Today I read the wikipedia entry for Nikola Tesla.  This guy is amazing. Take a look at all the patents this guy had. It's staggering to think one guy did all that.  If you use electricity or radio or just about anything modern, you've got him to thank for it.

They think he may have had synesthesia, which is the coolest neurological condition I've ever heard of.  He certainly was a super genius and I can only imagine what great things he would have done with the proper funding and support.

He spent several years, while researching, doing manual labor (like digging ditches) to make money.  He also was thwarted several times by his nemesis, Edison.

He's the kind of person (or character in books and movies) that I really like: talented, tragic, weird.

[photo is a public domain publicity photo of a participant sitting in Nikola Tesla's laboratory in Colorado Springs circa 1900]