Exploring Science Through an 1879 Lens: Insights and Anomalies
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One day during a vacation, I stumbled upon a treasure in a secondhand bookstore. Among the typical cookbooks and love stories, I discovered an 1879 science and technology textbook titled A Natural Philosophy by G. P. Quackenbos, LL.D. I was thrilled to possess a piece of history from a time brimming with scientific and technological advancements.
At the modest price of $1.50, I couldn't resist the purchase. As a history enthusiast and science aficionado, this book has become my most cherished possession, offering a captivating glimpse into the scientific knowledge of the late 19th century.
Intriguing Experiments with Corpses
Science, as a human pursuit, has its darker aspects. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, published in 1818, echoes this sentiment. The Quackenbos textbook recounts a bizarre experiment that may have drawn inspiration from Shelley’s chilling tale. In the section labeled “Physiological Effects of Voltaic Electricity,” the author describes:
> A few years ago, the body of a murderer hanged in Glasgow was subjected, about an hour and a quarter after his execution, to the action of a battery consisting of 270 pairs of four-inch plates. One pole was applied to the spinal marrow at the nape of the neck, and the other to the sciatic nerve in the left hip, when the whole body was thrown into a violent tremor as if shivering with cold. On removing the wire from the sciatic nerve to a nerve in the heel, the leg was thrown out so violently as nearly to overturn one of the assistants, who tried in vain to prevent its extension. On directing a current to the principal muscle of respiration, the chest heaved and fell, and labored breathing commenced. When one of the poles was applied t