When the telephone was first invented by Alexander Graham Bell, the Western Union Telegraph Co. made a huge blunder. It was then the world’s leading Communications Company, dominating the telegraph business. So, Bell and his friends offered to sell the patents on the telephone to them. But the company thought Bell’s invention was worthless and did not accept the offer!
It hardly took two years for them to realise their mistake. By then the Bell Telephone Co. was in full swing and they were making huge profits. Now Western Union could only hope to find something better to sell, and who did they turn to? Edison, of course! He was very good at adding improvements to existing gadgets. Western Union asked Edison to do some of his magic on the telephone!
Edison decided to try a recent invention of his on the telephone – a microphone and transmitter, which contained tiny speakers. He used it in a telephone model and the voice came out louder and clearer. Edison was also able to increase the range of the telephone, from a few kilometres to hundreds of kilometres, by boosting the electric signals. The ‘new’ telephone made Western Union happy, and they bought the idea from Edison for 1,00,000 dollars.
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