ABSTRACT
Agricultural production has historically increased because of technology development and the discovery and development of electricity. Electricity is, in fact, a technology development achievement of its own. Electricity could have failed to develop because of a related combination of public opinion and the inability to develop an effective business model. Electricity could have been simply viewed as too dangerous, too expensive, and of not providing sufficient value to overcome those considerations. Even currently, more than 30,000 non-fatal shock accidents occur each year. Each year, there is an estimated 60 electrocutions associated with consumer products. If modern electric systems never evolved, then Edison himself would have contributed substantially to the demise of electricity. By the mid-1880s, there were 10 electric distribution companies in New York City with all 10 running overhead wires over the same street in some cases. Between May 1887 and September 1889, seventeen New Yorkers were electrocuted by overhead wire configurations.
