Oh man, I think that’s the first time I’ve seen a life-size, live-action Reddy Kilowatt. Check it out, and be sure to watch the video:

Once upon a time, Northland TV stations made their own children’s show. The kids who watched those shows are now in their 40′s and 50′s but still fondly remember names like Captain Q and Mr. Toot. Dave Anderson tells us how a pair of fans is trying to preserve those memories…

“I’ve been doing research on this subject for nearly a decade now.” The biggest find was some actual Mr. Toot with Reddy Kilowatt footage found on an archaic reel to reel video tape. “We had to track down a company that had one of those old machines that could actually play that type of tape and have it transferred.”

“I bet I know what your favorite fish is. Electric eels!”

A cautionary tale about respecting electricity from Horace Jeffery Hodges — and note that this mishap was blamed on Willie Wirehand, not Reddy Kilowatt! ;-)…

Although I managed to maneuver the plug’s prongs into the extension’s outlet, a spark of electricity briefly illuminated the night, and I dropped the two cords in alarm without completing the connection. But we didn’t hear them fall to the ground, and I realized that they were linked and hanging somewhere in the darkness before me.

I went groping for them and closed my right hand directly on the bare prongs. A wave of power surged through my body, I saw more light than I had ever seen, and I screamed. Another wave and light. I screamed again. A third time. I screamed and collapsed, breaking the circuit.

Something else from the Northwest, over at Dvorak Uncensored:

Technology to help Americans reduce electricity use when the grid is stressed could help utilities save $120 billion on spending for new power plants and transmission lines, government officials and researchers said on Wednesday after a study in the Pacific Northwest.

Another Reddy blog mention, this time over at Portland Architecture:

But it was another favorite lost to history that Duffy likes best, the “Reddy Kilowatt” mascot for Pacific Power’s downtown office where her father worked, “a little man with lightning bolts for arms and legs, a light bulb for a nose and wall outlets for years.” If that neon sign were still shining somewhere in Portland, I’d have to draw from the cheerful rhetoric of Rachel Ray: “How good does that look?”

A quick Reddy mention from someone over in New York state:

“Living off the grid” was the norm, since the grid did not come to Scipio until about the early 1940′s. An early bill features a picture of Reddy Kilowatt and a cost of $2.50 for a month’s service for a house on the then Lake Road — now Wyckoff Road.
And electricity meant that the old hand pump wells could be replaced by a cistern or a dug well. To just turn on a faucet and draw the water you needed instead of pumping and bringing pails full to the house must have been a huge improvement and timesaver.

From yesterday’s NYT CityBlog:

Today, Con Edison will end 125 years of direct current electricity service that began when Thomas Edison opened his Pearl Street power station on Sept. 4, 1882. Con Ed will now only provide alternating current, in a final, vestigial triumph by Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, Mr. Edison’s rivals who were the main proponents of alternating current in the AC/DC debates of the turn of the 20th century.

A classic Reddy sign has been relit:

It’s an electrifying day as a Sioux City icon, “Reddy Kilowatt”, has returned.

Friday Reddy was dedicated at the ISU Design West Studio for folks to enjoy.

The large neon sign welcomed travelers into Sioux City along I-29 from 1956 to 1996.

This new location is fitting because Reddy was made to educate students about electricity and now will be surrounded by students attending the design school.

Update: There’s an article at the Sioux City Journal, too: Reddy’s back in town (and it mentions us!).

Check out these great images of Reddy on Krista76′s Flickr stream…

Here’s a roundup of all the latest Reddy Kilowatt stuff available on eBay. Just in case you were looking to spend some money today. This sign looks pretty nice.

From a blog called Denver Direct:

Now Reddy, while you were back in the storage shed hibernating, one of your distributors, Xcel Energy in Colorado, was trying to make things better by upgrading some of those transmission towers over there just west of the Platte. You remember? Ok, Well, part of that route goes through Ruby Hill Park, you know, that old Indian lookout?

Well, some of the folks who live there kinda wanted you to improve the situation while you were at it, and, you know, put the lines underground? Expensive you say? Hey come on Reddy, give us a break here.