ides, salt and seawater, sunspots, heat absorption by the color of an object, magnetism and the theory of the earth, earthquakes, sound traveling in fluid like waves, prehistoric fossils, causes of colds, the tonic effects of cold air and ventilation, cooling by evaporation, and the course of the Gulf Stream and its effects on shipping.As a complement to his work, Franklin studied the sources of lead poisoning, causes and cures of smokey chimneys, relationship of tobacco to hand tremors, effects of diet and activity on general health, and the depth of water and speed of boats. He wrote copiously on gout, temperature of the blood, physiology of sleep, deafness, nyctalopia, infection from dead bodies, infant mortality, and medical education.Franklin bought a farm and experimented with grass culture. He advised the cultivation of native Indian corn and silkworms and introduced rhubarb to the colonies. His curiosity touched on nearly every part of eighteenth century intellectual pursuit. The University of St. Andrews awarded Franklin an honorary doctor's degree in 1759 and Oxford University matched it in 1762.According to Clark, Franklin did much work to improve cities. He focused his improvements mainly on Philadelphia. In Clark's words, "Franklin was public spirited and worked constantly to make Philadelphia a better city" (26). Scholars in the colonies had no organization, so Franklin helped to establish the American Philosophical Society with headquarters in Philadelphia, making it the most advanced city in the colonies. The streets needed to be paved, cleaned, and lighted. Franklin started a program to improve and take care of them. Franklin redesigned the street lights to, as he said, have "four flat panes and a funnel on top to draw up the smoke" (Fleming 16). The globe-shaped lamps were replaced with Franklin's new ones so they stayed bright until morning.When Franklin noticed that criminals were getting away without punish...
