8 ms·

> yet it's almost unknown that she was Polish in the West Sorry, this is complete nonsense. I can only speak as someone from the UK, but I'm willing to bet al

> yet it's almost unknown that she was Polish in the West Sorry, this is complete nonsense. I can only speak as someone from the UK, but I'm willing to bet almost every schoolkid has heard of Marie Curie, and everyone who has heard of her knows that she discovered polonium and knows why it is called polonium. I'd be surprised to find out the rest of Western Europe is any different.

ajdlinux 11y ago
Australian here, who did do the science electives in high school... I'm sure I must have read that she was Polish at various points, but I sure as heck didn't remember it until seeing the above comment...
stephenhuey 11y ago
It's not complete nonsense. While growing up, I read about her in numerous U.S. textbooks that failed to point out the Polish connection.
- hartpuff 11y ago
  > It's not complete nonsense. I'm not saying everyone would know, but an unsubstantiated sweeping generalization that almost nobody in the West knows where she was from is patently complete nonsense.
gambiting 11y ago
Well, I live in the UK now and every single person I asked what nationality she was said "uhm..........French?". I'm sure a lot of people know that she was Polish, but it's certainly not a common knowledge, given that the Polish part of her surname is omitted from nearly every mention of her I saw over here so far.
- douche 11y ago
  I would be very surprised if many people in the US knew that Marie Curie was Polish. I assumed she was French - she worked in Paris, and both Marie and Curie have a Gallic ring to them.
- hartpuff 11y ago
  > every single person I asked what nationality she was said "uhm..........French? Well French isn't a bad guess, is it, considering she moved to France, married a Frenchman, became a French citizen, took his French name and probably spent most of her life in France? Ask people what nationality Einstein was and many will say American, despite his German name, which is also not necessarily incorrect. That doesn't change the fact that most people who learn about Curie or Einstein at school probably learn about their origin. That people don't remember everything they learn at school isn't particularly remarkable. As for polonium, it's practically a pub quiz question who invented it and why it's so named. > the Polish part of her surname is omitted from nearly every mention of her I saw over here so far. Where her Polish name is being "omitted" I suspect it's more for reasons of simplicity than any 'Western' conspiracy to keep Poland down.
  - gambiting 11y ago
    I never said anything about any conspiracy, I just said that the fact that her Polish surname isn't mentioned is similar to how the Polish origins of the Enigma work are hardly ever mentioned. Sure, most people who read anything about the subject will know it, but it is not common knowledge.
    - hartpuff 11y ago
      Is there any reason why it should be common knowledge where Marie Curie was born? Is it common knowledge in Poland where, for example, Alexander Graham Bell was born? Objectively it's hardly the most interesting or significant fact about her, is it? As for Enigma, as others have also stated, it's virtually impossible to have heard of it without hearing about the Polish involvement, to the point where it almost seems like the British role is being denigrated. Here's a story from 2012, for example, on a previous occasion where Poland was repeating the story that's "hardly never mentioned": http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215003/Secrets-Enigma-code-cracked-Polish-Brits-MPs-claim.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215003/Secrets-Enig... But now [4 years ago], the Polish Government has launched a campaign to highlight the important - and overlooked - role played by its nation in solving the Enigma code. No wonder people were checking the date on this submission. And a brief Google on BBC site alone produces these headlines and stories: 2014 Poland's overlooked Enigma codebreakers http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28167071 2011 Bletchley Park remembers Polish code breakers bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-14141406 2009 How Poles cracked Nazi Enigma secret http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8158782.stm 2000 UK gives Enigma machine to Poles http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/930873.stm
- laumars 11y ago
  Someone from the UK here and I was taught she was Polish. But personally I don't think her nationality matters. She is better remembered for her contributions to science rather than which arbitrary border she was born inside. At least with the war encryption crackers, nationality mattered in terms of which side those individuals were fighting on.
  - gambiting 11y ago
    Personally I think it matters a lot for the same reason why it mattered to her - Poland at the time was under occupation and for a long time wasn't even on the map - Polish language was forbidden and associating yourself with Polish values would get you thrown in prison or executed. She continued to emphasize that she was Polish and it mattered to her enormously - and that's why I think it should be remembered.
    - laumars 11y ago
      I guess in historical context, you have a point. Much like how it mattered that she was female whereas now woman largely have equal rights in the scientific community so you wouldn't feel the need to point out the gender of a scientist.
  - logfromblammo 11y ago
    "During peace time a scientist belongs to the World, but during war time he belongs to his country." --Fritz Haber
corin_ 11y ago
Also UK, knew about her but had no idea (or had completely forgotten, very possible) that she was Polish until walking path her old home in Warsaw and seeing a plaque.
a_kraut 11y ago
Sorry to see that uneducated people are downvoting you. I know from memory that 1) she was Polish, 2) her exact birth name, and 3) the correct pronunciation of the third letter in said name. All this without speaking Polish at all.
- rconti 11y ago
  I had no idea. The whole point is that, because we were not educated about that fact, the statement is likely incorrect.

ajdlinux 11y ago

Australian here, who did do the science electives in high school... I'm sure I must have read that she was Polish at various points, but I sure as heck didn't remember it until seeing the above comment...

stephenhuey 11y ago

It's not complete nonsense. While growing up, I read about her in numerous U.S. textbooks that failed to point out the Polish connection.

hartpuff 11y ago
> It's not complete nonsense. I'm not saying everyone would know, but an unsubstantiated sweeping generalization that almost nobody in the West knows where she was from is patently complete nonsense.

gambiting 11y ago

Well, I live in the UK now and every single person I asked what nationality she was said "uhm..........French?". I'm sure a lot of people know that she was Polish, but it's certainly not a common knowledge, given that the Polish part of her surname is omitted from nearly every mention of her I saw over here so far.

douche 11y ago
I would be very surprised if many people in the US knew that Marie Curie was Polish. I assumed she was French - she worked in Paris, and both Marie and Curie have a Gallic ring to them.
hartpuff 11y ago
> every single person I asked what nationality she was said "uhm..........French? Well French isn't a bad guess, is it, considering she moved to France, married a Frenchman, became a French citizen, took his French name and probably spent most of her life in France? Ask people what nationality Einstein was and many will say American, despite his German name, which is also not necessarily incorrect. That doesn't change the fact that most people who learn about Curie or Einstein at school probably learn about their origin. That people don't remember everything they learn at school isn't particularly remarkable. As for polonium, it's practically a pub quiz question who invented it and why it's so named. > the Polish part of her surname is omitted from nearly every mention of her I saw over here so far. Where her Polish name is being "omitted" I suspect it's more for reasons of simplicity than any 'Western' conspiracy to keep Poland down.
- gambiting 11y ago
  I never said anything about any conspiracy, I just said that the fact that her Polish surname isn't mentioned is similar to how the Polish origins of the Enigma work are hardly ever mentioned. Sure, most people who read anything about the subject will know it, but it is not common knowledge.
  - hartpuff 11y ago
    Is there any reason why it should be common knowledge where Marie Curie was born? Is it common knowledge in Poland where, for example, Alexander Graham Bell was born? Objectively it's hardly the most interesting or significant fact about her, is it? As for Enigma, as others have also stated, it's virtually impossible to have heard of it without hearing about the Polish involvement, to the point where it almost seems like the British role is being denigrated. Here's a story from 2012, for example, on a previous occasion where Poland was repeating the story that's "hardly never mentioned": http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215003/Secrets-Enigma-code-cracked-Polish-Brits-MPs-claim.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215003/Secrets-Enig... But now [4 years ago], the Polish Government has launched a campaign to highlight the important - and overlooked - role played by its nation in solving the Enigma code. No wonder people were checking the date on this submission. And a brief Google on BBC site alone produces these headlines and stories: 2014 Poland's overlooked Enigma codebreakers http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28167071 2011 Bletchley Park remembers Polish code breakers bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-14141406 2009 How Poles cracked Nazi Enigma secret http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8158782.stm 2000 UK gives Enigma machine to Poles http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/930873.stm
laumars 11y ago
Someone from the UK here and I was taught she was Polish. But personally I don't think her nationality matters. She is better remembered for her contributions to science rather than which arbitrary border she was born inside. At least with the war encryption crackers, nationality mattered in terms of which side those individuals were fighting on.
- gambiting 11y ago
  Personally I think it matters a lot for the same reason why it mattered to her - Poland at the time was under occupation and for a long time wasn't even on the map - Polish language was forbidden and associating yourself with Polish values would get you thrown in prison or executed. She continued to emphasize that she was Polish and it mattered to her enormously - and that's why I think it should be remembered.
  - laumars 11y ago
    I guess in historical context, you have a point. Much like how it mattered that she was female whereas now woman largely have equal rights in the scientific community so you wouldn't feel the need to point out the gender of a scientist.
- logfromblammo 11y ago
  "During peace time a scientist belongs to the World, but during war time he belongs to his country." --Fritz Haber

corin_ 11y ago

Also UK, knew about her but had no idea (or had completely forgotten, very possible) that she was Polish until walking path her old home in Warsaw and seeing a plaque.

a_kraut 11y ago

Sorry to see that uneducated people are downvoting you. I know from memory that 1) she was Polish, 2) her exact birth name, and 3) the correct pronunciation of the third letter in said name. All this without speaking Polish at all.

rconti 11y ago
I had no idea. The whole point is that, because we were not educated about that fact, the statement is likely incorrect.