Not. It might have been FRANKLIN's greatest invention (althoug h I would argue that bifocals have had more long-term impact). The greatest SINGLE invention was the generation and tranmission of AC current (Tesla). That is the thing that makes our current (no pun intended) civilization possible.
Sorry, that's what I meant. Franklin's greatest invention. I would be hard-pressed to disagree with you about the transmission of alternating current being, if not the greatest, certainly one of the greatest inventions of all time. The domestication of electricity ranks right up there with the domestication of fire. I believe what really makes our civilization possible is electricity. Franklin played an important role in the domestication of electricity by demonstrating that lightning was electricity. Also, terms like positive charge and negative charge were coined by Franklin. Franklin was wrong about some stuff, of course, such as his description of electricity as fluid flow. Also, when he arbitrarily chose to assign current flow to the movement of positive charges. We now know today that it is negative charges that move, but that doesn't lessen Franklin's accomplishments. By long standing convention, current is still defined as the movement of positive charges.