Benjamin Franklin Although he had over 10 inventions by himself, Benjamin Franklin did not have a single patent. He was a man of true simplicity whose humble nature carried him along way. “He helped found a new nation and defined the American character. Writer, inventor, diplomat, businessman, musician, scientist, humorist, civic leader, international celebrity . . . genius.” (Pbs1). Most people would associate Benjamin’s inventions with electricity, but he also dabbled around in other fields of interest. Benjamin Franklin was considered to have one of the greatest scientific minds in his era of time because of his inventions involving the odometer, bifocals, the lighting rod, Franklin stove, mapping of the gulf stream and day light savings time. Benjamin Franklin was a man whose mind was always thinking. He was constantly thinking, how can I make things more simple? As a postmaster in 1775, Franklin wanted to be as efficient as he could and provide the best service possible to his people. He thought that by knowing the distance between routes he could plan his system out better. Creating a device that was placed on a wheal that then calculated the amount of turns; he was able to create a formula for figuring out distances. A common reason that someone would need bifocals would be for the disease presbyopia. This is where people need glasses for seeing far away and up close. Benjamin Franklin was a carrier of this pesky informality. It would be annoying to have to always carry two pairs of spectacles everywhere they went. To fix this problem Benjamin simply thought to take the two pairs of lens and cut them horizontally and then fuse them back together, thereby giving a top half for far slightness and a bottom half for near sightedness. It was simple inventions like these that help make Benjamin Franklin the famous man he is today. Even though many people say that Benjamin Franklin “invented” electricity that is not entirely true. He helped form some better ideas on what we know today as electricity. Even though he did not create it he helped understand what a positive and negative side to currents mean. Having done some experiments with a kite and paperclip, he was able to simulate an object that would attract lighting strikes in the nearby areas. This then would allow lighting to strike designated rods allowing them to channel the current underground instead of striking a house or building and burning it down. Ship and other tall structures are able to benefit from this wonderful creation. Young Franklin loved to swim, but this was prominent out of a young boy who grew up in Boston, near the sea. Franklin once said that he could remember when he had wanted to become a sailor and travel across the seas. Loving water and speed he wanted to create a more efficient way to travel through water by man power. He had an idea to make fin like paddles and attach them to his hands while swimming creating a greater surface area, thus allowing him to travel through the water with greater speeds more swiftly than ever. An avid reader Mr. Franklin was. “Benjamin Franklin was the only person to have signed the four key documents that created America. Those key documents being The Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliances with France, The peace treaty with Britain and the United States Constitution.” “He also infused his wit and wisdom to the “Poor Richards Almanac”.” (Davis 1) Being a dedicated lover to books and reading Benjamin would sometimes find it hard to reach the novels he wanted because they would be on the top of the shelf, out of his reach. In order to fix this dilemma Franklin thought up of a way to make an arm
