Dirt Nap City

Who Was Benjamin Franklin?

• Dirt Nap City • Season 3 • Episode 60

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After George Washington, Benjamin Franklin is considered one of the most important figures during the early days of the United States of America. He was a scholar, a writer, an inventor and a statesman. But did you know that he also tried to invent a new alphabet that eliminated "useless letters" and added new ones? And he also famously wrote an essay about flatulence...among many essays that he wrote - both under his own name and under pseudonyms.
Ben Franklin is often called "the first American" because he longed to unite the colonies and eventually break free from the English crown. He played a very significant role in the early US and is still seen everywhere today - on currency - in books -and often referenced in popular culture. 
In this episode, Kelly and Alex dive into what made Ben Franklin a man of country, science, and even music. There is much more to Benjamin Franklin than most people know, so come along and see why the bald eagle (and not the turkey) is our national symbol!

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Kelly:

Hey Alex, good to see you, man. How you doing?

Alex:

Hey, man, it's good to see you.

Kelly:

I am super excited because, you know, as we've journey, there are certain people on the list that I neither of us have covered yet. And today's person that I people. Now, are there people on your list that you know, should dues? Yeah, I've

Alex:

had I have some. Honestly, there's some that them. Oh, but yeah, yeah,

Kelly:

I like that. But

Alex:

I keep I keep those in case of emergency

Kelly:

brake class and do this one. Well, today's for me is for a long time. And I finally got up the courage to start I'll tell you, it is a little bit a little bit intimidating such great stature, you know, it's somebody that is so well going to not be able to cover it all. And I'm sure I won't person's life. But I can tell you that there's a lot more to people realize, including myself. The

Alex:

first person you ever did was Andre the Giant. Oh, ever did was Colonel Sanders. But the first guess you ever

Kelly:

Right, right, that I was guessing big. I was

Alex:

clue was you see him everywhere.

Kelly:

That's right. He's on signs. And he's holding his chicken in front of him.

Alex:

That was the part that without the bolo tie, they're Well,

Kelly:

this guy, this guy might have rocked the bolo tie about that. He was sort of a fashion setter. He was born in British America? The colonies, right? Ooh, that's 18th early 18th century, he considered the letters C, J, and came up with a new alphabet. And he actually came those letters because he thought those letters, they they're certain you know, what are they called consonant letter for. He came up with new letters to replace the

Alex:

like C is, those sounds are like in k and s. You don't

Kelly:

Yep. Yep, get rid of it. And so it never caught on. his, one of his little experiments that he tried, he stuff. He was said to have a keen sense of humor. And fact, was a well established person and thought very highly of, he letter to the Royal Academy about farting.

Alex:

Are we talking about Benjamin Franklin?

Kelly:

Yes. Yes. It's so funny, because I actually part. Proudly letter.

Alex:

I didn't know that either. I think that the the kind of thing that a guy like him would do. I know he efficiency. Yeah. And trying to find inefficiencies, then window shades or something or proposed attacks on Yeah,

Kelly:

That's why there's only so many windows in certain themselves. So a lot of buildings had fake windows or side where you couldn't see up in New England. That

Alex:

was because he wanted people to wake up and start

Kelly:

yeah. No, he was he was a go getter. He also is said about when you talk about him in the plural, the Benjamins.

Alex:

Oh, yeah. Yeah, we're all about the bench. Well,

Kelly:

he he did coined that letter, when he was the wrote the letter in 1781. And he actually, you know, he seriously. I think he was a very humble guy. And he was, was superior to his other son is other scientific scarcely scarcely worth a farthing. Now,

Alex:

I see what you did there. Yeah, far it's fun.

Kelly:

Yeah, it was a pun because farthing was a coin at Well, he did have some lesser accomplishments. First of all, didn't know what a polymath was until I looked at this, who's good at a lot of stuff, right? Is that your Particularly

Alex:

languages, right? Yeah, yeah.

Kelly:

But I think science as well and arts He was a writer. know, his printer, of course, and the print printing press which to write things and become sort of famous for statesman, diplomat, publisher, philosopher. And he letters behind his name now, Alex, I think you have letters Yeah, yeah. So what does that stand for? Actually, Doctor

Alex:

of Philosophy.

Kelly:

So D is the doctor part. Philosophy? What's the H philosophy?

Alex:

Yeah, the P, the H is lowercase c.

Kelly:

Now Ben Franklin would have would have would have made a letter symbol for the pH part.

Alex:

Right. Right. And it would be DF Doctor of

Kelly:

you're a dwarf? Yeah. Like we were calling when we of Fame where we call it the rar Hof.

Alex:

Yeah, they do call it that, or RHF. Yeah.

Kelly:

Well, the the other thing, in addition to his FRS, the FRSA, and the FRSE letters behind his

Alex:

name. And that's got nothing to do with flatulence. prominent,

Kelly:

f actually stands for fellow. So he was a fellow in and that was a Society of Arts. That was based in something that, you know, very few people had that it was to be to have the FRS s to be a fellow in that. He was the encouragement for the Arts, which sounds redundant, but fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, which all of that.

Alex:

So this must have become before the American

Kelly:

Yeah, it was still considered. I mean, 1706, you still considered the British colonies. He kind of started you as you know, and you know, I didn't realize this until I the town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, there's a that the the fine workers of Dunder Mifflin go to called.

Alex:

Man?

Kelly:

Poor Richard's Poor

Alex:

Richard's. Yeah.

Kelly:

So So did you know that has to do with Ben Franklin? Yeah. So the Poor Richard's Almanac was something that Ben pseudonym Richard Saunders. And he was able to write people in the world, the British government and the that kind of kept him sort of anonymous. He did that a lot.

Alex:

I remember the episode where they had the, the Franklin and impersonator come, and they thought he was

Kelly:

I don't think I've seen that one. I do remember that. took place at a Chili's, I think, or an Outback that. Yeah, he I mean, he just did all kinds of stuff. He he Pennsylvania back when Pennsylvania had a president life, he was a scientist studied electricity. And a lot the first American. And when they talk about that, they to really want to unite the colonies together to defend just each individual colony separately. And he became in inventing the sort of society that America was know, they call him the first American. Sure. Now like many he was born to very religious parents. His father was named tallow Chandler. You familiar with that? What Italo Chandler

Alex:

talk a tallow Chandler Well, tallow has something to fat.

Kelly:

tallow was used to make soap and candles. And so it usually from the waste products of sheep or cows or by chopping it into small pieces, and then boiling it would take the boiled stuff and they would press it and you know, fat the tallow and that was what they use to make and things like that you remember a fight club they soap or steal the fat from the weight loss place so

Alex:

that Chandler is the person that melts it down and Yeah, I

Kelly:

think the Chandler is the one that basically to get the oh the they do the dirty work. Oh, wow. You think good?

Alex:

Yeah, well, they don't I don't. I don't think soaps anymore?

Kelly:

Probably not. Probably not. But but you know, it difficult thing to to get candles that would burn Franklin's father Josiah was able to do that. Now, Josiah course of his life. I mean, can you imagine that?

Alex:

Yeah, that sounds like it was probably not as much. of an outlier back then. But that's still probably on the

Kelly:

Yeah, I'm gonna say even even for the 16 1700s 17

Alex:

even if the average was eight, that's still double.

Kelly:

was married twice, once to a woman name and child. And they moved to Boston in 1683. And he had three children in after so seven children under the wife and child. And then somebody named a BYAH Folger in 1689. And here with a baya, Ben was the eighth of those 10 children. Yeah, so you know, I suppose Benjamin had a lot of cousins.

Alex:

Yeah. And there's a degree of reason yourself for And your house. Yeah,

Kelly:

yeah. As a matter of fact, interestingly, Josiah become some something in the church, they wanted to become but they couldn't really afford to send him to school. being raised by his his siblings, he ended up getting in the printing business, so that was kind of the first 12. He became a printing apprentice, and that was sort nice thing about the printing job was it was a technical that was skilled, you had to know how to do it. But it also gave an outlet for an eyes, his ideas that he could write communication between the colonies and within the very, very important. And of course, there was, you know, of separation is versus the Royalist at the time. And so,

Alex:

so this was newspapers, pamphlets. Yes. All of it.

Kelly:

Yeah. Primarily newspapers. As a matter of brother founded the New England current, which was the in Boston, in the early 1700s. So the Ben Benjamin was a badly to write for his brother's paper. But his saw conflict of interest and was like, no, no, I don't want Don't write it. So he came up with a pseudonym and other poor Richard. And it was silenced. Do good. A middle

Alex:

And so his brother didn't know who that was.

Kelly:

So he wrote, he wrote letters to the paper, under And he wrote them kind of about liberty and about, you things got pretty popular and so popular that his brother publishing them. Yeah, they they're, they were pretty crowd didn't like them. You know, they saw these things and freedom. As a matter of fact, one of the things from do good was without freedom of thought. There can be no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech. And trouble, eventually getting him into trouble. So at 17 He Philadelphia. And

Alex:

did he ever fess up that that was him? Yeah, yeah, I

Kelly:

think his brother's found out that might have been behind bars. His brother, brother got locked up for Benjamin ends up moving to Philadelphia, and gets a job catches the attention of Sir William Keith, who was the governor of Philadelphia, I guess at the time, or guess you can't really be governor of a city. But it was Anyway, William Keith, who was a British royal, convinced should go to England in order to investigate the latest in he could bring stuff back to bring stuff back to the that while he was over there, he didn't get a lot of support didn't get money, that sort of thing. And he didn't end up did kind of learn a little bit more about the world, right? was not as common. It was a big deal for someone to go to

Alex:

was gonna say it always amazes me when we talk about they're going back and forth between Europe, and just how months. Yeah, riding on a boat. Yeah. And they got so went back and forth. Pretty amazing. Have you ever been to there. Ben Franklin's everywhere. Yeah. Like there impersonators. Kind of like Elvis impersonators in Vegas. Philly. You're gonna run into a Ben Franklin impersonator on wherever you're gonna run into it. So

Kelly:

so one of my favorite places in Philadelphia, we we actually flew to Germany in 2019. And Philadelphia was a, Philadelphia, and then from Philadelphia to Germany, rate. And we ended up standing spending two days there. Have market?

Alex:

Yeah. Yeah. It's amazing. It's like a food

Unknown:

Yes. Yeah.

Alex:

I love it. Yeah,

Kelly:

really, that was one of my favorite, like highlights market. So shout out to the reading market. Well, after really working out the way you'd hoped he came back to junto. Now, have you heard of this? This sounds familiar. It hadn't heard of it. The junto was a group like a discussion one of the first discussion groups in Philadelphia, you club. It was a group of like minded and aspiring artisans improve themselves while improving their communities. attacks and like a podcast does today. Yeah, exactly. kind of riff on riff on people that had died before them from ascribe it all down. And then Ben Franklin would print it called The gento. No, it was but what's interesting about modeled after English coffee houses. And apparently, that's coffee houses during the 1700s was go and have the discussion foundation for a whole bunch of other organizations in lot of them a lot of the founders of other the junto. And one of the biggest things they did was libraries because they were all avid readers. And so, expensive and difficult to come by. So the junto formed to the first public library in 1731. That's amazing. Yeah. printing house and became the publisher of the Philadelphia one of two competing neighborhoods are one of two Philadelphia at the time. The other one was called the essays again, and I really love the tone of his essays. body. And it was just sort of making fun of classes to whole whole gist of it. He started to get respect, people he always signed his letters in his. If he wrote under his Franklin printer. That was his signature. Okay, not not rich guy or whatever he was be Franklin printer. He even newspaper in Philadelphia called the Philadelphia chits

Alex:

Were there a lot of German immigrants there? Oh,

Kelly:

yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think there were German, some Italians. But the thing that was interesting about business ventures is he honestly saw the printing a blooming country, a burgeoning country, morally, for everybody to kind of be on the same page about virtue and their freedom should be, how they should be free, and yet other people. So

Alex:

like an influencer of sorts, he was trying to, yeah, he wanted this country to be, I

Kelly:

think he was trying to influence influence the US in morally, Freedom wise. And it's interesting, because he himself. As a matter of fact, he was he wasn't religious at but he had a very good moral compass. And his goal, after with the Gazette, was to eventually have a series of colonies. And by the time by 1753, there were 15 English colonies, and eight of them were influenced by him, either partner organizations. So he had a lot. He was sort of the who's the big guy from CNN, Ted. Ted Turner, Ted

Alex:

Turner. Yeah. Yeah. So he must have been making money

Kelly:

Oh, yeah. Yeah, no, he was actually getting pretty early 1740s, the time when all these newspapers started interesting, though, was that desire for him to create this the colonies, it sort of started to fracture as it got, Revolutionary War, because people there were, you know, I as everybody in the colonies was united, and ready to split really the case. There were lots of loyalists, lots and didn't want to rock the boat, people that you know, whose then of course, there were, you know, British people just definitely very politically divided time. Sure.

Alex:

Yeah. That probably was pretty scary to think about doing all on your own. Yeah, for sure.

Kelly:

Do you remember that? You remember that Schoolhouse it was. It was a great one. There's a cover of that that I really love. Like,

Alex:

yeah, I think you played that for me before. Yeah.

Kelly:

It's really nice. But yeah, so this was kind of before the war. But stepping back a little bit about his Freemason, and he became the Grandmaster of the Freemasons I was never quite sure what a Freemason was. But, you know, like a fraternal organization that is generally set up for secret. So that your

Alex:

understanding of it, yeah, yeah. Men,

Kelly:

men, yeah, men being men helping other men. He was entire life. And he also never officially wed or married, but he had a common law marriage to a woman named interestingly, he had actually proposed to Deborah Reed when was only 15. And he was living at her home as a boarder. I that was common to live in someone else's home, and he colonies, and then he He proposed to Deborah, but when to go to London to do the first time that the governor over there. And his Deborah's mother said, No, you can't ended up getting married to a guy by the name of Rogers gone. But Rogers actually skipped town with the dowry, things going on. So he had to get out of town. He ended up dowry leaving her behind, and he was never heard from again. Deborah could never remarry. And so, when Franklin when Ben actually had to get a common law marriage with her in 1730.

Alex:

So Rogers was kind of a CAD. Yeah, Rogers

Kelly:

Rogers, married married Deborah Reed, who I think was Franklin, because Ben had proposed to her before that. town with her, her dowry, and left her but left her in a married, because he wasn't Rogers was never declared dead

Alex:

maybe he ran into your pirate friends in Barbados,

Kelly:

it would have been that would have been a good around

Alex:

But wasn't Ben Franklin kind of a player to? Well, he

Kelly:

did have an illegitimate son, or I know son out of wedlock. And so yes, he had had, he had had which indicates he had been with some other women ahead of interestingly, Deborah Reed did agree to adopt adopt his they also had Deborah and Benjamin had two children Folger Franklin, he was their son, but he died of smallpox. named Sally Franklin. And she lived, she went on to live. son that he had with a different mother. actually was acknowledged as being born out of wedlock by living with Ben Franklin and Deborah Reed. He was educated studying law in London in the night and 1760s. He also William Temple, Franklin, and that son happened to have been month, you know, of course, years later, as his father thing that was really interesting about William loyalist, a big time loyalist. He really despised the idea of England. And it kind of caused a little bit of rift between Franklin, because his son was a loyalist. I

Alex:

would have thought the older people would have been people would have been the revolutionaries.

Kelly:

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you would think I mean, it's kind people and older people will do politically. You know, I today, right? You can assume things but yeah, I

Alex:

guess Brexit was all the older people. So I don't know staying or Yeah.

Kelly:

I thought Brexit was leaving.

Alex:

It was so I guess, is that the same as a revolution,

Kelly:

Well, it was breaking breaking. But I think it was with the fact that they didn't like the older people didn't free access to come into England. Right. All these all like them or didn't look like them coming into England. it was the sort of irony that his son would end up being a much a revolutionist. He wasn't actually a beginning, though, he was sort of a what is it called a walk the line in between because he had lived in of British friends. He had. He had been somebody that had But when everything settled down, William Franklin ended War, he ended up moving to New York City, because, or maybe Revolutionary War. He moved to New York City because New York British of the British, the British army was there. And kind of ousted the Brits, you know, the British troops left with them and sailed to England and never returned to insisted that the loyalists who had born arms against the excluded from execution. And he was probably thinking of a Yeah, let's say you were like a Detroit Tigers fan. And, and You know, is that kind of what it would be like?

Alex:

No, he's an Astros fan. But yeah, it's a little bit right. Yeah, sure. Sure. But, but yeah, you're right. other, the gloves come off a little bit gets a

Kelly:

little rough. Yeah, it gets a little rough. While all leading up to the Revolutionary War. He had people's works, but then some of his own. And one of his that was published in one of his newspapers was advice to a And that was from 1745. And it was about channeling your so it was so lysis lascivious, it was so raunchy raunchy at it was very controversial that was published. If you were friend on Tuesday an image on a mistress what would you what

Alex:

did mistress mean the same thing back then? Yeah, it affair.

Kelly:

You know what, maybe it just had to do with someone know that you're because because it was supposed to be

Alex:

choosing a girl doesn't have to be like a cheating

Kelly:

Give us some advice, Alex?

Alex:

Oh, man, well, when I was in the game, that was a the game.

Kelly:

Yeah. Look, 1751

Alex:

I would look for certain key phrases that would would like, if a girl said something about, Oh, I hate my parents, something like that. That was a deal breaker for me. Yeah. example I. I remember. Well, because I couldn't be with think family was important, right? Yeah. Now in a mistress probably advise somebody to go with somebody who's pretty low lives

Kelly:

in lives in England. Yeah.

Alex:

Yeah. I don't know what advice I'd have.

Kelly:

Well, the first advice was good about the family

Alex:

I think I'd look for certain things that would someone that just did just you couldn't stop thinking about time? Probably? No, only part of the time. Well, on that it

Kelly:

tasters died, right? Yeah, I guess one of them then if you decided to have another mistress, then then it of the time is probably someone

Alex:

you don't want to be with all the time. Right, then advice. It'd be someone that you only want to be with some

Kelly:

Right, right. You really enjoy it for short, would

Alex:

you think it'd be better for someone to know your wife way, if our wives are listening to this all

Kelly:

all conjecture. Let's move on to another thing. Mr. question. Mr. Franklin was one of the first people to come up know, you know, those little cartoons that aren't really lot of political my grandmother actually drew

Alex:

really Doonesbury type of stuff. It

Kelly:

was hers were all one one frame. You know, it was I remember one that she actually gave me her original She lived in Goodland, Kansas, and they published it in the Paper, maybe the Denver paper occasionally, anti Bob Dole was before that. Harry Truman sack, probably in between when one of the first women to race in NASCAR or Indy 500 or this kind of drawing of a race car and a bunch of race cars up next to it, but they're sort of small and often the persons Start your engines is to go with the first woman

Alex:

but she was for it or against stuff just for it.

Kelly:

She was a big, big feminist. Yeah, she was just gentlemen start your right anymore. Right, which I don't

Alex:

Actually, when they actually did that, when that and Gentlemen, start your engines is what they actually

Kelly:

sounds so that sounds so sort of derogatory like like, you've got that at somebody when they're stepping lady Get out of my way. God

Alex:

say gentle persons are gentle. People start Yeah, persons either like my girl. And then I think eventually women, right. And then they said, ladies and gentlemen.

Kelly:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, lady was very awkward.

Alex:

Do you have that cartoon frame somewhere?

Kelly:

I think I don't have it frame. But I think I have it that Freeman collector's item. He also, in addition to coming the US, he Oh, by the way, this cartoon that he did was used to encourage the colonies to join the French and Indian resurrected as a symbol in support of the American find it online, like That sounds familiar, Join or Die. me. Right? He founded the Pennsylvania Hospital in the first hospitals in the United States, in the colonies the Union Fire Company, which was one of the first volunteer also was a big advocate. And this No surprise here for it was, there was coins, it was all coins, but he wanted idea for ways to keep it from being counterfeited. And so he people to adopt paper money. The

Alex:

problem with paper money before the technology was ripped you were in trouble. Yeah,

Kelly:

you couldn't, you couldn't really, I mean, you of it, it was probably more fragile. Although I don't better back then.

Alex:

I've heard in some countries that if the part of worth that fraction of that amount. Really, that's it?

Kelly:

that's a very, very literal way of doing it.

Alex:

So you could actually rip a bill in two and it's cents. But if you lose half of it, it's only worth half of

Kelly:

if you don't have exact change, you need to pay him.

Alex:

But here if you ripped if you cut $1 bill in half, least in that country, wherever I'm talking about. it's still worth something. You mean made up?

Kelly:

Do you think

Alex:

I'm not making this up? I'm not making this up. We

Kelly:

should we should versus research that he literally Philosophical Society for scientific men. And he also George's war, to defend Philadelphia. And actually, built around Philadelphia, including a battery of 50 guns before the revolution. In 1747. He retired from lot of money. And he started working more in science and became elected as a councilman in Philadelphia. In 1749, he peace. And then he was elected to the assembly in 1751. And people. I think people might know this about him, but he of British North America. Now, this is still before America British North America, but he was one of the first people to was responsible for all kinds of innovations with the post like, delivering more frequently, actually giving were a postman back, then you had a badge that would allow people's property. Oh, yeah. All kinds of perks with being day. He also was key to helping found the new model of Samuel Johnson and William Smith. Basically, instead of a class for all four years throughout college, as had started having specialists in different areas, you know, art specialists, or, or literature, whatever, which also got rid of the religious test back in the day, you had join a college. Yeah. Did you didn't have to take one for

Alex:

No, no, I'm going to public university.

Kelly:

Yeah. What about? Do you teach the same class? Or all four years? Like,

Alex:

I mean, not every class they take, that's more like Where you have one teacher all day long, the

Kelly:

school they founded was called the College of eventually became the University of Pennsylvania. in 1757. Had a graduating class of seven men. I think, many times on postage stamps, he's been on a lot of postage innovated with with the Postal Service, giving people these get from place to place, making deliveries more up going back to London, between 1757 and 1775, to be colonies. And at that time, he was kind of working under a things that were going on in the colonies that people to straddle the middle ground. So taxation was a big thing, felt like they're being taxed too much. And he had to sort in order to get things accomplished. Well, he did eventually, because he had let some things slip, and had even were unflattering, to the Royals and to the to the of favor with the monarchy, and ended up having to come he basically was not kicked out of England, but no longer effective there.

Alex:

I wonder how much the average person average farmer that stuff? You know, I mean, you said that a lot of this newspapers, but I wonder if this is the kind of thing that certain class of people that used to follow this kind of people, and it was, it was really like, inside, you know, of stuff. Or if the average person really even knew what

Kelly:

I think they probably knew more than we would give feel like it really impacted their lives. I mean, you know, these taxes. That was something that even if you probably came looking for you to collect the taxes. And and whether it was the crown or the colonists, that would have too, right?

Alex:

Yeah, in order to spark a revolution, you'd have to attention. just hard to put it that on, on today's world kind of apathetic about everything.

Kelly:

I think he came at it. Ben Franklin came at it from a of view, trying to be honest with people. And yeah, he was money. But as I said earlier, he felt like the the printing morality and to guide the country. And I think he really ended up coming back in 1775, from Great Britain, and he was committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. actually had gout during that time. And remember, this was So he was almost, I'm sorry, he was born in 1706. So he was point. And so, you know, getting up there. He struggled he ended up making edits to the Declaration of considered very important. And he was quoted as saying, he Hancock said, when they were sigh I need it. And he said, Franklin said, Yes, we must indeed all hang together, or hang separately. That's right. That's right.

Alex:

It's a famous one pretty good quote. Did you ever see It's a good one with Paul Giamatti is John Adams. Okay. that revolutionary time and drafting the Constitution. And character in that show. And what you what you forget, I you kind of think of all these founding fathers is like, you the same age. But that show really shows that like, he was happening. And all these other guys were like in their 20s authors of the right constitution, or the And he was just this elder statesman that would chime in edits and things like that. But, you know, he was his vibe old to lead this charge, but I'll help you guys with a old man. And all these other people were really young at

Kelly:

And not only an old man, but but. And by today's standards. He was ancient, you know, people don't live as

Alex:

It's seven days. Yeah. He's also got this iconic look don't even say if I've ever seen a picture of him with bald.

Kelly:

Yeah. You don't see pictures of him when he was No,

Alex:

I can't even picture that. He's it's always the you hair in the back, but kind of bald at the top, just to kind know? Yeah.

Kelly:

Classic be hashtag classic BF look. Yeah, yeah. you know, he ended up getting involved in not only the but of course, the Constitution. You know, he was Postmaster General of the United States. And I feel like today, we kind of snicker at a little bit like Postmaster really, but I think back then, that held a lot of weight.

Alex:

It probably is a pretty important job when you because of electronic communications. But can you communication kind of had to go through that job? You could communication? And he was a perfect guy to do it. Yeah,

Kelly:

Yeah, he didn't seem to have he didn't seem to have it see is what you get kind of guy, you know, he put it out country's best interest. And I'd always advocated for colonies. Well, as you know, all this is going on leading revolution and stuff. He's also working on a ton of mentioned earlier with all his letters, the FRS and FRSA, and interested in science, he had been one of the first people lightning being a form of electricity. And he actually which you don't really think of that as an invention, it would have always been. But if, if, if somebody hadn't it was it was kind of a way that you could protect tall sort of capture or harness the power of lightning, and he had in something called a latent jar. So he was gonna use a laden jar, to capture it, this didn't really work because of electricity, and it goes very quickly in that it disappears course, what he's most famous for is what

Alex:

the key on the end of the, the kite.

Kelly:

Right. And, according to, according to the research a true story, but it's not true the way you know, thinks the everybody thinks that the kite was hit by got shocked. But they say that if that had actually happened, been injured or even killed. And so the the more plausible key and just felt the charge of the lightning felt some whatever the case was, he did coined the terms battery. He negative charge. And he discovered ways to generate if you think about it was a series of guns, right? And way, like as a another word for potential energy or

Alex:

well, I don't know. I've seen plenty of cartoons to that's how he lost his hair that the lightning hit the

Kelly:

Right, right. It was He looked very young and, and had sudden, boom, he's He's an old man, old bald man. Here's some invented. Of course, you've heard it the Franklin stove,

Alex:

Yeah. It's like a heating stove, right?

Kelly:

Yeah, yeah. He invented the swim fins.

Unknown:

He's over. They made us they didn't have rubber

Kelly:

I mean, probably made of real fins, you know,

Alex:

shark who might have to fact check that

Kelly:

he invented the flexible catheter. I guess inflexible catheters. Yes. Okay. Yeah, he wasn't much of know, that's pretty important attention. He invented a three simpler than other clocks of that day. He invented the heard of this thing?

Alex:

Is it a musical instrument?

Kelly:

It is it is is a big thing that looked kind of like jars, but they were different sizes. And they would turn and to touch them kind of like you spin your finger on a You could play this thing with different size jars. Using you

Alex:

sounds like it might be an annoying instrument to

Kelly:

I like like the what's the thing from Star Trek the the bifocals pretty, pretty famous for that huge

Alex:

invention. I mean, if that's all he did in his life, lot. And

Kelly:

then he invented the thing called the long arm, those robot claws that you squeeze and there's a little thing for getting books. I have

Alex:

one of those. We call it it's called the grammar.

Kelly:

The gripper Yes. Well, he invented an early wooden I'm sure yours is made of plastic.

Alex:

Actually, ours is made of metal and plastic, metal

Kelly:

He invented a lot of stuff is what I'm saying. He to France from 1776 to 1785. And now that was during the importance of that was he actually had a pretty good convinced them to help help the colonies during that time, political win for him. He was the minister to Sweden. But he much to tell about that. When he got back from France, in of the second father of the country after George some funds missing from his expedition 100,000 pounds, not pounds as a money of congressional funds were he was questioned by Congress. And he said, quoting the treadeth out the Masters grain. And they never

Alex:

again. All right. I like that. Now,

Kelly:

another thing that was pretty interesting, you know, a lot of religions kind of kind of tried to claim him, Quakers were abolitionists. And that was part of why they two slaves. I think he owned maybe throughout his life, not as many as other people but still own slaves. But as slaves and became a very, very strong advocate of abolition but also the education of the former slaves and sort of popularity or into the population. I didn't know that later and I think that's part of why the Quakers kind of, of him. He was also someone that came up with the ideas of maybe as his post job is postmaster, that was something one of the first people to calculate that the growth of England, after a certain period of time, which really that we would grow to be bigger. Which makes sense Right? What happened? He was, he was one of the first people the opposite direction as the wind, like he cared paid a lot

Alex:

love how he just kind of goes in and out of science. He

Kelly:

yeah. But I mean, pretty, pretty big concept, something that influenced meteorology. Nobody really only went the direction the wind was going, but he storms and observing, you know, kind of where they were actually went. He also observed an Icelandic volcanic caused him to see that basically, you know, the jet thing. He was one of the first people to observe the by cooling a thermometer using water and then wiping it down getting it down to be very cold. He was one of the first relationship between color and heat absorption. You know, you black shirt on a on a hot day. It's going to be hotter than a

Alex:

knowledge now. Yeah, yeah. People I think, did all

Kelly:

Yeah, I mean, he just did all of these things. He pour grease or oil on water and how it would change the observed that while he was on a ship, and so just just had was just a very observant guy

Alex:

and genius proud. He was probably, you know, a creative

Kelly:

A POLYMATH. Yeah. And a creative genius. He had been right? He had pious Puritan parents, PPS. And he actually Cotton Mather. So you've heard of Cotton Mather, right. He who wrote a lot of religious things. Well, his pen name. a Cotton Mather sermon. Cotton Mather had used that name.

Alex:

That's kind of a weird name.

Kelly:

Both of them are weird. Cotton Mather in silence, do up being not an atheist per se. But he believed that personal morality and civic virtue. Those were sort of his religion, and that he prayed to powerful goodness, he had a before he died, he wrote a letter to the president of views on religion. And he said, as to Jesus of Nazareth, particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his us, the best is the best the world ever saw, or is likely received various corruptions, corrupt changes, and I have dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinity. I been believed if that belief has the good consequence, as doctrines more respected and better observed. So I think he issue with religion, if it makes people better, but he could

Alex:

have said none your business.

Kelly:

Yeah, that that would have been, that would have right. He was also appointed in 1776, to a three member of the United States. Now, he had a proposal that was not to have a scene from Exodus. Now, he wasn't a religious scene from Exodus with Moses, the Israelites, the pillar of the Pharaoh. And then it was gonna say, rebellion to

Alex:

It seems I'm trying to picture like on the back of a

Kelly:

But it's pretty cool. Like you do it all up in sort

Alex:

anime style, but from a graphic design perspective,

Kelly:

He had strong beliefs and freedom of speech. As a those wretched countries where a man can not call his tongue anything his own, which I think was pretty good. And And he wrote this, by the way, at the age of 20 and 1726 13 these?

Alex:

Yeah, I have. I have heard of this. At 2020 years them. So, you know, the expression patient patience is

Kelly:

was the one thing he wasn't. It was it was quote on temperates it says, Eat not to dullness, drink,

Alex:

had gout.

Kelly:

Well, it's true. Hypocrite.

Alex:

And he drank too, I think. I think he was a especially when he got to France.

Kelly:

Oh, wow. That's what they you know, went in France,

Alex:

but he was under 21 At the time, so yeah, they didn't care of France. I mean, when he wrote that he hadn't hadn't had Oh, probably. Yeah. Not good one.

Kelly:

Temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and

Alex:

And, you know, other than the last one that you those are what you would find in kind of the American DNA. That's one that we somehow we left that by the wayside. And frugality. I think that's that kind of, didn't he say waste

Kelly:

No, actually, actually, he was misquoted. He said is a penny saved is is to is or a penny saved is two pence, penny earned, it's usually misquoted is that but yeah, But here's the thing, you know, you mentioned about him know, maybe not following all of those. He actually said them. He considered himself to be a flawed man. And he would He actually would do one per week. So every week he would one of those 13 virtues, and then he would switch the next when he was working on cleanliness, he could take a clean, pick things up. But he could also drink all he wanted

Alex:

He was only showering every 13 weeks. Right,

Kelly:

right. Yeah, he basically said he couldn't do work on one per week, and that he hoped that writing them his descendant.

Alex:

That's a little obsessive. Really.

Kelly:

Yeah, I mean, you had to be to be to be a guy back

Alex:

of his. Now you've never Yeah, I haven't mentioned one I don't know. Maybe it's not a fable. And maybe it's true. Do thing that you haven't mentioned that everybody knows

Kelly:

he was a vegetarian? No, I don't think he was a abolitionist. He he was very pro inoculation like, vaccine vaccines. Yeah. No. And there were anti vaxxers. Back then. played chess. No,

Alex:

do you know you don't can't think of the one thing Ben Franklin.

Kelly:

Ben Franklin. Know what?

Alex:

It is so much. That he wanted the turkey to be the Thanksgiving. We always make fun of Ben. He did all that giving somebody's got to make a remark about how we'd be Ben Franklin because he wanted to preserve the turkey as the know what it tastes like to this day. Imagine an America Turkey tastes like. But

Kelly:

we don't know what Eagle tastes like. It's kind taste I mean, I gotta think it's a POW. Pow. Doesn't make

Alex:

Yeah, it was a world where subway is making Eagle

Kelly:

Yeah, have an eagle on wheat, no onions. So he also and the guitar. And as I mentioned early or he, he did our Monica. And actually, both Mozart and Beethoven composed cool things on it. He played chess. And he actually wrote chess and talked about how chess was like there was sort and how you played, you know, he got stronger by playing other interesting things he did was he and a friend were they would play chess, and whoever lost had to memorize Italian, like either a saying or something. And that was playing chess nerd. He was actually inducted into the US Hall of Fame in 1999.

Alex:

Trim. Yeah, yeah,

Kelly:

I'm not thinking either of us will ever make it into

Alex:

no, I've probably got a better chance of going into than that. So,

Kelly:

so he was the only person to have signed the the treaty of alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, person that signed all four of those. Pretty, pretty big actually have some health problems due to gout. And he And kind of after 1787, after the declar, or after the US ratified, he didn't really go out in public very much. And years old. And this is interesting, because he 22, had written what he wanted on his epitaph. But it isn't his epitaph. But here's what he wrote. The body of B cover of an old book, at its contents torn and stripped of here, food for worms. But the work shall not be wholly lost, appear once more in a new and more perfect edition, correct

Alex:

That is cool. What is actually on it.

Kelly:

What it actually says on his grave is Benjamin and

Alex:

Well, an old printer should know that by the

Kelly:

Yes. Yeah. Well, yeah, he's he's quite. I mean, there. Just just to guess how many of those things do you Ben Franklin?

Alex:

Oh, tons. tons, man.

Kelly:

He's also, you know, he's been since 1914. On the But he was also on the half dollar from 1948 to 1963. He's several times. He's also on the $1,000 series savings money is his image is associated with money. But I printing thing, you know, because he was a printer.

Alex:

Well, and it's the highest, the biggest don't have anything anymore greater than $100. Bill, so lot of money. Yeah, making the Benjamins even though he was a

Kelly:

I hope we make it to Philadelphia sometime because Church burial ground where it just says Benjamin, Benjamin the other cool words he wrote.

Alex:

We should write the rest of that and just fix it to

Kelly:

liquor that you put on there. Yeah, make a sticker

Alex:

that has all the rest of that stuff and just slap it on

Kelly:

right. Don't eat. He would do it. He would love it. Well, thanks for sticking with me. long episode, but, but a Franklin everyone

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Alex Milam

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Kelly Shores

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