Well, it’s more like just one Benjamin – Benjamin Franklin.

For some, Philadelphia is the place where Rocky ran up some steps. Those people are fools. Philadelphia is the place where Benjamin Franklin changed the world. After all, every era needs a genius polymath to figure things out for all the other, dumber ones. The Renaissance had Leonardo da Vinci, the colonies had Benjamin Franklin, and today we have Elon Musk. Hopefully, Franklin was a little less into name-calling than our friend Elon Musk is.

Those beer commercials have it all wrong. Benjamin Franklin is actually the most interesting man in the world. Franklin is the perfect personification of the saying, “If you want something done right, then do it yourself.” He was a scientist and inventor and he created and perfected many things. He invented bifocals; a special fireplace to warm colonial houses on frigid, winter nights; and even his own instrument called the armonica, which is what you would get if you put a bunch of singing glasses together. Sadly, there were accusations of the armonica raising evil spirits and driving its listeners insane, so the instrument never really caught on. He also helped write the Declaration of Independence and founded the American Philosophical Society, the first volunteer firefighting company, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Franklin was as much of a hit abroad as he was at home, especially in France. Even in France, Franklin was the first at something: the first United States ambassador. The French adored Franklin, whom they found intelligent and charming for his wit and simplicity in clothing and demeanor. Because the French loved him so much, everyone who could afford to have his portrait commissioned wanted one of their own. However, Franklin hated posing for his portrait, probably because they took hours to make before the widespread use of photography in the eighteenth century. Understandable.

Even though he didn’t like it, Franklin knew how important it was for his image to be widely circulated. If he wanted to be well-known enough to affect change, people had to first know who he was. Just like Kim Kardashian West’s recent philanthropic ventures, Franklin had to use his celebrity to his advantage. So, to make everyone happy and get his name and image out there, Franklin allowed French artist Joseph Siffred Duplessis to provide the template that other artists could copy.

This was a pretty big deal, as it meant that Franklin must have respected Duplessis and approved of the image that he was producing. This now-ubiquitous image exists in a few different forms but is probably best-known for gracing the one hundred-dollar bill since 1996.