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CaaC (John)

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  1. Isaac Newton proposed curing plague with toad vomit, unseen papers show It is not as bad as suggesting injections of disinfectant. Isaac Newton’s 17th-century prescription for the plague – which blended powdered toad with toad vomit to form “lozenges” to drive away the contagion – has been revealed. Two unpublished pages of Newton’s notes on Jan Baptist van Helmont’s 1667 book on plague, De Peste, are to be auctioned online by Bonham’s this week. Newton had been a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, when the university closed as a precaution against the bubonic plague, which killed 100,000 people in London in 1665 and 1666. When the polymath returned to Cambridge in 1667, he began to study the work of Van Helmont. Newton’s analysis of De Peste is the most substantial written statement he is known to have made about the plague, according to Bonhams, who said the papers were of “profound importance to the Newton body of work, as well as deeply meaningful within the present context”. The auction house’s books specialist, Darren Sutherland, said: “Newton’s running notes represent the only significant writings on the subject by the world’s greatest scientific mind that we have been able to trace. A timely reminder, perhaps, that there is nothing new under the sun.” The notes include the case of a man who touched “pestilent papers, immediately felt a pain like a pricking needle, and developed a pestilent ulcer in the forefinger, and died in two days”, and his observation that “places infected with the plague are to be avoided”. Some of Newton’s potential cures recorded are unlikely to be taken up today, however. He writes that “the best is a toad suspended by the legs in a chimney for three days, which at last vomited up earth with various insects in it, on to a dish of yellow wax, and shortly after died. Combining powdered toad with the excretions and serum made into lozenges and worn about the affected area drove away the contagion and drew out the poison.” Van Helmont, a renowned physician, had been a practising doctor in Antwerp when the city was hit by plague in 1605. Despite Newton’s standing, the papers have never previously been included in any collected works. When Newton died in 1727, his huge archive was left to his niece, Catherine Conduitt. It remained in the family until 1872, when his descendant, Isaac Newton Wallop, Fifth Earl of Portsmouth, donated his writings to Trinity College. Cambridge kept only the mathematical and scientific papers and returned Newton’s more controversial writings on alchemy, theology and philosophy. These papers, including Newton’s notes on Van Helmont, were sold in 1936 to private collectors, among them John Maynard Keynes. “There was never much interest in his ‘other’ writings until recently,” said Sutherland. “So it really is a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man – with his remedies to ward off a virus that’s causing a pandemic.” The pages will be auctioned by Bonhams for an estimate of $80,000-$120,000 (£64,000-£96,000) as part of its online-only Essential Genius: Ten Important Manuscripts sale, which runs until 10 June. The auction also includes an autographed and a signed draft of the last lines of Walt Whitman’s final poem, A Thought of Columbus. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/isaac-newton-proposed-curing-plague-with-toad-vomit-unseen-papers-show/ar-BB14VxPw
  2. Fucked if I know what they were doing and who the fuck are they and who did they work for?
  3. CaaC (John)

    Members Pictures

    Well, managed to get the wife outside, at last, the first time since the lockdown so we bought wee Kaiden a tent for the back garden, nice and secluded with only the daughter, wife & Kaiden there, 3 meters apart naturally but the wife enjoyed being a little closer to the grandson, I stayed indoors as the smell of fresh-cut grass or hedge cuttings sets my hayfever off and I can't have that with my asthma and COPD. But he came up here to use the loo so I had a wee natter with him after his call of nature had been completed, me in the lounge and Kaiden near the front door then he went back outside, just hope all these restrictions are over with soon and we can get back to normal again.
  4. Calling @True Blue, your name has been mentioned that you have not been in here for a while, you are missed already.
  5. Conservation: Glimmer of hope for world's rarest primate The discovery of a new breeding pair raises hope for the survival of the world's rarest primate, the Hainan Gibbon. Ravaged by deforestation and poaching, the ape now lives only in a patch of forest on China's Hainan island. In the 1950s, there were an estimated 2,000 left in the world, but numbers fell to fewer than 10 in the 1970s. The latest census shows numbers have tripled to more than 30 gibbons, living in five separate family groups. The fragile recovery follows decades of work by the Hainan Gibbon Conservation Project, run by the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in Hong Kong. "I can't imagine how sad it would be if Hainan rainforest lost this beautiful animal and its wonderful song," said Philip Lo, senior conservation officer. Gibbons are known for their ability to swing gracefully through the forest canopy, making loud, haunting calls to mark their territory. Breeding adults sing duets at dawn to enhance bonding. Villagers heard the calls of two gibbons living in a part of the forest away from the main population late last year. A male and a female were later spotted and heard singing together, showing they had formed a stable bond. The gibbon forms family groups consisting of one male, two females and their young offspring. The discovery of a fifth breeding pair in a separate fragment of the forest is seen as highly significant. Philip Lo said the species remained the rarest primate in the world, but there is hope it could overcome the risk of extinction and recover steadily. He described the success as "a piece of good news that could cheer up other dedicated conservation colleagues". Conservation efforts have been underway at Hainan Bawangling National Nature Reserve since 2003 when the first full census found only 13 individuals living in two groups. A comprehensive rescue programme was put in place, including patrols and monitoring, research into the apes' ecology and behaviour, and the planting of thousands of trees to provide food and shelter. Nearly 20 gibbon species exist throughout the world, from northeastern India to Borneo. Most are under threat from the destruction of forests, hunting and illegal trade. Mystery extinct ape found in ancient Chinese tomb Two species of gibbon have recently disappeared in China and all surviving Chinese species, including the Hainan Gibbon (Nomascus hainanus), are classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52842550
  6. CaaC (John)

    Off Topic

    Where there is a will there is a way, Just ask Del Boy Trotter
  7. CaaC (John)

    Off Topic

    Where there is a will there is a way, Just ask Del Boy Trotter
  8. A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables when a voice in the dark said, 'Jesus knows you're here.' He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze. When he heard nothing more, he shook his head and continued. Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard 'Jesus is watching you.' Startled, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot. 'Did you say that?' he hissed at the parrot. 'Yes', the parrot confessed, then squawked, 'I'm just trying to warn you that he's watching you.' The burglar relaxed. 'Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?' 'Moses,' replied the bird. 'Moses?' the burglar laughed. 'What kind of people would name a bird Moses?' 'The kind of people who would name a Rottweiler Jesus.'
  9. Thank fuck he is gone, just hope Trump does not appear now, keep this pic on for a while, it's a breath of fresh air.
  10. I bet he is saying under his breath fuck off so I can get a plaster on my cut head.
  11. I wish he would fuck off and leave the guys in peace.
  12. To see skies at night like that @Stan I wish I did.
  13. Aye, just waiting for Donald Duck Trump to stick his head in.
  14. Like watching eggs hatching and chicks coming into the world, brilliant sight and to think that is happening miles above us.
  15. Red Hugh: Spanish dig for the bones of 'Fighting Prince of Donegal' Are the bones of a historic Irish leader entombed below the foundations of a bank in northern Spain? Archaeologists have dug up a street in the city of Valladolid in a bid to find the remains of a 16th Century Irish chieftain known as Red Hugh. Red Hugh O'Donnell died in Spain in 1602 while on a mission to ask the Spanish king for military assistance to drive the English army out of Ireland. He was buried in Valladolid's Chapel of Wonders - the same church where Christopher Columbus was interred almost a century earlier. The remains of Columbus were later moved to Seville and the ruined building eventually disappeared from view. However, archaeologists believe they have unearthed the walls of the chapel and are "close" to discovering the remains of Red Hugh. FULL REPORT
  16. The top of Leith Links park just up from me is partly full of people sitting in groups of three or more but a distance away from others yet the bottom end of the park is quieter.
  17. All them checks he is doing must be mind-boggling.
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