As Professor Herschbach explains, at the time of Franklin’s discovery, thunder and lightning were considered tokens of divine displeasure. It was often considered impious to prevent or assuage lightning’s damage. So strong was this belief, that the words Fulgura Frango were inscribed on European church bells with the belief that ringing church bells caused the lightning to disperse.

Over a thirty-three year period in Germany during the mid- 1700s, over 300 church towers were struck by lightning, and more than 100 bell ringers were killed.

In 1767, 17 years after Franklin's discovery, lightning rods had not been installed on the Church of San Nazaro in Venice. The church was struck by lightning and the 200,000 pounds of gunpowder stored in its vaults exploded. One-sixth of the city was destroyed and over 3,000 lives were lost.