He meant this:
“John Updike, who was so enamored of Janson and insisted that all his books be set in that font, would have been appalled to see all of his books set in Caelicia, the same font used in, say, Nora Roberts.”

He meant font, not weight, slope, and width (which is what you're talking about).

Yeah, sorry, that wasn't a very complete description. I think he basically proposed the system we have today, but the summary doesn't exactly make that clear. This one is more clear:

The Canadian rail system completed, Fleming took the train from Halifax to Montreal. Comparing the clocks on arrival with his watch, he found no comparison. “Between Halifax and Toronto,” commented Hugh Maclean in his 1969 book, Man of Steel, “he finds the railways employing no less than five different standards of time.” Confusion did not end in Canada. The systems around the world were not in lines and in the United States, time-keeping was even more chaotic, making train schedules almost impossible. Sanford Fleming decided to do something about it. Standard Time Zones proposal devised

Using Greenwich, England as the starting point, he divided the globe into zones, assigning times at one-hour intervals. The governments of the world were not ready and he couldn’t even get his ideas heard. With assistance from the Marquis of Lorne, Canada’s Governor General of the time and the Canadian Institute, an organization for the advancement of science that he helped to establish in 1849, Fleming’s proposal was printed and sent to nations around the world. His plan was met with approval.

The International Prime Meridian Conference was held in Washington, DC in October, 1884. After discussions and votes, Standard Time was set to begin on January 1, 1885 across the globe. Though there were some countries jealous over England being classed as the Prime Meridian, eventually all countries followed. There were some variances for local standards, as there are even yet. Ahead of the crowd, Canada had already instituted the program in 1883, a year before the conference.
complete article

FTW:
Inventor of standard time
After missing a train in 1876 in Ireland because its printed schedule listed p.m. instead of a.m., he proposed a single 24-hour clock for the entire world, located at the centre of the Earth and not linked to any surface meridian. At a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute on February 8, 1879 he linked it to the anti-meridian of Greenwich (now 180). He suggested that standard time zones could be used locally, but they were subordinate to his single world time. He continued to promote his system at major international conferences, including the International Meridian Conference of 1884. That conference accepted a different version of Universal Time, but refused to accept his zones, stating that they were a local issue outside its purview. Nevertheless, by 1929 all of the major countries of the world had accepted time zones.

I disagree. Here's my citation:
"Is it Duct or Duck? We donâ(TM)t want you to be confused, so we will explain. The first name for Duct Tape was DUCK. During World War II the U.S. Military needed a waterproof tape to keep the moisture out of ammunition cases. So, they enlisted the Johnson and Johnson Permacel Division to manufacture the tape. Because it was waterproof, everyone referred to it as âoeduckâ tape (like water off a duckâ(TM)s back). Military personnel discovered that the tape was good for lots more than keeping out water. They used it for Jeep repair, fixing stuff on their guns, strapping equipment to their clothing... the list is endless.

After the War, the housing industry was booming and someone discovered that the tape was great for joining the heating and air conditioning duct work. So, the color was changed from army green to the silvery color we are familiar with today and people started to refer to it as âoeduct tape*.â Therefore, either name is appropriate."

Full page

Another Source
"The original use was to keep moisture out of the ammunition cases. Because it was waterproof, people referred to the tape as "Duck Tape." Also, the tape was made using cotton duck - similar to what was used in their cloth medical tapes. Military personnel quickly discovered that the tape was very versatile and used it to fix their guns, jeeps, aircraft, etc. After the war, the tape was used in the booming housing industry to connect heating and air conditioning duct work together.

Soon, the color was changed from Army green to silver to match the ductwork and people started to refer to duck tape as "Duct Tape." Things changed during the 1970s, when the partners at Manco, Inc. placed rolls of duct tape in shrink wrap, making it easier for retailers to stack the sticky rolls. Different grades and colors of duct tape werenÂt far behind. Soon, duct tape became the most versatile tool in the household. "

So, at 35 bits per electron, how many electrons did it take them to store these two letters?

Unicode is getting a little out of hand...