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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 3 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
15 stories matching insul
- Seattle Calls a Patent Bluff and Wins
A federal judge rules that John Klein's insulation-pin patent was no invention at all—saving Seattle a payout that Portland and San Francisco had already made.
- A Flash at the Switchboard: Tacoma's Veteran Electrician Killed by 2,000 Volts
Peter Peterson, six years with the city light station, grabbed two live plugs at once. He was dead before doctors could even attempt a revival.
- The Great Telephone Switchboard Fire
A tangled mess of high-voltage arc light wires sends fireworks cascading through the central telephone exchange, nearly incinerating the entire plant.
- The Great Anacortes Copper Heist
Lawless elements are discovered on a remote island burning off insulation from stolen trolley lines to sell the copper.
- The Bee-Keeper's Underground Cellar
A local apiarist shares his experimental method for keeping bees alive through the cold Washington winters using subterranean chambers.
- The Smoke and Mirrors of Aberdeen's Variety Halls
A skeptical journalist pulls back the curtain on the 'Human Electricians' and fire-eaters captivating local audiences with chemical tricks.
- Fatal Surge on Pacific Avenue
High-voltage electricity crosses wires at a construction site, claiming the lives of two local workers and endangering several others.
- The Electric Well
A routine repair at a Hanford well turns into a brush with death when a frayed electrical cord nearly kills a man deep underground.
- The Electrified Watchman
When the Seattle Electric Railway’s infrastructure turned the city into a hazard, a local watchman learned the hard way that his job required handling more than just time.
- The Mystery of the Creeping Rail
A phantom force is physically shifting the interurban line's tracks toward Tacoma, baffling engineers and causing havoc with the electrical system.
- The Carpenter's Secret Compartment
A crafty smuggler’s hollowed-out tool chest, designed to look like the property of a humble working man, fails to outsmart Seattle Customs inspectors.
- Seattle’s Fire Department Answered 197 Alarms in 1893 — Nearly Half Were False
The chief’s annual report counted 98 false alarms, touted small losses, and asked the city for a fire marshal and better alarm wires.
- The Electric Gate: An Olympia Father Declares War on Front-Gate Courting
A gadget-minded Eastside householder wires his front gate to deliver a jolt to lally-gagging sweethearts — and proves it first on an unwitting dog and a cabbage-loving cow.
- Seattle’s Park Chief Wanted a Boulevard Before the Speculators Got There
In his 1894 annual report, Superintendent E. O. Schwagerl argued that Seattle needed a grand park-and-boulevard plan before rising land values and piecemeal growth closed the window.
- The Night a Streetcar Powerhouse Fire Left Half of Seattle Dark
A pre-dawn blaze at Fifth and Pine gutted the Consolidated Street Railway plant, destroyed nearly all its cars and dynamos, crippled three lines, and blacked out everything north of Pike Street.