Dear WW: In another thread which I cannot find easily, you mentioned Ben Franklin inventing a pole with a clamp on top, closed by a string attached to a lever , for getting books down from a high shelf. I have seen them, both in old libraries, but also in old grocery stores for taking cans down off high shelf. I never heard of a name for them, but I found a site about Ben Franklin, telling of all the very important things he did, which too few Americans remember. Here is a list of some of his inventions:

In addition to the busybody, Franklin stove, and glass harmonica,
Ben Franklin's inventions include:
The library stepstool, a chair whose seat could be lifted and
folded down to make a short ladder
Mechanical arm for reaching books on high shelves (still used
in many grocery stores)
The rocking chair (when he fitted the legs of his armchair with
curved pieces of wood)
The "writing chair" -- a type of chair with an "arm" on one side
to provide a writing surface (still used in many classrooms)
The odometer, used to measure distance along colonial roads
used by the postal service
A new kind of ship's anchor
A candle made from whale oil that made a clear white light
and lasted much longer than tallow candles.
A pulley system that enabled him to lock and unlock his
bedroom door from his bed
An improved streetlight by fitting it with four panes of glass
and piercing the top and bottom to allow for ventilation
Bifocal spectacles -- Ben thought of the idea when he was
eating dinner and he noted that if he could see the food on his
plate clearly he could not see the face of the person sitting
across from him. With bifocals, he could use one pair of
glasses for two purposes.