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?

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.

Learn more

https://www.fi.edu/en/science-and-education/benjamin-franklin/kite-key-experiment
https://www.history.com/news/benjamin-franklin-kite-experiment-electricity

Answers to last week's games

Monday, October 28 to Sunday, November 3.

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!

Forgeous

Play Forgeous for Nov 4