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Benjamin Franklin Invents the Glass Armonica

Franklin developed a musical instrument that he called the armonica (after the Italian word for harmony). To play the armonica, a musician powered a foot pedal to rotate 36 concentric glass bowls and produced notes by putting wet fingers to the spinning glass. In Austria, the glass armonica provided the music for a royal wedding. Mozart and Beethoven would compose chamber pieces for it.
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Clip Length 01:55 Premiere: 04/04/22

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Spanish Version | “An American” (1775-1790)
S1 E4 Length 1:54:59 Premiere Date 04/05/22

Spanish Version | “Join or Die” (1706-1774)
S1 E3 Length 1:55:26 Premiere Date 04/04/22

“An American” (1775-1790)
S1 E2 Length 1:54:39 Premiere Date 04/05/22

“Join or Die” (1706-1774)
S1 E1 Length 1:55:07 Premiere Date 04/04/22

Official Trailer
Preview Length 00:31 Premiere Date 04/04/22

Behind the Scenes | Exploring Benjamin Franklin
Clip Length 02:02 Premiere Date 04/04/22

Benjamin Franklin and Inoculation
Clip Length 06:09 Premiere Date 04/04/22

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Publicly Humiliated in London
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Franklin’s Observations and Experiments on Electricity
Clip Length 05:31 Premiere Date 04/04/22

Franklin and Slave Labor
Clip Length 01:49 Premiere Date 04/04/22

Franklin Faces His Racial Prejudices
Clip Length 01:58 Premiere Date 04/04/22

Benjamin Franklin Invents the Glass Armonica
Clip Length 01:55 Premiere Date 04/04/22

Franklin Makes a Name for Himself as a Printer
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The Franklins Choose Opposing Sides in the Revolution
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The Declaration of Independence
Clip Length 03:17 Premiere Date 04/04/22

The Treaty of Paris, 1783
Clip Length 04:20 Premiere Date 04/04/22

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