What did people think static electricity was before having an explaination?

by MalDeParamo

All I know about it is that Thales de Miletus discovered that rubbing amber caused it to be able to attract dust. I Wonder what people thought about this.

DanKensington

This is one of our more frequently-asked questions, but more can always be said, so if anyone would like to say more, please go ahead! For the meantime, u/hillsonghoods has recently updated their FAQ-linked answer in this thread here with more stuff to read.