what was one of benjamin franklin's inventions?
Franklin stove
neutral
 Some theories about its origin are : 

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 The book was popular in the Thirteen Colonies of America , and its appeal survived the American War of Independence , copies being owned by Benjamin Franklin , Thomas Jefferson and George Washington . 

entailment
 Further work was conducted by Otto von Guericke , Robert Boyle , Stephen Gray and C. F. du Fay . In the 18th century , Benjamin Franklin conducted extensive research in electricity , selling his possessions to fund his work . In June 1752 he is reputed to have attached a metal key to the bottom of a dampened kite string and flown the kite in a storm @-@ threatened sky . A succession of sparks jumping from the key to the back of his hand showed that lightning was indeed electrical in nature . He also explained the apparently paradoxical behavior of the Leyden jar as a device for storing large amounts of electrical charge in terms of electricity consisting of both positive and negative charges . 

entailment
 In 1851 , Peale designed a new steam engine for the Philadelphia Mint , using a " steeple " design without exterior pipes . Although designed to generate 100 horsepower , wear soon reduced its capacity . American journals of engineering mentioned Peale 's latest work without comment ; British journals pointed out the defects and suggested that time had passed Peale by . 

contradiction
 Nor is this theme of cutthroat competition limited to prestidigitation : the script incorporates the popular notion that Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison were directly engaged in the War of Currents , a rivalry over electrical standards , which appears in the film in parallel to Borden and Angier 's competition for magical supremacy . In the book , Tesla and Edison serve as foils for Borden and Angier , respectively . 
