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> Halley was able to stump him with an astronomy-based question. Why would a Taiwanese prince have to be an expert in Astronomy?

• arde 9y ago
  I suppose Halley asked him about something anybody in Taiwan would know about the sky there, but not common knowledge for people in France.
  • benbreen 9y ago
    Yeah, he asked him if there was ever a time of year when the sun shone directly down Taiwanese chimneys. Psalmanazar said no, not realizing that Taiwan was on the tropic of cancer. He attempted to recover from his mistake by saying that chimneys in Taiwan were Z-shaped.
    • farnsworth 9y ago
      Oh, that's really interesting, thanks!