The Trainwreck Labs Newsletter
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This week, we have…
A fun fact inspired by a recent Chronogram answer
Answers to last week's games
Reader survey
Ben Franklin, key, kite... you see it, right?
Many believe that Ben Franklin invented electricity, but really he just perfected the technology. Image generated by DALL-E.
On a stormy Philadelphia afternoon in June 1752, Benjamin Franklin (Chronogram Guest #582) embarked on what would become one of history's most legendary scientific experiments. Armed with little more than a silk kite, a hemp string, and a metal key, Franklin set out to prove what many thought impossible: that lightning was a form of electricity.
The experiment itself was deceptively simple, yet incredibly dangerous. Franklin attached the key to the hemp string tied to his kite, which he flew during a thunderstorm. At the bottom of the string, he connected a silk ribbon, which he held while standing inside a doorway to stay dry. When the storm clouds passed overhead, Franklin noticed the hemp fibers beginning to stand erect. Upon moving his knuckle near the key, he observed a spark jump between them – proof that electricity from the storm clouds had indeed traveled down the string.
What many don't realize is that Franklin was incredibly fortunate to survive this experiment. Several European scientists who attempted to replicate his work were fatally electrocuted. Franklin's success came partly from luck – the kite likely intercepted the ambient electrical field in the storm clouds rather than a direct lightning strike, which would have almost certainly proved fatal.
The implications of Franklin's discovery were revolutionary. This experiment led to his invention of the lightning rod, a device that would save countless lives and buildings from destruction. More broadly, it helped establish the fundamental connection between atmospheric and artificial electricity, paving the way for modern electrical science.
Franklin's kite experiment exemplifies the best of the scientific spirit: bold curiosity tempered with careful observation. Though we wouldn't recommend flying kites in thunderstorms today, we can still admire the ingenuity and courage of a founding father who dared to reach up and literally grasp one of nature's most powerful forces.
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Answers to last week's games
Monday, October 28 to Sunday, November 3.
Globle
Oct 28 Montenegro
Oct 29 Timor-Leste
Oct 30 Tuvalu
Oct 31 China
Nov 1 Lithuania
Nov 2 Luxembourg
Nov 3 Ethiopia
Nov 4 Play now!
Globle: Capitals
Oct 28 Tbilisi
Oct 29 Managua
Oct 30 Brasilia
Oct 31 Beijing
Nov 1 Santiago
Nov 2 Copenhagen
Nov 3 Maseru
Nov 4 Play now!
Chronogram
#576 Galileo Galilei
#577 Albert Camus
#578 David Ben-Gurion
#579 Ludwig Wittgenstein
#580 Johannes Brahms
#581 Che Guevara
#582 Benjamin Franklin
#583 Play now!
Fictogram
#343 Peter Parker
#344 Macbeth
#345 Kermit the Frog
#346 Leia Organa
#347 Beetle Bailey
#348 Light Yagami
#349 Link
#350 Play now!
Metazooa
#455 goat
#456 gecko
#457 nightingale
#458 hercules beetle
#459 bobcat
#460 turkey vulture
#461 barn owl
#462 Play now!
Metaflora
#394 pearl millet
#395 tumbleweed
#396 eggplant
#397 cassava
#398 coffee
#399 tiger lily
#400 peony
#401 Play now!
Linxicon
The following are the shortest paths from last week:
#259 landscape -> garden -> store -> buy
#260 range -> extent -> extension -> additionally -> whereas
#261 few -> fewer -> more -> increase -> rise
#262 precisely -> accurately -> measurement -> ruler -> manager
#263 hell -> church -> country -> regional
#264 occur -> circumstance -> law -> license
#265 consistent -> routine -> previous -> before
#266 Play now!
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading!
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