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Languages without this feature are basically refusing to wash their hands between the morgue and the maternity ward at this point.
by arwhatever 3y ago
Languages without this feature are basically refusing to wash their hands between the morgue and the maternity ward at this point.
- tialaramex 3y ago[This is a reference to Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian medic who wanted doctors to wash their hands properly based on his observations of the difference between the outcomes for women giving birth who were cared for by midwives (who don't work with corpses) and medical students (who do). This is very slightly before modern germ theory is established, so the doctors who reject Semmelweis' suggestions aren't strictly rejecting known facts about the world - Semmelweis can't explain why it's important to do this, only that it will work (which it does).]
- bmitc 3y agoThanks for explaining the reference! I was wondering about that as I had never heard that turn of phrase before. I looked him up and apparently he was put into an asylum due in part to his recommendations and the rejection of them and subsequently beat to death while committed. An absolutely brutal example of being persecuted for being right.