Thomas Edison's Talking Dolls | The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation

Mo Rocca speaks to curator Kristen Gallerneaux about one of Thomas Edison's less successful inventions — the talking doll. Following the invention of the phonograph, Edison wanted to brainstorm all of the different potential uses for the phonograph technology. Edison's 1878 patent for a "phonographic" doll resulted in the production of about 100 "talking" dolls between 1889 and 1890. This doll "talked" by means of a scaled-down phonograph inside its body, which played nursery rhymes like "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Edison's talking dolls were not only the first of their kind, but it was also the first time women's voices were recorded on record. Unlike the phonograph, Edison's talking dolls were only made for a short time because the doll's mechanism was unreliable and the recorded voices scared children. In 1960, Mattel Toy Company introduced Chatty Cathy, which would go on to become the first successful talking doll. Check out our digital collections to learn more about the Edison talking doll phonographs and wax cylinder recordings: https://www.thehenryford.org/collecti... Like, share, and subscribe! #innovationnation #thehenryford