in a house with a kajillion blinking lights?
December 4th, 2008 at 10:06 am
it turns off at 12am – but as a neighbor, I’d be annoyed.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Wow. I bet snow doesn’t stand a chance inside a three mile radius of that house.
December 5th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Is that an RV in that photo?
December 8th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Unfortunately, yes