ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Westinghouse Electric (1886)

Westinghouse Electric is a big company that started a long time ago in the year 1886. Imagine if you were living back then, there were no big machines or gadgets that we use today. People used candles for light and wood or coal for cooking and heating their homes. But there were some smart people who figured out that they could use something called electricity to power things like lights and machines. One of these smart people was named George Westinghouse.

George was a very clever and hardworking person who loved to create things. He wanted to make things better and easier for people to use. So, he came up with the idea of making electrical power safer and more efficient. He invented something called the alternating current (AC) system, which is a way of transferring electricity through wires. It allowed machines and lights to be powered from a distance - like turning on the lights in your home from a switch without having to walk over to every light bulb and turn them on individually.

George and his company worked hard to bring the AC system to people all over the world. They built power plants and electricity transmission systems that made it possible to move electricity from one place to another. This invention made a huge impact on how people live and work today. Without it, we may not have the wide variety of machines, appliances, and gadgets that we use every day.

In short, Westinghouse Electric is a company that brought the power of electricity to the world in a safer, more efficient way. And we are still using their invention today, many years after it was first created.