In August, a fundraising campaign launched by The Oatmeal's Matthew Inman to help save Nikola Tesla's old lab in New York, the Wardenclyffe Tower. The goal was set at $850,000 and has surpassed that, ending up with a total of $1,370,511—it's the fastest fundraising effort in Indiegogo history. And with that, the lab has been saved!
According to an AP report, "Jane Alcorn, president of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, declined to discuss negotiations on the group's plans to purchase the property, noting that attorneys are still investigating environmental and other concerns." He has said, however, that they "are very optimistic about the future and will move as quickly as we can" to acquire the property.
Tesla left the site in 1919, and it became a photo chemical processing plant after that. About 20 years ago officials determined that the area's groundwater was polluted with cadmium and silver. The land, laboratory, and foundation beneath the tower are still there.
The lab, the final one of the father of the electric age, is located in Shoreham, New York, and it's where Tesla "attempted to build a tower that would provide free wireless energy to the entire earth.
