The Television was Invented in Idaho?!
Television is one of the biggest revolutionary inventions of the 20th century. Today there are about 120.6 million TVs in households throughout the United States and it all started right here in an Idaho potato field.
Rigby, Idaho is small town that sits just outside of Idaho Falls and it is considered to be the official birthplace of television. A man named Philo T. Farnsworth first came up with his idea of an electronic television system while he was a student at Rigby High School. Although the television wasn't fully developed until 1927 while Farnsworth was living in San Francisco, Rigby is the rightful place where Farnsworth's inspiration was sparked.
At the age of 14, Farnsworth first dreamed of somehow trapping light in an empty jar and then transmitting that light as a picture. A light went off in Farnsworth's own head when he was plowing none other than a potato field (classic Idaho). The horizontal rows of spuds apparently gave him the idea of television scan lines and the rest was history.
Philo T. Farnsworth was actually quite the inventor. He had 300 patents to his name mostly including radio and television-based devices. His invention of the the first ever fully functional electronic television though was his breadwinner and it's what put Rigby, Idaho on the map.
Rigby takes great pride in this and even brands themselves as "The Birthplace of Television" on its welcome sign. The town also has a museum dedicated to Farnsworth's contributions and accomplishments called the Farnsworth TV and Pioneer Museum. Who would have figured that one of the greatest technological inventions ever, was first thought of in a potato field in small town Rigby, Idaho.