Frogs' legs
Luigi Galvani noticed that the legs of a dead frog twitched when they touched two different metals. He thought this was “animal electricity”. Volta argued that the electricity was produced between the metals, and his pile proved it.
From battery to power station
In 1831 Michael Faraday discovered that moving a magnet inside a coil produces a current. Generators in power stations and electric motors are based on this. At the end of the 19th century came the “war of the currents”: Thomas Edison championed direct current, while Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse backed alternating current. Alternating current won because it is easier to transmit over long distances.
Batteries today
A direct line runs from Volta's pile to the lithium-ion batteries in phones and electric cars.