Benjamin Franklin would be over 300 years old nowadays. Sadly, he wasn’t some sort of cyborg who can survive four times as long as the average human, so he isn’t alive today.

But people still celebrate him, because he played a very important role in the founding of this here nation. That’s not all he was famous for, though. Overlooked by the history books are five fun Ben Franklin facts that we’ve gathered here for our readers at JoeCrazy.

1. Our boy Ben invented words

That’s right. If you’ve ever used a battery, conductor, or called out an electrician, you’ve used a word coined by Benjamin Franklin. He loved playing with electricity, and invented a new vocabulary for the magnificent things he was doing with power.

2. Ben fought fires

Today you might take it for granted that people in funny outfits come with a giant hose when your house is on fire, but back in Franklin’s time that wasn’t the case. But he set up America’s first volunteer fire department way back in 1736. The Union Fire Company (nicknamed Benjamin Franklin’s Bucket Brigade) was a roaring (geddit?) success.

3. Ben invented loads of stuff

The rocking chair? That’s a Franklin invention, bitch.

The urinary catheter? Chalk one up for the Franklinator.

4. Ben didn’t stick to one name

In a world that pre-dated the internet by some 300 years, Benjamin Franklin was a trailblazer who prefigured the need to adopt psuedonyms in order to troll people. Amongst his pet names were Benevolous, Busy Body, Anthony Afterwit, Polly Baker, Silence Dogood, Alice Addertongue, Celia Shortface and Martha Careful. I shit you not, not one of those is actually a Harry Potter character.

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