History
The lightning rod was invented by Benjamin Franklin in the Americas in 1749, and in Europe, probably independently and as the first grounded lightning rod ever, by the Czech priest Prokop Diviš in Bohemia (now Czech Republic), in 1754.
As buildings become taller, lightning becomes more of a threat. Lightning can damage structures made of most materials (masonry, wood, concrete and steel) as the huge currents involved can heat materials to high temperature, causing a potential for fire.
Read more about this topic: Lightning Rod
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“We know only a single science, the science of history. One can look at history from two sides and divide it into the history of nature and the history of men. However, the two sides are not to be divided off; as long as men exist the history of nature and the history of men are mutually conditioned.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“At present cats have more purchasing power and influence than the poor of this planet. Accidents of geography and colonial history should no longer determine who gets the fish.”
—Derek Wall (b. 1965)
“... in America ... children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending in American civics.”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)