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    Inventing the Lightbulb – How Fishing Inspired Edison

    February 05, 2025  •  EPISODE 251

    Did you know Thomas Edison didn’t just invent the light bulb? He also fished for ideas! Listen as Roger Billings shares how a fishing trip led to one of the greatest inventions of all time.

    About DrB

    Dr. Roger Billings is a visionary innovator whose work has touched the lives of millions of students and transformed the landscape of education. Widely known as “DrB” to the countless kids who benefit from his groundbreaking Acellus learning system, Dr. Billings has dedicated his life to advancing education through technology. As part of DrB’s lifelong commitment to supporting education, Science LIVE was launched as a way to “give back” by mentoring students in conjunction with the Roger Billings Scholarship Program.


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    180 Comments

    1. eb saleh

      Well i was today years old when i learned that fishing had something to do with the light bulb.

      Reply
    2. Malaysia

      Who would have known a fishing trip would change the world.

      Reply
    3. Ailyona balmer

      I love fishing!!!

      Reply
    4. Ava Nelson

      This is so cool

      Reply
    5. Levi

      WOW!

      Reply
    6. Geelah

      If he did not just make the lightbulb what other big ides has he made that has made a big impact on us

      Reply
    7. Aaliyah McLaughlin

      Bamboo?! Such a SMART IDEA!!!

      Reply
    8. Kailey Holman

      It’s interesting that fishing can create ideas like Thomas Edison had.

      Reply
    9. Mason Collier

      Lightbulbs are taken for granted

      Reply
    10. Sasha Golub

      Cool episode i think fishing is super calming and exciting and i think it is funny that Edison’s son caut a fish bigger than his!

      Reply
    11. Max McCall

      How many patents did Thomas Edison hold by the end of his life

      Reply
    12. Javier Nunez

      Crazy how this ends up happening!

      Reply
    13. Rosie

      I didn’t know Edison fished…
      Wow this video was so cool! 🙂

      Reply
    14. Makayla cook

      This is really cool information I never knew Thomas Edison got ideas from fishing.

      Reply
    15. Cooper Moser

      What was another idea that was maybe going to be used instead of the lightbulb?

      Reply
    16. Skyler

      very cool!

      Reply
    17. Bianca Champlain

      Imagine if we didn’t have light bulbs.

      Reply
    18. Louden Sebree

      I love fishing myself so learning about those stories was really cool to hear.

      Reply
    19. Kiayonna Sparks

      I like the little black box with all the colors.

      Reply
    20. Christian bryant

      I can’t believe that technolgy is getting this advance.

      Reply
    21. Jude Savino

      It’s interesting that Edison Fishing led to him inventing the lightbulb.

      Reply
    22. Kamilah Bello

      It’s really interesting that Thomas Edison used fishing as a way to relax and brainstorm and come up with new ideas for his inventions!

      Reply
    23. Kennedy

      I like the fishing stories. The shoe story was good.

      Reply
    24. Varvara

      wow wow!!!

      Reply
    25. Samantha Ojo

      I learned that the fiber of cotton is a light bulb, and it was need in the sense that it would light up.

      Reply
    26. Samson Ojo

      I learned that we need fiber cotton to make light bulbs light up but sometimes when we need fiber cotton to make light bulbs light up the light bulb would be on for only about 10 hours and then the light bulb would burn out.

      Reply
    27. Sophia Garcia

      The fishing with dynamite story was very funny.

      Reply
    28. Prisilah

      Interesting.

      Reply
    29. Noah Soucie

      Very interesting

      Reply
    30. Emma Soucie

      did Thomas Edison make other inventions if so what are they and what inspired him to make them

      Reply
    31. Eve Soucie

      Fun video

      Reply
    32. Peyton Barrett

      Great video.

      Reply
    33. Noel Duke

      I fish 24/7. It is very fun, and not at all boring, in my opinion. In Minnesota on crystal lake, I caught close to a MN state record! I’ll give you a tip for plain fishing. Cast a night-crawler worm out into the water, without a bobber. let it sink for 15 seconds, and start slowly reeling. It works for monster bass, and northern pike! Best of luck!

      -Fisher-woman, noel duke.

      Reply
    34. suraiea

      I love the fish tail

      Reply
    35. Gracie Hodges

      I feel very inspired after watching this.

      Reply
    36. Ashton Coleman

      I had no idea he invented this many big important things!

      Reply
    37. Khaldoun Al Maleh

      Loved the video!

      Reply
    38. trenton saucillo

      How doses the lightbulb burn?

      Reply
    39. logan johnson

      lightbulbs are very important

      Reply
    40. Kanyarak Pongpithanon

      Wow, I didn’t’t know that Edison fished before he became a scientist.What types of bamboo were Edison using for fishing?

      Reply
    41. Brianna

      How does that rubic’s cube work if it was just screens?

      Reply
    42. Payton Reynolds

      Asked my parents if they remember their first computer! They gave me a grumpy look LOL

      Reply
    43. Grant Ferris

      I love that Edison fished, I did know that. I love fishing!!!

      Reply
    44. erik bosch

      awesome vid

      Reply
    45. Llondon Bates

      I love this!

      Reply
    46. Mae

      crazy how something as revolutionary as the lightbulb was inspired by a simple activity like fishing!

      Reply
    47. Taylor Dalton

      Love fishing! so cool to see he was inspired by it

      Reply
    48. Tyler Williams

      Edison was a fisherman? Crazy to think about haha

      Reply
    49. Tymari Jones

      I remember my mom told me Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.

      Reply
    50. Zane F

      Interesting video!

      Reply
    51. Clara Weitzeil

      Thanks for the live

      Reply
    52. Scarlet Harris

      I find it amazing how someone can take something as common as fishing and morph it into a life changing invention.

      Reply
    53. Jocelyn Vandeven

      Watching replay!

      Reply
    54. Lilly. Billings.

      Woohoo! 🙌🙌🙌🎉🎉🎉

      Reply
    55. Lily. Billings.

      Wow I didn’t know he could fish like that.

      Reply
    56. Amber miling

      I love “I’m not wanting to be tested.” Magic isn’t it

      Reply
    57. Kirsten

      Wow!

      Reply
    58. elijah

      this was very fun to watch

      Reply
    59. Maya

      Such a fantastic video.

      Reply
    60. Jameson

      That’s crazy

      Reply
    61. amelia

      I’m so glad lightbulbs were invented. It’d be such a dark world. (pun intended)

      Reply
    62. Lila Vandessppoll

      It was very interesting to learn how he was inspired.

      Reply
    63. Worachit Kasemrattanasan

      love this live!

      Reply
    64. Antonio Roberto Acedera

      I believe that fishing played a crucial role in Mr. Edison’s success because it gives you a lot of quiet time to create ideas, and it teaches patience, which was necessary for testing 6,000 materials for the lightbulb.

      Reply
    65. Amy Camacho

      Great video!!!!

      Reply
    66. Koi Chan

      Wow this is cool

      Reply
    67. Tyler baker

      i like fish

      Reply
    68. Lilly Massey

      Light bulbs have been so important to society both in a revolutionary way and just its common usage day to day. Such a fascinating and crazy concept that Edison came up with then saw through.

      Reply
    69. Andrew

      Cool video

      Reply
    70. KAIDEN VELASQUEZ

      WAS THE LIGHTBULB THE ONLY INVENTION THOMAS EDISON INVENTED?

      Reply
    71. Cecily Hodges

      Have you ever solved a rubics cube? What was your shortest time? I have never been able to finish one.

      Reply
    72. Stefan

      Its amazing how science is sometimes discovered in the weirdest ways!

      Reply
    73. Carmela Myers

      This was very cool!

      Reply
    74. Miguel Chavarria

      I like how Thomas Edison invented light bulbs and fishing that is so amazing!

      Reply
    75. Abby

      This is a nice video I loved it!!!!

      Reply
    76. Stacia Shinberg

      Great video

      Reply
    77. Austin Ramsey

      I love learning about how the light bulb was invented

      Reply
    78. TREVOR FISHACK

      tHE INVENTION OF THE LIGHTBULB WAS ANAZING.

      Reply
    79. ayric

      I thought Einstein was inspired by tesla

      Reply
    80. Jacqueline

      This shows how one human was inspired and invented a life changing invention and without it we would have multiple problems

      Reply
    81. abdulrazaaq

      wow!!

      Reply
    82. giannah lejeune

      he’s been a very inspiring person

      Reply
    83. Jaxon Cunningham

      I didn’t know that Thomas Edison liked to fish.

      Reply
    84. Persephone Davis

      Maybe a ridiculous statement but watching this with my daughter ( whom is a Acellus student) I’m wondering why details like this never made it into my experience when I was a student . To have a program that explains so much behind a scientific invention is truly remarkable. So glad my daughter and I can learn these things to really give us a better appreciation for what we have today.

      Reply
    85. Prisilah

      Great video

      Reply
    86. Tino Salazar

      Such a useful invention!

      Reply
    87. Kysen

      I’m so glad Edison invented the light bulb

      Reply
    88. Carter Davenport

      Wow

      Reply
    89. Harley

      It’s so interesting that fishing inspired him

      Reply
    90. Grainne Norris

      It’s so interesting that the lightbulb was invented only after being inspired by something as simple as fishing, and now it’s used in daily life.

      Reply
    91. Everest C

      Thanks for all this info, you and I always find the same things interesting!

      Reply
    92. Victoria Condon

      Really great lesson!

      Reply
    93. camren

      How many lightbulbs are made everyday?

      Reply
    94. brinley

      this was so awesome

      Reply
    95. Madelyn Dodds

      I never knew that a fishing trip led to Edison’s invention of the lightbulb.

      Reply
    96. Ryker

      i enjoyed the video

      Reply
    97. Angelina

      My dad really likes Edison, this lesson taught me more about him 🙂

      Reply
    98. Matthew Terkeurst

      Wow cool video!

      Reply
    99. Andrew

      It’s not surprising that his most popular invention became the symbol for a good idea itself

      Reply
    100. KayLee D

      That’s cool

      Reply
    101. Jada R. S. Pace-Kitchen

      I think that it is awesome how fishing inspired Thomas Edison.

      Reply
    102. Amber Lilly

      It’s so interesting how he was inspired like something simple like fishing.

      Reply
    103. Audrey E

      This is amazing

      Reply
    104. Arianna Graham

      How did Edison come up with the idea to make a generator?

      Reply
    105. Trinity Batteast

      This was a fun topic

      Reply
    106. Skyler D

      It’s cool how creativity and thinking can turn everyday activities into an invention to solve a problem.

      Reply
    107. Reece

      Thomas Edison was so talented!

      Reply
    108. Nakova

      Thank you for a interesting episode and I hope you all have a great week🥰

      Reply
    109. Alana

      cool^^

      Reply
    110. Secilia Walters

      That is so cool!

      Reply
    111. Levi

      wow!!

      Reply
    112. Hadi

      cool 🙂

      Reply
    113. ava washington

      That’s awesome

      Reply
    114. Tristan Hernandez

      this was a good video

      Reply
    115. Laci

      wow!!

      Reply
    116. Maralin

      Hehe I like the auto rubex cube.

      Reply
    117. Elijah Baldwin

      Wow that was a really cool video

      Reply
    118. Onyx McKie

      Wow I didn’t know fishing was what he did! I think I wanna go fishing one day!

      Reply
    119. Prisilah

      Very interesting ..

      Reply
    120. Nathan Brand

      Great Video

      Reply
    121. hayden

      crazy how he invented that.

      Reply
    122. Megan Almond

      This live was very interesting. It makes me want to go outside and fish!

      Reply
    123. Mary

      Whoa I wonder what kind of “fish” Thomas Edison caught

      Reply
    124. Gwen

      Wow! This is such an interesting video!

      Reply
    125. Jasper

      that is really cool

      Reply
    126. Maja

      What other kinds of things did he use to help figure out what would work for the light filament?

      Reply
    127. david sandoval

      very great episode

      Reply
    128. Levi Parypa

      I liked the Edison bulb. I also have a question. How are light bulbs made?

      Reply
    129. adelyn

      We are so blessed for the light bulb

      Reply
    130. Sophia Benenati

      that’s really cool

      Reply
    131. John David L.

      I like the light bulb

      Reply
    132. Natalia Benenati

      so fantastic!

      Reply
    133. Jayden Batista

      wow I didn’t know Edison fished. very interesting video thanks

      Reply
    134. Aniala Webber

      Loved this live

      Reply
    135. Lily

      Hey y’all i liked the video. I’m sad I recently had a breakup but r51 always cheers me up!!

      Reply
    136. Ellie andrews

      I loved this live!! And really enjoyed learning about this.

      Reply
    137. Domenica Downey

      That was actually really cool!

      Reply
    138. JezaBella Parrish

      Who knew a fishing trip help lead to the discovery of the light bulb.

      Reply
    139. Asher Rice

      So many interesting things to learn about Thomas Edison!

      Reply
    140. Rebekah Wright

      so interesting!

      Reply
    141. Adalynn Nicholson

      Interesting video

      Reply
    142. Kedan Nicholson

      Interesting video!

      Reply
    143. Mattox Goodman

      Oh, wow! I never knew that fishing played a role in Thomas Edison inventing the light bulb. I love to fish so I think that’s really cool.

      Reply
    144. Mckenzie Carter

      That is cool

      Reply
    145. Hailey Sullivan

      What would we do without electricity?

      Reply
    146. Amanda Allred

      What other inventions did Thomas Edison make?

      Reply
    147. Ryker Jameson Flaherty

      I’m loving this.

      Reply
    148. Teddy I

      Very fun video. I loved learning about inventions.

      Reply
    149. Carlee Mashek

      The ground breaking discovery of the lightbulb is fascinating!

      Reply
    150. Autumn Coleman

      What else did Thomas Edison invent?

      Reply
    151. Ava Hampton

      The fish with dynamite story is really funny

      Reply
    152. Koko

      I love snakes! I hope in a future episode reptiles will be examined and studied. Have a great week!😜

      Reply
    153. Cleopatra Rohrer

      How did Paget solve the light rubix cube with her mind??

      Reply
    154. jace peterson

      The dynamite fishing story was very funny story. Was it a true story?

      Reply
    155. Ally

      Happy Valentine’s Day

      Reply
    156. Zayd Almanini

      Awesome video!

      Reply
    157. Albaraa

      Inspiring

      Reply
    158. Katya

      I’ve never gone fishing but I want to try someday

      Reply
    159. Max McCall

      What is so special about that certain bamboo?

      Reply
    160. Lia

      Great video of the light bulb invention by Thomas Edison!

      Reply
    161. Luke .M

      Its nice that Thomas Edison traveled to Japan to experiment, did he travel to any other countries besides Japan.

      Reply
    162. Carlos Diaz

      Was a really cool video! I really enjoyed learning more about Thomas Edison

      Reply
    163. Preston Stewart

      This is an awesome video! I love having the knowledge about Thomas Edison!

      Reply
    164. Jewell Weatherford

      I had no clue he invited other things!

      Reply
    165. Danielle Bediako

      did Thomas Edison make other inventions.

      Reply
    166. Tyler Roys

      This is a great video. I did not know he invented more than just the light bulb. How old was Thomas Edison when he invented the light bulb?

      Reply
    167. E l l a R o s e

      Wow!! this was so cool!

      Reply
    168. Rat Mom

      I like the new intro to the science live, thankyou so much, I really enjoyed watching this video.

      Reply
    169. Vincent Van Liere

      Where did Thomas Edison Live? Why was he so interested in science?

      Reply
    170. Dean Dunaway

      Hey DR,Billings, What was your favorite fish you ever caught?

      Reply
    171. aidan

      I didn’t know that the lights were like welding bright and couldn’t be used inside. I think that Eddison’s light bulb was necessary.

      Reply
    172. Sofia

      Thank you for the video. I absolutely love this video and I am happy to learn something new.

      Reply
    173. Ezra Zarzycki

      This was a really interesting story about Thomas Edison! I never knew that!

      Reply
    174. Marbella

      I love learning about science, this is a great program for kids to watch. You are an inspiring homeschooling site.

      Reply
    175. Brenan

      I couldn’t imagine life as we know it without electricity and light.

      Reply
    176. R McMillin

      Cool episode

      Reply
    177. Kaylee

      What is the longest a lightbulb has lasted?

      Reply
    178. Landon Davis

      would we survive with out electricity?

      Reply
    179. Kailey Wilson

      I do not have the patience for fishing. I can never catch one!

      Reply
    180. Coralynn Puska

      does anybody else think how amazing, that such a small thing like fishing can lead to one of the most wanted and used things on earth?! 💡💡💡!

      Reply

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