The Other Franklin Kite Story: A Boy, a Pond, and a Lift
Long before Benjamin Franklin’s famous electrical kite experiment, he recalled trying another use for a kite: letting it pull him across a broad pond while he floated on his back. Another boy carried Franklin’s clothes around to the far shore, and Franklin adjusted his speed whenever the kite began to dip. His account ends with a dry suggestion that a packet boat was still the better way to cross from Dover to Calais. The story is well documented as Franklin’s later recollection and supported by an authoritative National Park Service history. It also offers a lesson for preserving family stories: attribute remembered events honestly, keep the small practical details that make a scene vivid, and never invent names, dialogue or certainty to fill a gap....