The last time Matthew Inman from The Oatmeal made the news, he was posting pictures of the $211,000 he had raised to prank FunnyJunk:

While that project was certainly good for a chuckle, it also proved that Matthew could raise quite a bit of money when he got his community to support a cause.

Which is why his latest project is even more impressive: He wants to raise enough money to turn Nikola Tesla’s final laboratory into a museum:

According to Matthew, Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived. And since the land, laboratory and foundation beneath Tesla’s Wardenclyffe tower are all up for sale, and the competing bid is from a group that wants to tear it all down and turn it into a retail establishment, Matthew decided to help support the cause that would eventually turn Tesla’s lab into a permanently protected historic site, and eventually a Nikola Tesla Science Center.

The cost of the land and the laboratory is $1.7 million, but the state of New York has committed to match what is raised, so the goal has been set at $850k.

And with 43 days remaining, more than $500,000 has been donated to the cause, which puts this project well on the path to being fully funded, and then some. And since any additional funds will go directly towards restoring the laboratory and building the Science Center, backers can rest comfortably knowing that every dollar donated will go towards a good cause.

It’s projects like this that remind you of the power of the Internet, and how it can be used for good when the right people with the right ideas come together to make some magic happen.