Flash Joule heating has been widely used as an ultrafast, scalable, and versatile synthesis method, most prominently in the synthesis of flash graphene and other carbon materials. Whereas most chemical synthesis methods transfer heat through a medium into which most heat is lost, flash Joule heating reactions utilize the target feedstock itself as the heating medium, enabling near optimal heating efficiency and consequently extremely high heating rates. Herein, I present an overview of the use of flash Joule heating for materials production, including graphene, graphite, carbon nanotubes, doped graphene, silicon carbide, and p-block metal dichalcogenides. I present different engineering and reaction techniques to facilitate the kilogram-scale production of these materials while performing life cycle assessments and technoeconomic analyses of these processes. I further highlight the impact that the passage of electrical current through the reactant feedstock has on the mechanics of the flash Joule heating technique, finding that this phenomenon can reduce reaction activation energy. I finally discuss the historical foundations of graphene production and provide evidence that Thomas Edison may have synthesized graphene as early as 1879.