Joseph Lister successfully introduced carbolic acid now known as phenol to sterilise surgical instruments and to clean wounds.Thomas Edison created many inventions, but his favorite was the phonograph. While working on improvements to the telegraph and the telephone, Edison figured out a way to record sound on tinfoil-coated cylinders. In 1879 the National Archery Association was founded. It initiated the first US sponsored tournament in 1879. On August 12, 1953 the first test of a Soviet thermonuclear device took place.
