Henry Ford grew up on an un-electrified farm, and as a young man he followed Edison's career as the inventor became a national role model.Ford took a job at the Edison Illuminating Company working his way up to chief engineer. In 1896 Ford was thirty-three and, though still working for Edison Co.,he had created his first experimental automobile the Ford Quadricycle2 during his off-time. At an Edison company party in New York, Ford had his first chance to meet his hero Edison and was able to explain his new automobile to the great inventor. _  Young man, that's the thing! You have it! Your car is self-contained and carries its own power plant." Edison himself had been working on the idea, but had only been considering electricity as the power source, so the idea of a gas engine was a somewhat new one. The words comforted Ford greatly, who immediately set out building a second car which was to become the Model-T.6.The two men became f'ast friends and would go on camping trips together.When Edison later became limited to a wheelchair, Ford brought an extra one to his house so they could race.At the 50th anniversary of the invention of light-bulb, Ford honored Edison.When Edison spoke, he ended his speech directed at Ford:" As to Henry Ford, words fail to express my feelings.I can only say that he is my friend." Therefore it is no surprise that Ford wanted something to remember Edison by after he passed away in 1931. Once, Ford asked Thomas Edison's son Charles to sit by the dying inventor's bedside and hold a test tube next to his father's mouth to catch his final breath. Ford was a man with many strange behaviors( as was Edison)including some interest in reanimation and spiritualism and some say that he was attempting to catch Edison's soul as it escaped his body in hopes of later bringing the inventor back to life. The test tube itself didn't turn up until 1950 when it was listed in the Ford possessions after Clara Ford's passing away, and then lost again until 1978 when it was discovered in an exhibit Entitled "Henry Ford-A Personal History"  in the Henry Ford Museum.It would then be discovered that the tube was labeled "Edison's Last Breath". There is a further mystery of this "last breath"  test tube. It would seem as if Edison had quite a last breath indeed, as the Edison Estate holds a collection of 42 test tubes all supposedly containing Edison's last breath. Regardless of the excitement over the last breath, the test tube is quite touching in its meaning.Although both men were known for all sorts of poor behavior towards .their loved ones and mistreatment of employees, between them at least, there was clearly a deep respect and admiration. The 61ast breath' test tube" can probably be regarded as  _  .
a symbol of a friendship and memory a witness to a scientific breakthrough a failure to bring Edison back to life a sign of the two inventors' poor behavior