One of Franklin's letters that was published in Experiments and Observations on Electricity, explained his theory on how to determine whether or not lightning and electricity were the same thing. He noticed that the lightning from the thunderstorm looked exactly like the sparks he made with the amber rods and glass. He wanted to know if he was right. To follow through with his plan, he needed a tall hill or building, but at the time, Philadelphia did not have either of those. A church was to be built and the steeple was to act as a lightning rod to draw in the lightning, but it took too long. Franklin, being the brilliant man he was, he came up with another theory. This theory included a kite and a key. The theory was much more convenient …show more content…
People still believed that lightning was a sign of God's wrath. When storms came the people thought that the only way to protect themselves was by ringing the church bells and praying. Franklin, not following the mainstream, constructed his own lightning rod and placed it atop his house. It was made of a pointed copper rod with a wire attached to it. Franklin thought that the contraption would send the lightning into the ground rather than the house, therefore rendering it harmless. Franklin was right, so he gave instructions on how to create a lightning rod in his book Poor Richard's Almanac so that others could protect themselves.
Many preachers believed that what Franklin was doing was blasphemous. They thought that a person should not protect his or herself from God's wrath. Franklin thought this was silly, and soon after, lightning rods were placed atop many houses and buildings throughout Europe and America. Many houses and buildings were saved from lightning strike and fire thanks to Franklin. He later became known as "the man who tamed lightning" all across the world. This is all thanks to Benjamin Franklin's kite