tool-ladder, a clock with internal workings, the odometer to calculate mileage, a combination chair-table which is now used as a school chair, bifocals, a rubber catheter, and a candle made of whale oil that gave a clean white light. All of these inventions became solutions to ordinary, everyday problems and needs. Franklin was not only an inventor, he was a great improver. He analyzed the spoken part of the English language and produced a phonetic alphabet based on the different sounds in the language (Potter 121). In letters to other scientists, Franklin wrote about his observations of everyday phenomena. Clark states about Franklin, "One sign of the scientific mind was Franklin's determination to question, to seek explanations of natural phenomena that could be checked by experiment of documentation" (54). Clark also believes that Franklin was intrigued by the processes of the natural world and he tried to interpret them. Franklin used his vast knowledge of geology, meteorology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, aeronautics, navigation, agriculture, medicine, hygiene, seismology, hydrography, ethnology, oceanography, and paleontology to come up with the theories about phenomena in these fields. One of Franklin's theories in the field of meteorology was based on his observation of weather patterns. He concluded that northeast storms that move across the Eastern Seaboard in the summer begin first in the southwest. He proposed daylight-saving time, noted lunar rainbows and lunar and solar eclipses. Franklin also observed animals such as dolphins, sharks, shell fish, pilot fish, tropical birds and herons. He even examined fog and conceived several theories about it. In addition to his research, Franklin was a prolific writer of scientific observations. He wrote about his observations on the effect of oil on water, the cause of the Aurora Borealis, water spouts, whirlwinds and thunderstorms, the direction of rivers and tide...
