💁🏻‍♀️ TIL: ✍️🎭 #BenjaminFranklin kept creating fictional characters – Silence Dogood, Poor Richard Saunders, Sidi Mehemet Ibrahim – to publish opinions his real name couldn’t carry.

These alter egos let the Founding Father critique authority, satirize slavery apologists, and experiment with #ideas, all from behind a mask. Historian David Waldstreicher says it gave Franklin "the most freedom" he ever knew.

👉 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/among-all-great-things-benjamin-franklin-invented-discovered-alter-egos-gave-him-most-freedom-180988824/

#history #inventions #satire #pseudonyms #philadelphia #london #freespeech #abolition #almanac #printing #science #media

The rarest known Masonic book in the USA is the 1734 edition of Anderson's "Constitutions," printed by Benjamin Franklin. Seventeen copies of the original edition are known to exist.

#Freemasonry #Freimaurerei #Masonry #2B1ASK1 #History #Literature #USA #BenjaminFranklin #publishing

💁🏻‍♀️ TIL: Long before flying his kite, #BenjaminFranklin was experimenting with materials to stop counterfeiters from faking #colonial paper #money. 💵

Centuries later, scientists at #NotreDame used advanced microscopes to analyze hundreds of surviving bills and found Franklin was using graphite-based ink instead of common soot ink, and embedding tiny mica particles into the #paper that shimmered when tilted. He even printed leaf vein patterns as unique anti-counterfeiting marks. 🔎

👉 https://theconversation.com/we-analyzed-paper-money-printed-by-ben-franklin-to-uncover-his-anti-counterfeiting-techniques-and-materials-innovations-282943

#counterfeit #history #printing #pennsylvania #philadelphia #science #engineering #invention #currency

A quotation from Ben Franklin

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1747 ed.)

More about this quote: wist.info/franklin-benjamin/84…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #benfranklin #benjaminfranklin #belligerence #blasphemy #destruction #fame #God #killing #leadership #murder #renown #war #warmaking #warmongering

Opportunities to lose focus

The first element to consider when creating a more realistic “ideal day” is that unlike Franklin, we have many more places to be and many more opportunities to lose focus. We have to account for this, not fight against it.

slip:4a971.

Desires

It is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it.

slip:4a961.

Reflection: Day 55

CHASTITY — “Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

Week three was about the practice itself of reflection; becoming aware explicitly that we are— well, practicing being aware.

ɕ

Arrived in the middle? Visit the first post, Where to begin?
(The entire series is available to download as a PDF ebook.)

Reflection: Day 53

TRANQUILLITY — “Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

We’re in our final week together. The first week was about creating space. 2 minutes: Pause life. Read. Think. Resume life.

ɕ

Arrived in the middle? Visit the first post, Where to begin?
(The entire series is available to download as a PDF ebook.)

Reflection: Day 51

CLEANLINESS — “Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

Do you recall the beginning of this journey? While I created the prompts and the system which you are now enjoying, how will you continue it yourself? 

ɕ

Arrived in the middle? Visit the first post, Where to begin?
(The entire series is available to download as a PDF ebook.)

Reflection: Day 47

MODERATION — “Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

The skeleton of this journey is the 57 prompts which appear at the top of each of these posts. I wasn’t born with those. What will be your prompt, or prompts?

ɕ

Arrived in the middle? Visit the first post, Where to begin?
(The entire series is available to download as a PDF ebook.)