It’s the birthday of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, born on this date in Boston in 1706. He invented bifocal lenses, the Franklin stove, lightning rods, the urinary catheter, and swim fins. He was the first US Ambassador to France and was a prolific author, giving us dozens of common sayings, some of which you probably use all the time without knowing he said them first. And of course there’s a wonderful Ken Burns PBS documentary about him.