Benjamin Franklin Essays (485 words) - Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin Ben Franklin was one of the most amazing men history has recorded. Throughout his lifetime he continued to increase his already genius-level intelligence. He had a high quality of life, was a popular political figure, and he strongly believed in his thoughts, beliefs, and ideas. While he wasn't perfect, that was what he struggled to attain. Ben's achievements are very numerous. Apart from being a genius after only 2 years of schooling, his other achievements show that he was an overachiever. Some of Ben's achievements are literature-based. For example, he printed the first novel published in America. He also started the first circulating library in America. Also, year after year, he wrote and published Poor Richard's Almanac. Those weren't his only achievements though. He organized the first hospital, started mail delivery, organized the first fire company, that is, firefighters; and was a city representative, too! All this is just more proof of him being an overachiever. Because of Franklin's many inventions and experiments, our lives today are better. Ben made the first copperplate printing press in America, a chair with a built in table for writing, and a chair that turned into a step ladder for his library. He also invented the odometer, a heating unit called the Pennsylvania Stove, the lightning rod, bifocals, an electricity generator, and the armonica. By experimenting, he proved that dark materials absorb more than light materials, proved lightning was electricity, and did many more experiments with static and regular electricity. He also introduced artificial fertilizer and discovered lead poisoning. We all should be grateful for how he has improved our lifestyle today. Ben's childhood started out like anyone else's, but when he became around age 10, he started to become different. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1706. The 15th of 17 children, school was not cheap, so he only got to go for 2 years. He started out making soap and candles, but after expressing that he didn't like that, he would like to write, he became apprenticed to his brother, James, who was a printer. James wouldn't publish Ben's work, so he submitted it under the name Mrs. Silence Dogood. When James found out, Ben ran away to Philadelphia, Where he would marry and live the majority of the rest of his life. Ben started writing as a small boy, when most adults were illiterate. That and reading must have increased his intelligence to its genius state. Ben Franklin surely was amazing. He found time and money for all he wanted and agreed to do, which was a lot. Without him, Thomas Edison could not have the electricity to create the light bulb. Without him, certain people would have a hard time seeing things close/far away with the same glasses. Without him, we would have no way to tell how many miles are on our cars. Surely, Ben Franklin was magnificent. American History

Homotherium - Facts and Figures

Homotherium - Facts and Figures Name: Homotherium (Greek for same beast); pronounced HOE-mo-THEE-ree-um Habitat: Plains of North and South America, Eurasia and Africa Historical Epoch: Pliocene-Modern (five million-10,000 years ago) Size and Weight: Up to seven feet long and 500 pounds Diet: Meat Distinguishing Characteristics: Long front than hind limbs; powerful teeth About Homotherium The most successful of all the saber-toothed cats (the most famous example of which is Smilodon, aka the Saber-Toothed Tiger), Homotherium spread as far afield as North and South America, Eurasia and Africa, and enjoyed an unusually long time in the sun: this genus persisted from the start of the Pliocene epoch, about five million years ago, to as recently as 10,000 years ago (at least in North America). Often called a scimitar cat because of the shape of its teeth, Homotherium subsisted on prey as diverse as early Homo sapiens and Woolly Mammoths. The oddest feature of Homotherium was the marked imbalance between its front and hind legs: with its long front limbs and squat hind limbs, this prehistoric cat was shaped more like a modern hyena, with which it probably shared the habit of hunting (or scavenging) in packs. The large nasal openings in Homotheriums skull hint that it required large amounts of oxygen (meaning it likely chased prey at high speeds, at least when it had to), and the structure of its hind limbs indicates that it was capable of sudden, murderous leaps. This cats brain was endowed with a well-developed visual cortex, an indication that Homotherium hunted by day (when it would have been the apex predator of its ecosystem) rather than night. Homotherium is known by a plethora of speciesthere are no less than 15 named varieties, ranging from H. aethiopicum (discovered in Ethiopia) to H. venezuelensis (discovered in Venezuela). Since many of these species overlapped with other genera of saber-toothed catsmost notably the above-mentioned Smilodonit appears that Homotherium was well-adapted to high-latitude environments like mountains and plateaus, where it could stay well out of the way of its equally hungry (and equally dangerous) relatives.