Technology is a big part of our modern lives. We don’t give a thought to all these modern conveniences. Whether it’s our phones, our TVs, or our cars, we spend all day surrounded in the latest tech. But all that really happened in the last several decades. Even 100 years ago, none of the things we consider essential were part of an average person’s life. When you start looking back almost 300 years, life becomes practically unrecognizable.
Sometimes, though, you can look back in time and realize that some of our modern problems have ancient solutions. I spend a fair amount of time talking about grounding. Proper grounding will mean the difference between being safe in a storm and being homeless. The problem was even more acute in the 18th century when all building materials were flammable and running water in homes was unheard of.
In 1750, most houses had only been using glass windows for about 100 years. Forget about computers, smartphones, or even cars — most of the stuff we take for granted like paper clips, ball point pens and zippers wouldn’t be invented for 100 years or more. Indoor plumbing? Forget about it.
That’s what makes it most incredible that the modern art of grounding was invented in 1749. Before that, people just sort of figured lightning was going to strike where it was going to strike, and you were just out of luck if you were there when it happened. This was, to say the least, a minor inconvenience when most homes were made of wood.
It was Benjamin Franklin who proved that putting a metal rod at the top of your house with a wire running into the ground would protect you from lightning strikes. It’s impossible to even explain what a massive thing this was at the time. The frenzy surrounding the lightning rod was something like the way people first took to smartphones, but maybe 10 times bigger. Heck, people started wearing lightning rod hats because they thought the technology was so cool.
Proper grounding made people so much more comfortable during storms, it turbocharged innovation in other areas. In the 50 years to come, people would move into cities slowly, and in the 50 years after that, the industrial revolution would make its mark as the biggest change in society since the invention of metal tools.
Way back in the late 1700s, Ben Franklin couldn’t have guessed what modern life would be like today. He didn’t realize that one day, every house would be wired with an antenna or satellite dish, and didn’t realize that those are excellent lightning rods too. Grounding is a little bit more complex than it was then, but the principle is still the same: keep the electricity outside and keep your house safe.
If you aren’t sure that you have the right grounding supplies, shop at Solid Signal and you’ll find everything you need. If you have questions, call the experts at 888-233-7563. We answer the phone! If it’s after hours or you just prefer communicating over text or email, fill out the form below. We’ll get right back to you.
The post FOOD FOR THOUGHT: They thought about grounding in 1749 appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
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Sometimes, though, you can look back in time and realize that some of our modern problems have ancient solutions. I spend a fair amount of time talking about grounding. Proper grounding will mean the difference between being safe in a storm and being homeless. The problem was even more acute in the 18th century when all building materials were flammable and running water in homes was unheard of.
A look back at a solution that worked
In 1750, most houses had only been using glass windows for about 100 years. Forget about computers, smartphones, or even cars — most of the stuff we take for granted like paper clips, ball point pens and zippers wouldn’t be invented for 100 years or more. Indoor plumbing? Forget about it.
That’s what makes it most incredible that the modern art of grounding was invented in 1749. Before that, people just sort of figured lightning was going to strike where it was going to strike, and you were just out of luck if you were there when it happened. This was, to say the least, a minor inconvenience when most homes were made of wood.
It was Benjamin Franklin who proved that putting a metal rod at the top of your house with a wire running into the ground would protect you from lightning strikes. It’s impossible to even explain what a massive thing this was at the time. The frenzy surrounding the lightning rod was something like the way people first took to smartphones, but maybe 10 times bigger. Heck, people started wearing lightning rod hats because they thought the technology was so cool.
Proper grounding made people so much more comfortable during storms, it turbocharged innovation in other areas. In the 50 years to come, people would move into cities slowly, and in the 50 years after that, the industrial revolution would make its mark as the biggest change in society since the invention of metal tools.
Grounding today
Way back in the late 1700s, Ben Franklin couldn’t have guessed what modern life would be like today. He didn’t realize that one day, every house would be wired with an antenna or satellite dish, and didn’t realize that those are excellent lightning rods too. Grounding is a little bit more complex than it was then, but the principle is still the same: keep the electricity outside and keep your house safe.
If you aren’t sure that you have the right grounding supplies, shop at Solid Signal and you’ll find everything you need. If you have questions, call the experts at 888-233-7563. We answer the phone! If it’s after hours or you just prefer communicating over text or email, fill out the form below. We’ll get right back to you.
The post FOOD FOR THOUGHT: They thought about grounding in 1749 appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
Continue reading...
