[sachinag]

Benjamin Franklin fits into the long line of American tinkerers, not a world-class intellect. Think of Ron Popeil.

[jdminhbg]

Wha? The man discovered that lightning was electricity, hardly the 'Chop-o-Matic' of the 18th century.

[skmurphy]

Here are two that go well beyond Mr. Popeil's contribution.

lightning rod = extremely practical and still in widespread use today

bifocals = one pair of glasses instead of two, still in use today

[tokenadult]

How about Thomas Jefferson then?

[10ren]

tinkerer==hacker?