Hey everybody! It's crazy Aunt Lindsay; this is Olivia, and this is a light bulb!

This little cutie is super important. As a matter of fact, some people think it's the most important invention in human history.

Aunt Lindsay: Can you guess why?
Olivia: No, why?

Well you see, before light bulbs were invented, we had to rely on open and contained flames for light at night, so we could do things like cook, read, do homework, or just keep the boogeyman at bay.

It wasn't that safe, and without light period, we wouldn't be able to do a lot of things, or at least it would just take a lot longer when the sun went down.

Vocabulary: Inventor...

An inventor is a person who thinks up new ideas for products, processes, and things for the first time. It makes them real by either drawing them up, or creating a prototype. For some people, it's an actual job.

Most people think that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, and that's only kind of true. The truth is there's a lot going on inside this little bugger, and it took a lot of great minds to come together and help it come to life.

Now, the most important element that Edison struggled with, in getting his invention off the ground, was keeping the light bulb glowing for longer than a few minutes without blowing out, and making the price of it less expensive.

The fix? the carbon filament.
The carbon filament made it possible for light bulbs to be turned on and off a bunch of times, last a super long time, and was much less expensive, so cities and everyday people could use them in their everyday life.

Enter Lewis Latimer; the inventor of the carbon filament. Lewis Latimer was born on Beyonce's birthday, in 1848, in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Fast forward a few years, and he got a job as an office and errand boy, at a Boston patent office. There he became so mesmerized by the meticulous work of the engineers, that in his spare time, he taught himself the highly technical skill of mechanical drawing and drafting. He became so good at this, that Alexander Graham Bell hunted him down and asked him to draw the original plans on his submission of the telephone.

Lewis was soon promoted to head draftsman at his office, and was offered all kinds of jobs, all over the country, including one very special job at Thomas Edison's electrical company in New Jersey (where I am from). He was Edison's only black inventor ever on staff, inventing not just the carbon filament, but also designing and patenting the original design for the electric lamp -as well as quite a few other things- and even literally wrote the book on electric lighting.

Vocabulary: Patent...

A patent is a document that helps inventors have control over their inventions. It prevents other people from copying or selling the design, without permission.

Vocabulary Bank:

rely - verb have confidence or faith in

product - noun an artifact that has been created by someone or some process

process - noun a sustained phenomenon or one marked by gradual changes through a series of states

prototype - noun a standard or typical example

struggle - noun strenuous effort; an energetic attempt to achieve something

glow - verb emit a steady even light without flames

carbon - noun an abundant nonmetallic tetravalent element occurring in three allotropic forms: amorphous carbon and graphite and diamond

filament - noun a thin wire (usually tungsten) that is heated white hot by the passage of an electric current

errand - noun a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission

mesmerize - verb induce hypnosis in; attract strongly, as if with a magnet

meticulous - adj. marked by extreme care in treatment of details; marked by precise accordance with details

engineer - noun a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems; the operator of a railway locomotive; verb design as an engineer; plan and direct (a complex undertaking)

technical - adj. characterizing or showing skill in or specialized knowledge of applied arts and sciences; of or relating to technique; of or relating to proficiency in a practical skill

draft - noun a preliminary sketch of a design or picture

submission - noun something (manuscripts or architectural plans and models or estimates or works of art of all genres etc.) submitted for the judgment of others (as in a competition)

Patent - noun a document granting an inventor sole rights to an invention; an official document granting a right or privilege; verb make open to sight or notice; obtain a patent for; grant rights to; grant a patent for

Idioms:

This little cutie: Something small and cute.

As a matter of fact: Adding some extra information that may be surprising.

Can you guess: Do you know? (Used to build suspense and intrigue)

Period: The end. There is nothing more to say.

Drawing them up: Sketching something properly, usually a design.

Kind of: A little bit, but not really (or not entirely).

This little bugger: Something that may present small problems or challenges (bugs).

Off the ground: To see something succeed in the first stages (like a plane taking flight).:

Blowing out: Bursting, breaking, burning up and failing.

The fix: The solution.

A bunch of times: Many times (an undisclosed amount, usually a lot).

Fast forward: Jump ahead in the story by hours, days, weeks, months or years.

In his spare time: When not working or doing anything else.

Literally: Exactly as described.