Inventions
Bifocals
•Benjamin Franklin was both nearsighted and farsighted. He alternated between two pairs of glasses depending on what he was trying to see.
•His solution to this problem was to cut the lenses from both pairs of glasses in half and then reassemble them into one frame.
•The lenses on top are for distance and the bottom lenses allow for reading.
•This basic model for the bifocal is still used today.
Odometer
•While serving as the postmaster for the northern colonies, Benjamin Franklin had to establish mail routes.
•He needed to measure the distances, in order to do this, he invented the odometer.
•The odometer was attached to the axle of his carriage wheels to count the rotations.
•Odometers are standard instruments on vehicles today.
Lightning Rod
•Benjamin Franklins investigations into the nature of electricity led him to this simple invention.
•He mounted a pointed rod on the highest point of a building, he then discovered that the pole would attract lightning flashes and channel the electrical current to the ground, preventing other parts of the building from catching fire.
•Copper lightning rods can be found on many building's today.