The "tongue in cheek" tone comes from the absurdity of suggesting something so simple as using actual free daylight to do your work, whilst the rest o

The "tongue in cheek" tone comes from the absurdity of suggesting something so simple as using actual free daylight to do your work, whilst the rest of Paris seems to be stuck solving optimal candle efficiency. Didn't he make the same mistake himself? I'm not sure if that was satirical but Fourth. Every morning, as soon as the sun rises, let all the bells in every church be set ringing; and if that is not sufficient?, let cannon be fired in every street, to wake the sluggards effectually, and make them open their eyes to see their true interest. was a much complex solution than the simple one adopted decades later - altering the clocks of the city towers. That said, I'm not quite sure if such clocks existed back then. I guess it would bode well for Benjamin Franklin if they didn't!