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6. Franklin was obsessed with fresh air as a health cure—he believed it prevented colds and boosted vitality, so he'd often sit naked ("air baths") in front of open windows, even in winter. During a 1776 trip, he shared a tiny bed with John Adams and argued all night about the window: Adams wanted it closed (fear of chills), Ben wanted it wide open (his healing-air theory). Franklin lectured on it until Adams fell asleep from exhaustion. We need a buddy road trip movie with these two!
7. While living in London, over 1,200 human and animal bones were later found buried in the basement/garden of his home at 36 Craven Street. They weren't Franklin's secret stash—he wasn't grave-robbing himself—but came from an anatomy school secretly run there by his friend and protégé, anatomist William Hewson (son-in-law of Franklin's landlady). Hewson dissected bodies (sourced via grave-robbing) for medical study. Franklin was aware of Hewson's work but not directly involved in the dissections. Still creepy basement vibes!
8. He invented the glass armonica (a spooky musical instrument using wet fingers on spinning glass bowls) that became a sensation—Mozart and Beethoven wrote for it—but it was so eerie that some thought it drove people insane. Ben's personal favorite invention, though!
9. He refused to patent any of his inventions (bifocals, lightning rod, Franklin stove, etc.), saying ideas should benefit everyone freely. Noble AF.
10. In 1736, Franklin founded America's first volunteer fire department, the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia (nicknamed his "Bucket Brigade"). He pushed for it after writing articles on fire prevention risks, turning community safety into a civic hack—because why not add firefighter organizer to his resume of super genius?
Happy Birthday, Ben Franklin—the man who proved you can be brilliant, inventive, feisty, hilarious, and a little unhinged all at once. We could use more of that energy today.
https://x.com/TRHLofficial/status/2012375730995294411
The Redheaded libertarian @TRHLofficial - The chances of getting iced by an emu are low.
But never zero.
https://x.com/TRHLofficial/status/2012632312412795327
The Redheaded libertarian @TRHLofficial - SOON.
https://x.com/TRHLofficial/status/2012633082545820040
The Redheaded libertarian @TRHLofficial - On June 10, 1752, Benjamin Franklin conducted his legendary kite experiment, forever linking lightning to electricity.
Walk with me as I retell this story on Benjamin Franklin’s 320th birthday.
On that stormy afternoon, Franklin and his son William ventured to a field near Philadelphia. They took shelter under a simple shed as thunder rumbled closer. Franklin had crafted a silk kite fitted with a sharp iron wire at the top to draw electrical charge from the clouds. The kite's line was hemp—perfect for conducting electricity once soaked by rain—while a silk ribbon at the very end remained dry, serving as an insulator to protect them.
As Joseph Priestley later recounted in his 1767 account (drawing directly from Franklin), the daring inventor “contrived actually to bring lightning from the heavens, by means of an electrical kite, which he raised when a storm of thunder was perceived to be coming on.”
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