3 ms·
A Brief History of the Miracle Bacterium
- melagonster 2y agoThis is crazy fun :) I'll try to find more information of this clade.
- dr_dshiv 2y agohttps://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2164-0947.1969.tb02887.x https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2164-... Here’s a fascinating 1969 article about the same bacterium called “From Superstition to Science.” — The whole thing is worth a read, but I especially loved how it traces the blood effect back to Pythagoreanism. Pythagoras the Biologist! It quotes a 170 AD satire by Lucian, “the sale of creeds” about the god Hermes auctioning off different philosophies. “Pythagoreanism: Of living animals I eat none. All else I can eat, except beans. First Buyer: And why no beans? Do you dislike them? Pythagoreanism: No. But they are sacred things. Their nature is a mystery. Consider them first in their generative aspect; take a green one and peel it, and you will see what I mean. Again boil one and expose it to moonlight for a proper number of nights, and you have—blood. What is more, the Athenians use beans to vote with.”
- gsf_emergency_2 2y agoMaybe Pythagoras just wanted to rationalize curing his G6PD deficiency (aka favism) with negative homeopathy
- profsummergig 2y agoThis is such a traditional British way to go about scientific inquiry. Unlikely such experiments would be allowed today. Seems we've lost something.
- trhway 2y agoThere were also that impressive demo of Turbinia. The achievement was celebrated instead of being charged with resisting arrest, disturbing order, etc. On the other side - there was strong opposition among scientists to the limitations on vivisection. Definitely was a different world, more rough and cruel.
- SpaghettiBoi 2y ago[dead]