The Brief: Edison vs. Tesla memes refer to scientist rivals Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla.

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Although the extent of their rivalry is hotly contested, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla crossed paths and ruffled feathers during their careers in science and invention. Memes pitting Edison against Tesla come from the discourse online about which was the better scientist, person, and innovator. Online, debaters largely favor Tesla, often characterizing him as a heroic, honest inventor and Edison as a greedy, idea-stealing capitalist.

Thomas Edison’s was born on February 11, 1847. On his birthday, some meme-makers have decided to post pro-Tesla and anti-Edison memes, thus hijacking Edison’s birthday to honor Tesla instead. The meme rivalry of these two long-dead historical figures stems from a sense of comradery that many people feel for Tesla as a fellow “geek” and underdog.

These memes are particularly popular on Reddit and on the Dank Memes Subreddit.

Edison vs. Tesla Memes

Important message, let’s do this. Spreddit. from r/dankmemes

Doing my part to avenge Tesla from r/HistoryMemes

A Drake Yes/No meme:

Smash the orange pointy thing if you agree. from r/memes

Since we are hijacking Thomas Edison’s birthday, here’s a Nikola Tesla meme. from r/dankmemes

Alternating is superior from r/dankmemes

Edison sucks from r/dankmemes

Edison = Small PP. Tesla = Big PP from r/dankmemes