Benjamin Franklin Didn't Discover Electricity? What a Shock!

     Here's the quickest way to disprove that Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity - it already had a name. Electricity comes from the Greek word elektron, which means "amber" (The Greeks discovered they could generate static electricity by rubbing amber with fur.) What Franklin was trying to prove in his 1752 experiment was the electrical mature of lightening - that lightening was, in fact, electricity. It is true that Franklin flew a kite with a key tied to the string - but the kite was not struck by lightening. If it had been, Franklin might have become a has-Ben. The spark that leapt from the key to Francklin's knuckle was caused by the flow of electrons that exists at all times between the ground and the sky, but during a thunderstorm, the electrons are more active. Had Benjamin Franklin, the inventor of Bifocal Glasses, actually been struck by lightening, he would have made a real spectacle of himself.


So Now You Know .....