Was Ben Franklin the First American Humorist?

This past weekend I began reading Paul Johnson's The Humorists. The book is not really humorous per se. Rather, it is a collection of profiles and bios of humorists through the ages, from Hogarth to Noel Coward. Groucho Marx, Stan Laurel, W.C. Fields, James Thurber, Dorothy Parker and others each get their day in the Johnson sun. 

I'd read his Intellectuals and was enriched by his Modern Times (another book of mini-biographies) but had not seen this volume and having recently written about the National Comedy Hall of Fame it seemed like a good follow up. That is, I thought it might put 20th century comedy into a historical context as part of a larger tradition.

The chapter I'm currently reading is about Ben Franklin, whom Johnson calls America's first humorist. He also designates Franklin as the inventor of the one-liner, which I found intriguing. One-liner quips have become a staple of many standup comics. 

Ben Franklin's wit was but one of his gifts, and he made the most of it. As publisher of Poor Richard's Almanac he fulfilled a duel need in people's lives. The Almanac provided useful information regarding weather, planting dates for farmers, tide table and other useful information for each calendar year. Franklin took it a step further by embellishing it with entertaining quips, witty phrases and wordplay.

According to Paul Johnson Franklin wasn't into the idea of just being a thinker. He wanted to be a doer. He also recognized early that in order to be free to do what you want it takes money. Money wasn't an end in itself, but a means to an end, hence his efforts to make his Almanack more popular than its peers.

Here are some witticisms to carry you through your day today.

--He that lies down with Dogs, shall rise up with fleas.

--No man e'er was glorious, who was not laborious.

--Necessity never made a good bargain.

--It is better to take many Injuries than to give one.

--There are no gains without pains.

--Lost time is never found again.

--Haste makes waste.

--Love your Enemies, for they tell you your faults.

--Three may keep a Secret, if two of them are dead.

--If you would not be forgotten 
as soon as you are dead and rotten, 
Either write things worth reading
or do things worth the writing.

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Related Links
Poor Richard's Almanack
Ben Franklin's 13 Virtues

A Few Details I Didn't Know About Daylight Saving Time Trivia

Photo courtesy Jeepika. Creative Commons

All my life I've called it Daylight Savings Time. This weekend I learned that I was wrong. It's Daylight Saving Time.

As usual, finding myself getting corrected regarding something I've always taken for granted leads me to wonder what other misconceptions I continue to. hold. How about you?

Here are a few other facts about Daylight Saving Time of which you may or may not have been aware.

The  official "time adjustment" occurs each spring at 2:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning. "Spring Forward, Fall Back" is how we always remind ourselves which direction to turn our clocks. 

Some people attribute Daylight Saving Time to Ben Franklin who wrote a facetious satirical piece about the idea. According to the Wikipedia entry on Daylight Saving Time, however, it was a British-born New Zealand entomologist named George Hudson who came up with the idea in 1894. His paper proposing DST was submitted to the Wellington Philosophical Society in 1895. A follow up on this notion was submitted four years later. 

The idea gained traction after Englishman William Willett published a pamphlet in 1907 titled, "The Waste of Daylight." His original idea was a little more complicated than what we ultimately adopted. He suggested moving clocks forward in spring by 80 minutes over a period of four weeks in April, and then reversing them in September. 

Attempts were made in the British Parliament to make it into law but to no avail. During WWI Germany implemented a Daylight Saving Time concept in April 1916 and Britain did the same a little later that year, primarily to save coal. In other words, it was not something the country did to help farmers as many have sometimes surmised.

* * * 

Something else I learned this weekend: Hawaii and Arizona are contrarians on this matter, preferring not to spring forward and fall back each year.

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For what it's worth, when I wrote about this in 2012 I got a few facts wrong, the most embarrassing being that "s" in Savings. Again, it's Daylight Saving Time.

Alas. There are still some things Mr. Know-It-All doesn't know. 

Happy Monday and enjoy your week.

The History of Medicine @ Karpeles

View from room 700 of St. Luke's across the street.

Happy New Year! As we turn the page on our calendars it's apparent that many things still remain the same, but there is a lot new as well. Don't forget to pause before dating your next check. See if you can start the year write with a 17. (Whenever I see a 17 I can't help but think of artist/philospher Margarida Sardinha's work pertaining to the Alhambra and Symmetry's Portal.)

Yesterday I shared some of the changes coming to the Duluth arts district and the new events coming to the Duluth Art Institute. Today, I thought I'd share a little about the new exhibit that's been installed here at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in Duluth. For those who have never been, the KMLM is an overlooked treasure here. The common refrain I get from the locals is, "I've always wondered what was in there." 

What's in there now is a collection of documents related to the history of medicine. It might be interesting to briefly highlight a few of the key medical stories of 2016 to add context to this account.

Sir Frederick Trevers' handwritten letter is on display.

At one time we humans didn't even know what a pancreas was or what it did but in 2016 Medtronics, a Minnesota-based leader in the medical field, introduced the world's first artificial pancreas for Type 1 diabetes. Diabetes is a major problem in America today affecting 1.25 million people. Other breakthroughs this year included artificial retinas, artificial prosthetics, anti-aging drugs, tooth regeneration, lightbulbs that disinfect and kill bacteria, electronic underwear that helps prevent bedsores, and much more.

19th century crusader for humane treatment in asylums for the insane.

If you have never been to Karpeles, what you will find are podium-sized cases with original documents inside. When I visited this past week the lighting had not been adjusted yet, so I was not able to get good images of many of these rare documents. Each one is described in a placard that sits atop the glass. 

How interesting that a History of Medicine exhibit would be right across the street from a hospital that incorporates many of the breakthrough technologies of the recent past. Here's some of what you will see if you stop in. I think someone should spread the word at both hospitals to take at least one lunch hour here to see all this history. 

Document from an 18th century crusader against Yellow Fever.

A document with Ben Franklin's signature, on hospitals. 

Ben Franklin's signature top center.

A page from Robert Koch's paper on infectious diseases.

Photo of and document from the famed Dr. Albert Schweitzer.

William Harvey's discovery of the circulation of blood in early 17th century.

A doctor's written prescription for whiskey, during Prohibition.

Documents pertaining to diptheria, cholera, vitamins, the first heart transplant, ether and more. 

It's all fascinating, adding to our appreciation of what science has achieved and how long it has taken to really understand what we're made of. 

If you get the chance, do drop in. It's free.

Meantime, make the most of 2017. And if it sometimes feels like many of today's breakthroughs in technology seem like science fiction, well... that's because it is!

Turkey Talk

I try to minimize the number of subscriptions I receive from various daily email newsletters, but I do sign up for things now and then. Even if I don't read them every day there are sometimes interesting subject lines and if not in a hurry I open and read it. Most also link to a website or blog for increased engagement. And if you find yourself never opening them, eventually you can choose to unsubscribe and reduce the inbox clutter that can oft be so time consuming to deal with.

One email that I still get every day is called wiseGEEK. It's essentially a daily bit of "Oh, that's interesting" or "Gee, I didn't know that" types of information. Today it was about turkeys. The subject line in the email stated, Only male turkeys gobble.

Although turkeys of all types share many characteristics, gobbling is not something every turkey does. Only male turkeys make the sound that is referred to as a gobble. Along with being known as tom turkeys, male turkeys are often referred to as gobblers. Female turkeys, generally known as hens, make a sound that is somewhat like a clicking noise.

If you clicked on a link for more info, you would go to their website and learn still more about turkeys, the first item below being one that I had written about in the past when writing about turkeys.

~ During the early years of the United States, Benjamin Franklin supported the wild turkey as the national bird. Instead of the wild turkey, however, the bald eagle was selected.

~ Wild turkeys tend to follow a similar pattern when it comes to eating times. Feeding in the mid-morning, followed by a second feeding in the mid-afternoon is most common. Many turkeys feed by using their beaks to cut through or rip vegetation. Their feet are used to scratch through snow or leaves to find other food sources.

~ The Turkey Trot was a popular dance move in the early 1960s, but the term also is used to describe the mating efforts of male turkeys. In the spring, male turkeys often spread their tail feathers while puffing out their chests and strutting around in the presence of hens. It is during this season that the male turkey is particularly prolific with gobbling, using the sounds to attract as many females as possible.*

What I find especially interesting about all this turkey talk is that our images of Thanksgiving as a holiday are so frequently filled with pilgrims and pumpkin pie and a horn 'o plenty that we forget that its origin was none other than Abe Lincoln, who in the midst of a great civil war set aside the last Thursday of November as a national day for giving thanks to God for His bounty.

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

You can read the proclamation in its entirety here.

Speaking of Lincoln, the new Spielberg film is exceptional and worth seeing. I'll be writing a review soon.

As for the original topic, if you'd like to hear a couple turkey gobbles up close, my YouTube clip might fit the bill to make your Thanksgiving day that more complete. Enjoy.


* Source:  wiseGEEK

More Ben Franklin

Earlier this week I got a lot of feedback when I shared a couple Ben Franklin quotes on Twitter and Facebook. In addition to being a wit with the pen, Franklin was quite the inventor. Like many inventors his motivation was to solve problems.

Franklin, who loved to read, had poor eyesight. Rather than take his glasses on and off to read the newspaper, he cut some lenses in half and invented the first set of bifocals.

Franklin is famous for flying a kite during a lightning storm, and though he did not invent electricity, he learned a lot about it and ultimately invented the lightning rod to protect buildings and ships during electrical storms.

Ben Franklin's claim to fame comes from being in the center of the action during the founding of our nation. The happening place at the time was Philadelphia, and he was the editor of its primary newspaper, a learned man who is considered one of our Founding Fathers. He was also a diplomat and a statesman, important in getting France to back the Colonies in their effort to obtain freedom from Great Britain.

Though many of his adages are great guides for life, he didn't always practice what he preached. For example, he famously quipped, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." To John Adams' great surprises (as recorded in his diary) when he went to France for four months, sharing a bed with Franklin, he found old Ben was quite found of late night parties and sleeping in.

Still, the pearls of wisdom Franklin generated are enjoyable to ponder, and when the shoe fits, wear it.

"Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame."

"If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins."

"Content makes poor men rich, discontent makes rich men poor."

"Diligence is the mother of good luck."

"Well done is better than well said."

"Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship."

"Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn."

"He that waits upon fortune is never sure of dinner."

That's enough food for thought for one day. Have a good one.

Turkeys and Eagles

Yesterday I was at the annual Labor Day Weekend gathering at my wife's cousin Dean's rural home. In addition to an extensive vegetable garden, Dean and Sarah have turkeys. What I found interesting was that there were two bald eagles flying in circles over the trees on the other side of the garden and I couldn't help but think of Ben Franklin who thought the turkey, rather than the bald eagle, should be our national symbol.

One of my most memorable childhood memories is the train ride I took across the country when I was eight years old with my grandparents. I didn't know then how much of a kick grandparents get from being with their grandchildren. We were visiting my cousins (their daughter's family) near Reno, Nevada. A highlight of the trip was a visit to some property my Uncle Dale and Aunt Ellen were considering to purchase in eastern California. On that visit we went to a turkey farm.

As I watched the turkeys yesterday, they seemed like the silliest creatures, not only in their colorfully odd features but also strange in their behavior, including the distinctive warble/gobble they emit from time to time, especially when startled. Dean's turkeys brought back memories.

Ben Franklin, on the other hand, must have seen a measure of nobility in these funny birds. In a letter to his daughter, Franklin shows where he was coming from when he disparaged the eagle. In my opinion, however, the wise old man was just little off in this one.

"For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.

"With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country....

"I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America... He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on."

For more visit
http://www.greatseal.com/symbols/turkey.html

Franklin On Whitefield

As noted the other day I have been reading Ben Franklin's autobiography, which continues to be quite fascinating. Yesterday he went into great detail about the influence and character of itinerant Anglican preacher George Whitefield (pronounced hwit-feeld), who played a major role in what is referred to as "the Great Awakening" in the years preceding out Revolutionary War.

I believe the Princeton University Library, in its archives, still maintains some of the tracts Mr. Franklin printed for Mr. Whitefield, along with other artifacts of Puritan and Colonial times. It was by means of being Whitefield's printer that Franklin's respect for the man grew, for even though they disagreed on certain matters they had mutual respect. I cite the following passage from his autobiography.

"Some of Mr. Whitefield's enemies affected to suppose that he would apply these collections to his own private emolument; but I who was intimately acquainted with him (being employed in printing his Sermons and Journals, etc.), never had the least suspicion of his integrity, but am to this day decidedly of opinion that he was in all his conduct a perfectly honest man, and methinks my testimony in his favour ought to have the more weight, as we had no religious connection. He us'd, indeed, sometimes to pray for my conversion, but never had the satisfaction of believing that his prayers were heard. Ours was a mere civil friendship, sincere on both sides, and lasted to his death."

Whitefield was an evangelist, famed for his oratory skills. On one occasion Whitefield was preaching and it came time to take an offering. Franklin says he has regular coins, silver coins and gold coins in his pocket. He resolved in advance not to give anything when the offering plates were passed, yet Whitefield was quite persuasive about the good their giving would do, and the first coins were lifted from Franklin's pocket followed by the silver and finally the gold. Another man near him deliberately left his money at home, and began asking to borrow money from his neighbor. Such was Whitefield's power of persuasion.

To lift money from peoples' pockets was not, however, his aim. And Franklin begins this section with his positive influence in the communities where he travelled. "It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seem'd as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro' the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street."

Whitefield had such lungs of leather that it was purported he could address a crowd of 30,000 and still be heard. Franklin doubt this, until he heard Whitefield speak. Old Ben kept moving further and further from the epicenter of the crowd, continually estimating his distance and the density of the crowd. In the end he was not only persuaded to change his opinion on the matter, but it also caused him to reconsider and accept the veracity of certain historical passages he had previously doubted where generals spoke to their assembled troops before battle.

Whitefield crossed the Atlantic thirteen times in his career as an itinerant preacher, also travelling to many other nations, including Scotland many times, Ireland, Bermuda, Gibraltar and The Netherlands.

If you have a couple minutes, be sure to read this fascinating account of George Whitefield as seen through the eyes of Benjamin Franklin.

Ben Franklin's 13 Virtues

This week I began listening to The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin during my morning commute and it is a remarkably entertaining and insightful little book. Already I am desirous to own it even though only partially through. It seems like having a copy one can mark up and re-visit would be useful. Then again, it may just be a certain kind of covetousness on my part since the whole of it can be found online and re-visited any time one wished.

His descriptions of early life in the American colonies, and his various tactics and motivations for bettering himself would be useful for any of us. For example, he early decided (in his teens I believe) to avoid saying words like "obviously" and "most assuredly" because it immediately created a barrier between you and others who perceive you as an arrogant "know it all" and puts them in an adversarial position to you. The better approach is to ease into your views and hold them tentatively so they can be considered and received rather than resisted because we attempted to slam them home.

Kind reader, do forgive me for having not learned this wise counsel while in my younger years because it is, sadly, a lesson I would have done well to apply. Obviously, I have most assuredly been an idiot on many occasions where I surmised myself otherwise. Hopefully, it is not too late for me. old dog that I am. And may you learn from Mr. Franklin's counsel here rather than my example.

There were many other points at which I wished to pull my car over and scribble notes. Happily I have found Franklin's autobiography on a website which can be bookmarked and returned to now and then.

Franklin made deliberate attempts at living a virtuous life, and is honest about the challenges this presented him. Yet he applied himself diligently to the task. I thought this section to be especially interesting when I listened to it on the way home tonight.

It was about this time I conceiv'd the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. I wish'd to live without committing any fault at any time; I would conquer all that either natural inclination, custom, or company might lead me into. As I knew, or thought I knew, what was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other. But I soon found I had undertaken a task of more difficulty than I bad imagined. While my care was employ'd in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another; habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason. I concluded, at length, that the mere speculative conviction that it was our interest to be completely virtuous, was not sufficient to prevent our slipping; and that the contrary habits must be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before we can have any dependence on a steady, uniform rectitude of conduct. For this purpose I therefore contrived the following method.

In the various enumerations of the moral virtues I had met with in my reading, I found the catalogue more or less numerous, as different writers included more or fewer ideas under the same name. Temperance, for example, was by some confined to eating and drinking, while by others it was extended to mean the moderating every other pleasure, appetite, inclination, or passion, bodily or mental, even to our avarice and ambition. I propos'd to myself, for the sake of clearness, to use rather more names, with fewer ideas annex'd to each, than a few names with more ideas; and I included under thirteen names of virtues all that at that time occurr'd to me as necessary or desirable, and annexed to each a short precept, which fully express'd the extent I gave to its meaning.

These names of virtues, with their precepts, were

1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

9. MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.

11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.

13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

My intention being to acquire the habitude of all these virtues, I judg'd it would be well not to distract my attention by attempting the whole at once, but to fix it on one of them at a time; and, when I should be master of that, then to proceed to another, and so on, till I should have gone thro' the thirteen; and, as the previous acquisition of some might facilitate the acquisition of certain others, I arrang'd them with that view, as they stand above. Temperance first, as it tends to procure that coolness and clearness of head, which is so necessary where constant vigilance was to be kept up, and guard maintained against the unremitting attraction of ancient habits, and the force of perpetual temptations. This being acquir'd and establish'd, Silence would be more easy; and my desire being to gain knowledge at the same time that I improv'd in virtue, and considering that in conversation it was obtain'd rather by the use of the ears than of the tongue, and therefore wishing to break a habit I was getting into of prattling, punning, and joking, which only made me acceptable to trifling company, I gave Silence the second place. This and the next, Order, I expected would allow me more time for attending to my project and my studies. Resolution, once become habitual, would keep me firm in my endeavors to obtain all the subsequent virtues; Frugality and Industry freeing me from my remaining debt, and producing affluence and independence, would make more easy the practice of Sincerity and Justice, etc., etc. Conceiving then, that, agreeably to the advice of Pythagoras in his Golden Verses, daily examination would be necessary, I contrived the following method for conducting that examination....

Well, if your interest has been peaked, that's my aim here. Much good can probably come from ruminating on these precepts.