Electrical Oddities

Image of Rottenbuch Radio Tower located in Peiting, Germany
Peiting, Germany

Rottenbuch Radio Tower

Cell phone tower constructed entirely of wood

Before 1935, especially in Germany, is was not uncommon to see radio towers constructed of wood as the material acts as an insulator, making it possible to hang antenna wires from it. After a... »

Electrical Oddities | Edited by Alpha and Nicholas Jackson

Image of Shorty located in Sindelfingen, Germany
Sindelfingen, Germany

Shorty

Shortest overhead power line in the world

Said to be the shortest overhead power line in the entire world, Shorty is just 94 meters long and consists of only two pylons: a wooden termination tower and a tower transformer. The transformer... »

Electrical Oddities | Edited by Nicholas Jackson

Image of Kaliakra Transmitter located in Bulgarevo, Bulgaria
Bulgarevo, Bulgaria

Kaliakra Transmitter

Massive, unfinished broadcasting station stands as a monument to the fall of communism

The former Soviet Union began work on the Kaliakra Transmitter in 1988, intending for it to act as a relay transmitter for Southeast Europe, but construction stopped a year later after the... »

Electrical Oddities | Edited by Nicholas Jackson and wythe

Image of Mickey Pylon located in Celebration Census Designated Place, Florida, US
Celebration Census Designated Place, Florida, US

Mickey Pylon

Electrical pylon in the shape of Disney's beloved mouse

The Mickey Pylon is a well-known landmark in Celebration, Florida, a master-planned community just outside of Walt Disney World Resort in the Orlando-Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area.... »

Electrical Oddities | Edited by Nicholas Jackson

Image of The Schwamendingen X located in Zurich, Switzerland | A tram crossing over the Schwamendingen X.
Zurich, Switzerland

The Schwamendingen X

Dangerous site where the tracks of Zurich tramcars intersect

Just a few meters west of the Schwamendinger Place tramway station, there is an x-shaped rail piece on which the tramcars change from right-hand travel on the overground lines to left-hand travel... »

Electrical Oddities | Edited by Alpha and Nicholas Jackson

Image of Chamsori Gramophone and Edison Science Museum located in Kangnung, South Korea | A glimpse of the collection housed by the Chamsori Museum.
Kangnung, South Korea

Chamsori Gramophone and Edison Science Museum

Explore the history of recorded sound at the world's third largest collection of Edison memorabilia

An oddity of geography, the Chamsori Gramophone and Edison Science Museum is situated fifteen minutes from downtown Gangneung, South Korea. While neither Thomas Edison nor the Gramophone have any... »

Wonder Cabinets, Unique Collections, Musical Wonders, Electrical Oddities | Edited by timothylegion, Annetta and others

Image of Tempio Voltiano located in Como, Italy
Como, Italy

Tempio Voltiano

Old batteries and frog skeletons reside in this lakeside monument to Allesandro Volta

Tempio Voltiano, or the Voltian Temple, is a neoclassical monument and museum dedicated to the life and work of the Italian physicist and inventor of the modern battery, Allesandro Volta. In the... »

Strange Science, Instruments of Science, Electrical Oddities, Retro-Tech | Edited by Trevor and wythe

Image of Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex located in Goldstone Lake, California, US
Goldstone Lake, California, US

Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex

Where NASA's satellites and rovers phone home

If setting up a satellite television dish sounds like a daunting task, then consider the job of picking up signals from rovers on Mars or satellites orbiting Saturn. That's exactly the... »

Instruments of Science, Electrical Oddities | Edited by Trevor

Image of Marconi National Historic Site located in Cape Breton Island, Canada | A model of the Marconi's original Table Head station at Glace Bay.
Cape Breton Island, Canada

Marconi National Historic Site

Site of the first official transatlantic wireless communications

The beginnings of the wireless age can be traced back to Canada's eastern seaboard. There, at the turn of twentieth century, the Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi carried out the first... »

Strange Science, Instruments of Science, Electrical Oddities, Retro-Tech, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Trevor

Image of CU / Square Butte Crossing | Crossing of 400 kV DC line CU ( on large pylons) of 250 kV DC line Square Butte ( on small pylons) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HVDC_Crossover_North-Dakota.jpg

CU / Square Butte Crossing

The only place outside China, where two overhead DC powerlines cross each other

Some points are unique although one would not think on the first look that they are. One of that points is situated southeast of Wing, South Dakota, where two powerlines cross each other.... »

Electrical Oddities | Edited by Alpha

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