Turns out Betsy Ross is a historical fraud!  She was 
“credited” with making the first flag, by a nation
 eager to celebrate the upcoming Revolution Centennial 
in 1876, particularly the role of heroic women.  
There is actually no historical evidence to
 corroborate any details other than the fact she
 sewed flags.  She did live in Philly, though.
Originally ordered to hang in the state capitol,
the bell cracked on its first test strike in 1752.
The last clear ring, after several repair attempts,
was on George Washington’s birthday.  It wasn’t
dubbed “Liberty Bell” until the next century, when
the Abolitionists, opposing slavery, claimed it
as their icon.
Franklin made his money in printing and publishing
newspapers.  He was a prudent real estate investor
as well.  These rooms for rent are next door to
the post office.
The first post office in the United States is the only
active post office in the US that does not fly the
American flag. Why?  Because there was not yet
an American flag in existence in 1775 when
 Benjamin Franklin was appointed as the first
 Postmaster General . 
Benjamin Franklin’s famous invention, bifocals,
allowed him to read an write with ease in his senior
years.  He wrote such gems as “Keep the eyes wide
open before marriage and half shut afterwards”,
and “If you would not be forgotten as soon as
you are dead and rotten, either write something
worth reading or do things worth the writing”.
Franklin said of all of his inventions, the one that
gave him the most pleasure was the “Armonica”,
based on the sound a wet finger makes running
around the rim of a bowl.
The public library was an American
invention of Franklin in 1731.  At the
time, books were rare and expensive,
imported from England.  A group of men,
organized by Franklin, pooled their
 money to buy books for all to read.
He was proud of his working class
roots, and wanted to give other common
men the opportunity to educate
 themselves by reading. This tin box
was where they placed their suggestions.

                 

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