The Many Inventions Of Benjamin Franklin

He is a man known to create many inventions but never did he patent one of them because his desire to help the public transcends more than lucrative gain. As was written in his autobiography: 'That, as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.'

What better way to commemorate his contribution to modern technology but to list his top 5 inventions.

1. Lightning Rod -- After retirement, Franklin focused on electrical experiments specifically with lightning. During this time, churches were the tallest buildings, which leave them susceptible to lightning strikes. After many experiments, Franklin concluded that a metal rod should be erected on top of the churches in order to protect them from lightning. A cable was then wired to the ground so that the electrical shock would be nullified.

2. Bifocal Eyeglasses -- Franklin was both near-sighted and far-sighted when he got older. He had to swap two sets of eyeglasses to see long distances and to observe something up close. He found this to be troublesome so he cut and joined the two glasses together, looking at the top part of the glass to see far and through the bottom when reading or examining something.

3. Reaching Device -- Franklin was very fond of books, and his house was filled with bookshelves that reached to the ceiling. In order to get a book located at the far top of the book shelf, he invented a 'long arm' with 'fingers' at the end that clamped to grab a book when pulling a cable.

4. Swim Fins -- During his younger years, Franklin was an enthusiastic swimmer. He used oval-shaped planks and grasped them in the holes in the center to give him an extra kick when swimming underwater. He also tried using boards strapped to his feet like sandals. Modern swimming paraphernalia are patterned after these early designs by Franklin.

5. Flexible Urinary Catheter -- During Franklin's time, catheters were made out of metal, and the process of inserting them are undoubtedly painful. One of the patients who had to use the metal tool was Franklin's brother due to kidney stones. In order to alleviate the predicament of his brother, he created plans for a more flexible catheter.