Lightning Rod

Hello there. I am a Lightning Rod. I look like a tall, pointy metal hat that sits way up high on the very top of your house. Have you ever seen a big, loud storm. The clouds get dark gray, and then FLASH. A bright light zips across the sky. Then you hear a big BOOM. That’s a thunderstorm. A long, long time ago, people were very scared of storms. Sometimes, that flashy lightning would touch a house and start a fire. It made people feel very unsafe in their own homes, and that was a big problem to solve.

My best friend was a man named Benjamin Franklin. You can call him Ben. Ben was very curious and very smart. He loved to watch storms from his window in Philadelphia. He would see the zappy, flashy lightning and wonder, what is that. One day in June of 1752, Ben had a very big idea. He decided to fly a kite in a thunderstorm. That sounds a little silly, but it was very important. He wanted to show everyone that lightning was a special kind of energy. He called it electricity. His big idea worked. He learned all about that zappy energy in the sky. And because he was so smart and brave, he was able to invent me.

So what is my job. I have the best job in the world. When a flashy bolt of lightning comes near a building, I reach up and catch it. I am very brave. Then, I give the electricity a super-safe slide to ride on. It zips all the way down a special wire, from the roof to the ground. Whee. The electricity goes deep into the earth where it can’t hurt anyone or anything. I started protecting homes, tall churches, and other important buildings. I made everyone feel much safer when the sky went BOOM. And I am still on guard today, sitting on top of tall buildings, always ready to keep you safe and sound.