This picture shows Tesla (Alternating Current) and Thomas Edison (Direct Current).
This is a photo of Topsy the elephant, who was killed by Tesla's AC generator.
An interesting Tesla story is the Battle of the Currents. The battle was a contest between Edison and Tesla, hosted by Westinghouse. The winner would work with Westinghouse to sell their current. Tesla’s current was a rotating electric motor which could provide power to entire towns. Edison’s current was coal powered, and could only power a few houses. Tesla’s current gained more popularity because of its technology and will to power more homes, but Edison attacked that. Edison used a version of Tesla’s current to publicly kill animals. Edison’s public execution plan worked perfectly. Tesla’s orders for the current were canceled, so Tesla quickly took action to fix the current. After months of working, Tesla managed to harness the dangerous electric shock and then resold the item. In the end, Tesla won the battle with his AC generator.
The photo on right shows Tesla's AC generator which used high voltage electricity that flowed in many directions instead of one.