What were some of Franklins inventions and discoveries?
• Ant communication (by watching ants lay siege to a jar of molasses) • Bifocal glasses (to let him use one pair of eyeglasses to see both close and far) • Catheters (for his brother who suffered from kidney stones) • Cold-air baths (for cleansing) • Causes of the common cold (lack of fresh night air while sleeping; not washing hands) • Electrical principles and devices • Electroshock therapy • The Pennsylvania fireplace, known today as the Franklin stove • The Glass armonica (Mozart and Beethoven composed music for it) • The location and calculation of the Gulf Stream (his measurements remain accurate) • The recognition that lead can poison • The concept that light clothing reflects (resists) heat • Improved streetlights (with four panes and open at top to let smoke out) • Swimming paddles and flippers (which allowed him to swim faster) Source: Durham, Jennifer L.
