I’ve been looking into feng shui lately, specifically the concepts about what makes a person feel more safe or at ease in a space, such as relaxing or sleeping facing the entrance / exit.
While reading, I came across the guidance that you should always shut your toilet seat to prevent your good fortune from being flushed. The real reason you should keep it shut is so it can’t mist shit-water all over your toothbrush every time you flush. Also so your pets don’t drink out of it.
What other things did humans throughout history accidentally get right?
Pluto was discovered because the orbit of Neptune didn’t match predictions, so astronomers decided that there must be a ninth planet out there. It was very close to where the math predicted it would be.
It turned out later that Pluto was much, much smaller than at first thought, and couldn’t be the 9th planet. It then turned out that the mass of Neptune was greater than expected, and the orbit actually matched expectations without the need for a 9th planet.
Midwives did not understand germ theory, but still washed their hands and cleaned the delivery areas for delivery due to tradition.
Fun fact:
A Hungarian doctor tried to combine midwife tradition with his knowledge of modern medicine to get even better results. He required his nurses to clean on a regular basis, and required doctors to wash their hands with a chlorine solution before all medical procedures.
The result was a resounding success, with the complication rate as his facility being better than both the midwives and other doctors. However his methods violated social conventions at the time, so he was shunned from society and considered a disgrace. He died in an insane asylum.
How can that end so sad, yet so funny at the same time?
Sort of tangential, but Democritus was right about atoms, but obviously he worked it out in a very different way to how modern scientists did — though we don’t know his exact reasoning.
Even more tangential: Aristotle (and others) were wrong about the four elements making all matter, but they do correspond to the four basic states of matter, which is kind of fun: earth=solid, water=liquid, air=gas, fire=plasma.
Back in the day, without proper health guidelines, banning the eating of pork was a really good idea.
Same goes for shellfish - unrefridgeated it can go nasty quickly, and if you live in a hot environment that’s gonna be even faster.
I grew up on the coast, and my parents always had this rule to never eat/cook/serve shellfish that weren’t fished (shellfished?) same day or yesterday.
The use of copper for health purposes. It’s used in UIDs today and is anti parasitic, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral
“We believe this stuff prevents infections”
“Silly savages, it works but not for the reason you think. You see, it kills microorganisms, thereby preventing infections”
“That’s what I said”
“You didn’t say microorganism”
“I speak Aramaic!”
Black holes. Predicted in the 1700s using Newtonian gravity. The event horizon diameter even turned it to be right (ie. matches the one predicted by general relativity).
Fun coincidence from Newton’s not quite right theory of gravity combined with his not quite right particle theory of light.
In medieval times, when you had the flu, the prescription was lots of water. Not to flush your system and keep you hydrated as is modern wisdom, but to balance your humors, which is made-up nonsense.
Bloodletting actually has its uses. It’s rare, but a valid treatment. It’s called phlebotomy now, but it’s essentially the same thing.
I don’t remember exactly what the condition was, but I remember my grandfather went through it. Something to do with too much iron.
EDIT:
According to chatgpt, the condition is called hemochromatosis. It matches my grandfather’s description of having high levels of ferritin.Don’t use an AI to answer a simple google question. Not only is it a gross waste of electricity (that Google is hiding from users), but it hallucinates answers all the fucking time. You’re literally better off avoiding that trash.
Snake oil from Chinese water snakes may actually have some effect on conditions like arthritis because it contains large quantities of omega 3 fatty acids. Most of the “snake oil” sold in the west was fake and just mineral oil, or sometimes rattlesnake oil.
Lamarckian inheritance ended up being kinda true thanks to the discovery of epigenetics
I looked this up for those of us who have no idea what this person is talking about:
Lamarckian inheritance, the idea that traits acquired during an organism’s lifetime can be passed on to its offspring, was largely dismissed for a long time. However, with the discovery of epigenetics, we now know that environmental factors can indeed cause changes in how genes are expressed, and these changes can be inherited. This means that while the DNA sequence doesn’t change, the way genes are turned on or off can be influenced by experiences and passed down to future generations, making Lamarck’s idea somewhat true in a modern scientific context.
Not sure if true. But as far as I know acupuncture has been proven to be effective. But you don’t have to hit the magic energy spots you can stick the needles anywhere.
That’s because it’s all placebo effect. That doesn’t make acupuncture effective. Anything you can make someone believe can be just as effective.
