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Electric Eel 'Miguel Wattson' Powers His Own Christmas Tree and Social Media Account

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An electric eel named Miguel Wattson at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga is spreading holiday cheer by using his electric energy to power a Christmas tree.

The program, called “Shocking around the Christmas Tree,” features a system that converts Wattson’s bio-electric pulses into power for Christmas lights and sound effects, according to a media release.

“Whenever Miguel discharges electricity, sensors in the water deliver the charge to a set of speakers,” Joey Turnipseed, Tennessee Aquarium’s audiovisual production specialist, said.

The brightness of the flashes of light from the Christmas tree correlates directly to what Wattson is doing at the moment.

“The rapid, dim blinking of the lights is caused by the constant, low-voltage blips of electricity he releases when he’s trying to find food,” Aquarist Kimberly Hurt said.

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“The bigger flashes are caused by the higher voltage shocks he emits when he’s eating or excited.”



The interactive exhibit uses sensors to translate Wattson’s electric charges into sounds and a light display previously to the Christmas tree program.

An amp and an LED meter have been used to illustrate the voltage levels that the eel gives off.

Would you go see Miguel Wattson in action?

However, Wattson has proven to be an extremely tech-savvy eel; he does more than just power some lights. He also runs a Twitter account.

Wattson joined Twitter back in June 2014. His Twitter handle is @EelectricMiguel.

Computer-coders from Tennessee Tech University created a program to send out tweets prompted by his strongest bursts of electricity, according to another Tennessee Aquarium media release. The program translates his electric discharges into onomatopoeias such as “BAMF!!!,” “THWIP!!!!,” and “SPA-KOW!!!!

A video of Wattson lighting up the Christmas tree was posted to his account on Dec. 2.

“ICYMI, here’s a video of yours truly attempting to use my discharges to power the lights on a Christmas tree. (SPOILER ALERT : Of course I pull it off. My phenomenal cosmic — well, bio-electric — power is basically limitless.)” the eel tweeted.

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Aquarium visitors can view Wattson’s dazzling light show from Dec. 3-24.

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Skye Malmberg started out as an editorial intern for The Western Journal in 2019 and has since become a Staff Writer. Ever since she was 10 years old, she has had a passion for writing stories and reporting local news. Skye is currently completing her bachelors degree in Communications.
Skye Malmberg started out as an editorial intern for The Western Journal in 2019 and has since become a Staff Writer. Ever since she was 10 years old, she has had a passion for writing stories and reporting local news. Skye is currently completing her bachelors degree in Communications.




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