Benjamin Franklin was a prolific inventor. He invented the lightning rod, the Franklin stove, studied electricity, discovered the Gulf Stream, started the first library, and on and on. Among his many other inventions, what musical instrument did he invent?
Ben also holds a lot of firsts - first U.S. ambassador, first political cartoonist, first American philosopher, organized the first fire department, and on and on.
In 1853, American inventor Elisha Otis demonstrated a freight elevator equipped with a safety device to prevent falling in case a supporting cable should break. This increased public confidence in such devices. Otis established a company for manufacturing elevators and patented (1861) a steam elevator.
Many people think that he invented the elevator, but the truth is, he invented the elevator brake. He also invented the railway safety brake.
The yo-yo was first used by hunters as weapons. They were wooden disks on strings. In the 1920s, a man from the U.S. named Donald Duncan made the yo-yo into a toy after he visited the Philippines.
Banneker was a member of the planning committee that designed Washington, DC along with Pierre L'Enfant. When L'Enfant was fired Banneker recreated the plans from memory.
