Nikola Tesla and pigeons - unsolved mystery
Many of Tesla's compulsive behaviors revolved around the number 3, and in his older life, he developed a fondness for pigeons. It was his habit to wash his hands three times in a row, and he walked around a building three times before entering it. Tesla also hated pearls and refused to talk to women who wore them. Some believe these behaviors are signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder, while others do not understand why they occur. Among Tesla's many eccentricities was his love of pigeons. No one knows why Tesla became interested in pigeons.
A psychological approach to Tesla’s love
In the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, Dr. Jule Eisenbud examined the symbolism of the bird in Tesla’s life and related it to his neuroses and the relationship he established with his mother as a child. The bird is an ancient, universal symbol for the mother and her breasts, which are a source of nourishment, the psychologist said. Tesla believed he had the power to summon his beautiful white dove wherever he was, at will. "The significance of this fantasy," the psychologist continued, "can only be understood when considered in conjunction with other strong evidence from his biographical data showing how the unconscious need for a disappearing mother and the need for her control dominated Tesla's entire life." Full of symbols, substitutions, and compensations. "
Tesla's pigeon - the love of his life
In contrast to the fact that Tesla was a known germaphobe, Tesla's fondness for pigeons was unique. When he lived in New York, he often left the windows of his hotel room open so that the pigeons could visit him whenever they wanted. He took daily walks from the hotel to Bryant Park, usually accompanied by some of his friends and colleagues, where he spent hours each week feeding pigeons.
Tesla once asked a hotel chef to prepare a unique seed mixture for his feathered friends. He found his soulmate in a very special white pigeon and was not afraid to admit that he had fallen in love with it. He never married and said, "I loved that dove as a man loves a woman, and she loved me. As long as I had her, there was meaning in my life.
When the dove became ill, he took it to his hotel room but attempts to cure the bird failed, and it died. Tesla said that before she died, a white light shone from her eyes, brighter than anything he had ever produced with his electric machines. At that moment, Tesla said his life's work was complete.