human being sapiensis a complex species and for all our intelligence , we ’ve encountered and created some pretty horrifying scenarios . This twelvemonth we ’ve dived into some of theweirdest “ cure ” we ’ve get along up with for history ’s virulent diseases(some of which were worse than the disease itself ) , as well as queer approaches we ’ve taken to divvy up with our dead , includingwhat we can learn from emaciated corpse .
search some of the weirdest stories from 2023 as we embrace the darker side of science .
The Fungal Resting Places Of Some Of History’s Most Significant Figures May Have Caused A Mysterious String Of Deaths
When Casimir IV Jagiellon , the King of Poland , die out in 1492 , nobody could ’ve auspicate the dying that would succeed the reopening of his grave half a millenary afterwards . Having rot away into abiological bomb of pathogen potential , it became a risky place for the living to poke around in . regrettably , in 1973 , that ’s exactly what a radical of archaeologists did .
According to researcher at Guy ’s King ’s and St Thomas ' School of Medicine , of the 12 scientist present when the tomb was opened , 10 died within week . They also describe that a assortment of fungi was cultured from the tomb . Aspergilluswas among the samples , a fungus kingdom that ’s been pinpointed as a possible explanation for the death of Lord Carnarvon shortly after opening Tutankhamun ’s grave , spurring hearsay of the “ mummy ’s curse ” .
It would n’t be the first metre harmful pathogens have been feel in ancient tombs . In 2018 , researchers study publically useable database of ancient deoxyribonucleic acid stumbled across something significant lurking in theFrälsegården passage grave accent in Swedenthat dates back a small-scale 4,900 eld . The strain of the Black Death found there may have been behind the early known human pandemic .
Rivers Of Mercury And The Pursuit Of Immortality
There ’s a lot of talking about longevity these Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , but we should study from the lessons ofChina ’s first emperor , Qin Shi Huang , who plant out the hard path that sometimes the “ elixir of life ” can actually tug you nigher to demise . Back in Qin Shi Huang ’s day , mercury was thought to pass on great magnate to those who consumed it . We now know that quite the opposite is genuine as ingest too much Hg will get you idle .
Mercury now remains one of several ground whyarchaeologists are too scared to open Qin Shi Huang ’s grave . Ancient accounts land that many dumbbell traps have been set up to toss off any intruders , and with child concentrations of mercury detected in the tomb could mean the rumored terror that grave diggers will be flooded with the toxic liquidness could be unfeigned .
Alternative Funerary Practices
In the same year that New York officially welcomedhuman compostingas a method of disposing of the dead , we learned thatcannibalism was a vulgar funerary practicein Europe 15,000 years ago . A 2023 study bring out Magdalenian remains in England ’s Gough ’s Cave that consistently showed signs of chew marks , as well as use of bone to make pecker .
Another burial mystery come fromShanidar Cave in Iraq , where scientist were curious as to why a Neanderthal grave accent had been found stuffed full of pollen . The pollen clump were a mixed bag of species that were unlikely to be in bloom at the same clock time , say the researchers , and were more interracial than you would expect had whole flowers been localize into the grave , indicating the pollen arrive via a unlike transmitter than mankind . Their explanation?Bees .
“Necropants” Made Of Human Skin Were Once Rumored To Make You Rich
Everybody loves a harebrained get - rich - quick strategy , but if there ’s one that has to top the “ Absolutely Not ” charts it ’s surelynecropants . The pants , also known in fable as nábrækur or nábrók , were rumored to bring the wearer of a brace of human - pegleg - hide trousers riches , but only if you follow a nonindulgent set of instructions …
“Mummy Brown” Paint Used Ground Up Human Remains To Make Art
And while we ’re on the topic of unearthly things to do with the dead , did you know that Eugène Delacroix’sLiberty Leading The Peoplemay contain multitude ? “ Mummy Brown ” – made of the ground - up remains of mummified mass , and kat – became a firm favorite of European painters back in the 16thcentury , cherished for its foil that loan itself to shadower , flesh tones , and glazing , both in vegetable oil and watercolors .
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