Starting in childhood, Thomas Alva Edison was full of curiosity (how did eggs hatch?) and always inventing (what science experiments could he do in the basement?) His interest in telegraphs helped him invent a transmitter to improve telephone communication, and his fascination with electricity led to the invention of the lightbulb--and networks of devices to send electricity throughout New York City. More than 1,000 of Edison&&&^s inventions, including the movie camera, movie projector, copy machine, and phonograph, have made our world a safer, brighter, and better place.