People were aware of shocks from eels long before they knew about electricity. Egyptian texts dating back to 2750 BC referred to these fish as the “Thundered of the Nile”.
Ancient cultures around the Mediterranean knew that certain objects such as rods of amber, when rubbed against cat’s fur could attract light objects like feathers.
Electricity was nothing more than an intellectual curiosity until the 1600s, when the English scientist William Gilbert wrote De Magnete on his study of electricity and magnetism. However, Benjamin Franklin is often the one credited for the discovery of electricity. Franklin came up with the concept of electricity consisting of positive and negative elements. Franklin’s idea formed the basis of many future inventions.
Franklin’s famous kite experiment was conducted to prove his assumption that lightning was a form of electricity. He flew a kite with a metal key attached to the string during a thunderstorm. As he expected, the key conducted electricity from the storm clouds, which was transferred to the kite and gave him a shock.
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