What you see here is neither a machine nor a scientific experiment; it is the reading of a letter written by Benjamin Franklin to the Royal Society, that august English scientific institution in London.
This was on 6 June 1751. In the late 1740s Franklin had formed the theory that lightning could be an electrical phenomenon. He sent a letter to the Royal Society presenting a ridiculously dangerous experiment aimed at capturing atmospheric electricity: the electric kite. When outlined to the assembled members of the society, the idea was given a withering reception, but after several more receptive French scientists carried out the experiment successfully, Franklin set about designing the lightning rod.