>>11133590If you want an actual answer instead of reddit memes and webcomic lines, pick up Neil Baldwin's biography of Edison and read it. Keep in mind that most inventions aren't "the first X", but "a better X" or "an X that can Y". You're going to see a lot of incremental improvements that you likely won't care about on a personal level.
>>11133920With "recorded sound", the earlier counterexamples are 1) a guy who couldn't play back the sounds he recorded, and 2) a guy who couldn't build the machine he designed. There's good reason that Edison is credited with it -- he's the one that delivered.
With motion pictures, you've got a similar story (though Le Prince was at least taking steps towards delivering).
With the light bulb, Edison's version -was- more practical -- unlike Swan's, it could be used on a larger scale and could last a reasonable amount of time.
