Everyone knows the story of Benjamin Franklin's famous kite experiment. He  was a man of many gifts and interests. His natural curiosity  about things  made him try to find ways to make them work better. Although he made important discoveries, Ben didn't "invent" electricity. He did, however, invent the lightning rod   which protected buildings and ships from lightning damage. In America, most people warmed their homes by building a fire in a fireplace even  though it was kind of dangerous and used a lot of wood. Ben said that he had another better way. His invented an iron stove which allowed people to warm their home less dangerously and with less wood. The stove that he invented is called a Franklin stove. Ben also set up the first fire company and the first fire insurance company in order to help people live more safely. As the postmaster, Ben had to find out the best way for delivering  the mail. He went out riding in his carriage  to measure  the routes and needed a way to record the miles. He invented a simple  _ for it. In his old age, Ben retired from business and public service and wanted to spend  his time reading and studying. He found, however, that his old age had made it difficult for him to reach books from the high shelves. Even though he had many grandchildren to help him, he invented a tool called a long arm to reach the high books. The long arm was a long wooden pole with a grasping claw at the end. Later, other famous inventors, like Thomas A. Edison and Alexander Graham Bell,  would follow in Ben's footsteps by trying to find ways to help people live better. Today's curious thinkers are keeping Ben's traditions alive by inventing new and improved ways to make things work. Benjamin Franklin invented a long arm in order to   _  .
replace his disabled arm play games with his grandchildren get books from the bookshelf more easily clean and tidy his house and the bookshelf