Bright Spark . . .

When he was a young boy in Serbia, Nikola Tesla dreamed of drawing power from Niagara Falls. His dream came true in 1895, when he designed the first hydro-electric power plant at Niagara Falls, beginning the electrification of the USA and the world.

This statue, erected in 2006 on the 150th anniversary of his birth, stands on the Canadian side of the Falls - in case you're wondering, he's standing on an AC motor, which he invented.

Hmm, I remember that 150th anniversary well. The Guardian carried a long excerpt from a really interesting book about him. Must get it, I thought, so a week or so later I ordered a copy from Amazon. I ordered the wrong book, the one I got was a novel for teenagers based on his life. Bloody thing was crap - and cost $40.

Never did read it, in fact I dropped it off at a local charity shop just a couple of weeks ago.