Nikola Tesla had one of the strangest minds in science history. He claimed he could see new inventions fully formed in his imagination, complete with every gear and wire, before he built them. He worked obsessively, slept very little, and was terrified of germs and round objects like pearls.
In the 1880s he moved to America and went to work for Thomas Edison - and the two quickly clashed. Edison wanted to deliver electricity using direct current (DC). Tesla pushed alternating current (AC), which could travel long distances much more easily. Tesla won, and today AC electricity flows into your lights, your fridge, and your phone charger.
In his later years Tesla grew lonely. He lived in a New York hotel, fed wild pigeons in the park, and dreamed up wireless power and remote-controlled boats. He died with almost no money, but his name lives on - on power lines, on a unit of magnetism, and on a car.
