Anachronisms in M&D--spoilers?

[Basileios Drolias]

> Toby comments:
> "The encyclopedia says that Mesmer was born and raised in Austria and
> didn't come up with the term "animal magnetism" until 1775.  It didn't
> take too long after going public with this spooky term that he was
> accused of practicing magic by conventional doctors and forced to leave
> Vienna.  He settled in Paris in 1778.  This was long after the scene
> with Franklin occurred.  Still it was eight years before Cherrycoke
> tells the tale and he may have thrown in the Mesmer stuff to juice up
> the story for the kids."
> 
> Also there is reference to Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand" of the market, but
> THE WEALTH OF NATIONS from which the phrase came was not published until
> the noteworthy date of 1776.
> 
> Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN)


Or how about the mention of Laplace in M&D's first meeting, when laplace 
was two years old at the time...