The Bird Bath

Large cities have always had their problems - Whether it be traffic, pollution, sanitation or gangs - and Philadelphia in 1772 was no exception. In April the Philadelphia Gazette ran its first headline concerning the Pigeon Flu. Historical details are scant, but it seems that a terrible illness was spreading through the colonies and the suspected vector was the common city pigeon. Great minds met and discussed possible solutions but the fact is medical science had not developed well enough to even begin discussions of vaccines. Meanwhile Ben Franklin had been experimenting with a very primitive version of the hubcap - some sort of wooden concave disc that was meant to fit over the carriage wheel providing added support and protection. However the process of warping and curving the wood proved difficult. His front lawn was a mess of upturned prototypes filled with water. But Ben realized a quite startling discovery - the pigeons in his neighborhood didn't seem to get anybody sick. He theorized that the pigeons were able to bathe themselves in his carriage hubcaps. When news of these "bird baths" spread, everyone in the Colonies wanted one. And people have kept these disease-fighting bird baths in their gardens and yards ever since.