Fig. 48. Digestive system of grain-eating birds. La vie : physiologie humaine appliquée à l'hygiène et à la médecine. 1874.
Thoracic cross-sections of the human body
More than a century before the Visible Human Project brought together almost a dozen sources of millimeter-thin cross-section cuts of the human body to create interactive 3D models, people were already freezing and carving bodies into slices to show the inner form of the human body.
The cross-section and topographical anatomy textbooks were intended for medical students, whose access to real humans/cadavers would not have allowed this particular visualization of how the human body comes together.
An Atlas of Topographical Anatomy: after plane sections of frozen bodies. Wilhelm Braune, translated by Edward Bellamy, 1977.
Giant squid hanging over Rev. Moses Harvey’s bathtub
The squid that “attacked” the reverend and his companion in their dory was on the smaller end of how large adult giant squids (Architeuthis dux) can be, but was still massive. The mantle (body) of the squid is largely removed in this photograph; only the beak and tentacles remain.
In the late 1800s, an unusually large number of giant squid strandings occurred in Newfoundland and New Zealand. This may have been due to a change in the abyssal waters in those areas, or an increased population simply showing up more often, since sperm whales (their primary predators) were nearly hunted to extinction.
After this “attack” (more likely the flailing tentacles of a dying squid happening to hook onto a boat), Rev. Harvey, already keenly studying the natural history of St. John’s, Newfoundland, found ways to discern some of the habits and behaviors of giant squid, despite not being able to directly observe live specimens. It was through his published accounts that many naturalists in Britain and North America became acquainted with one of the giants of the deep sea.
Bharal or Blue Sheep - Ovis nahoor [now Pseudois nayaur]
Bharals, also called naur in their native Himalayas, are a large (35-75 kg) sheep, and aside from the dwarf blue sheep (Pseudois schaeferi), which is endangered, are all relatively prevalent in their territory.
However, similar to the mountain chinchilla, their population is still monitored, because they’re the primary food source for one of the critically-endangered snow leopard populations - any change in their population can lead to snow leopards turning to livestock in the region (leading to poaching) and population decline.
Recherches pour servir a l'histoire naturelle des mammiferes. M. H. Milne Edwards, 1868-1875.
Common Snowdrop - Galanthus nivalis
The simple, early-blooming snowdrop, blooms even before the spring crocus.
Native to most of continental Europe, and naturalized to several parts of Britain and the United States, Galanthus nivalis (literally “milkflower of the snow”) blooms as early as mid-January, in temperate botanical zones. Its more common blossoming dates are between February and late March, leading to one of its many colloquial names, “Candlemas bells”.
Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, Vol XXXI. Jan. Joseph Dalton Hooker, 1875.
Domesticated Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) and Guineafowl (Numida meleagris)
Gobble gobble gobble! Whether you’re from the US or abroad, you’re probably gonna hear a lot about turkeys in the next few days. Here are some facts about them that you probably won’t come across in your conversations about Thanksgiving dinner!
1. First off…they’re not so dumb they drown in the rain. C’mon. They’re not the smartest animals, but assuming they’re “curious” about the rain is being extremely anthropomorphic - “stupid” animals react out of instinct, not curiosity. When turkeys die during storms, it’s normally because they’ve been spooked by lightening or thunder and have panicked themselves to death.
2. Eating turkey doesn’t make you drowsy. Thanks for the urban legend, Seinfeld. You know why you get drowsy after eating Thanksgiving dinner? You just stuffed three days worth of carbohydrates into your gaping maw and your intestines need all of your blood just to handle moving it through your system! Until your food gets to your small intestine to be processed, you’re gonna be drowsy.
3. Turkeys, though often most closely associated with chickens, are much more closely related to wild pheasants and grouse. Wild turkeys are native to the Americas, just like prairie chickens and grouse. The bird that domestic chickens derive from, the Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus) is native to the jungles of South-East Asia.
4. Wild turkeys are actually decent flyers! Even the big, decked-out males in mating season can fly reasonably well. They don’t have much in the way of stamina (generally with a range of just over a mile at a time), but they can easily cross rivers, escape predators, and reach roosts high up in trees. Their flight can reach up to 55 mph when they’re escaping
5. Yes, the English name of the bird and the name of the country are related. Though wild turkeys are native only to the Americas, their introduction to the British would have been from Spanish trade ships selling their wares in the Levant (an area including Turkey, Palestine, the Sinai, and other British holdings and allies in the Near East). The association with Turkey gave them their common name in English.
6. Domestic turkeys (of the large commercial variety) have been bred in such a way that their giant breasts make them literally too big to mate on their own, and as such have been artificially inseminated for decades.
7. Ben Franklin never publicly suggested we adopt the wild turkey as our national bird. Though he opposed the bald eagle, with reasonable objections - it’s largely a scavenger, and does not take much to intimidate, whereas the turkey is a resourceful forager and pretty damn mean - he only voiced his objections in a letter to his daughter, Sarah Bache.
8. The fleshy drape over the male turkey’s beak is called a snood, and the flesh on his neck is called a wattle. The bit of hair-like projections hanging down right below the wattle is his beard. Around the bottom of the wattle there are often fleshy bulbs that are harder and more prominent than the rest of the structure, when the turkey is not strutting or mating. Those are the major carucles (from Latin caruncula, meaning “wart”). Females have a wattle and caruncles, but do not have a snood or beard.
Image:
Poultry, a Practical Guide. Hugh Piper, 1877.“Arguing the Point“ Boston Public Library collection. Edmund Birckhead Bensell ca. 1870.
*shrug* Sexytiems? I assume, at least.
You know, it’s not just turkeys that have wattles. Goats, a breed of pig, and lots of other poultry and birds do, too. Their size is directly correlated with the testosterone level of the bird, so I assume they mean “BREED WITH ME, FEMALE”, or something similar.
Domesticated Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) and Guineafowl (Numida meleagris)
Gobble gobble gobble! Whether you’re from the US or abroad, you’re probably gonna hear a lot about turkeys in the next few days. Here are some facts about them that you probably won’t come across in your conversations about Thanksgiving dinner!
1. First off…they’re not so dumb they drown in the rain. C'mon. They’re not the smartest animals, but assuming they’re “curious” about the rain is being extremely anthropomorphic - “stupid” animals react out of instinct, not curiosity. When turkeys die during storms, it’s normally because they’ve been spooked by lightening or thunder and have panicked themselves to death.
2. Eating turkey doesn’t make you drowsy. Thanks for the urban legend, Seinfeld. You know why you get drowsy after eating Thanksgiving dinner? You just stuffed three days worth of carbohydrates into your gaping maw and your intestines need all of your blood just to handle moving it through your system! Until your food gets to your small intestine to be processed, you’re gonna be drowsy.
3. Turkeys, though often most closely associated with chickens, are much more closely related to wild pheasants and grouse. Wild turkeys are native to the Americas, just like prairie chickens and grouse. The bird that domestic chickens derive from, the Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus) is native to the jungles of South-East Asia.
4. Wild turkeys are actually decent flyers! Even the big, decked-out males in mating season can fly reasonably well. They don’t have much in the way of stamina (generally with a range of just over a mile at a time), but they can easily cross rivers, escape predators, and reach roosts high up in trees. Their flight can reach up to 55 mph when they’re escaping
5. Yes, the English name of the bird and the name of the country are related. Though wild turkeys are native only to the Americas, their introduction to the British would have been from Spanish trade ships selling their wares in the Levant (an area including Turkey, Palestine, the Sinai, and other British holdings and allies in the Near East). The association with Turkey gave them their common name in English.
6. Domestic turkeys (of the large commercial variety) have been bred in such a way that their giant breasts make them literally too big to mate on their own, and as such have been artificially inseminated for decades.
7. Ben Franklin never publicly suggested we adopt the wild turkey as our national bird. Though he opposed the bald eagle, with reasonable objections - it’s largely a scavenger, and does not take much to intimidate, whereas the turkey is a resourceful forager and pretty damn mean - he only voiced his objections in a letter to his daughter, Sarah Bache.
8. The fleshy drape over the male turkey’s beak is called a snood, and the flesh on his neck is called a wattle. The bit of hair-like projections hanging down right below the wattle is his beard. Around the bottom of the wattle there are often fleshy bulbs that are harder and more prominent than the rest of the structure, when the turkey is not strutting or mating. Those are the major carucles (from Latin caruncula, meaning “wart”). Females have a wattle and caruncles, but do not have a snood or beard.
Image:
Poultry, a Practical Guide. Hugh Piper, 1877.
“Arguing the Point” Boston Public Library collection. Edmund Birckhead Bensell ca. 1870.
North Island Moa (Dinoris novazealandiae), high-class Māori in kakapo and kiwi feather robe, and Haast’s Eagle (Harpagornis moorei)
The Haast’s Eagle (Harpagornis moorei) was the largest known raptor to exist - while there were larger birds that existed, no larger birds of prey have been found in the fossil record so far. It was huge, large enough to easily take away a small human child, and create a significant injury threat to even the largest adult humans.
When the Polynesian people known as the Maori arrived in New Zealand, around C.E. 1250-1300, the Haast’s eagle and moa would have been dangerous and defining creatures in their lives. While the moa was not a big meat-eater, it could kick (and possibly kill) a human more easily than an ostrich can, and would not have hesitated to do so, if threatened.
However, with their already-advanced spears and javelins, and their ingenuity with hunting and shelter-building, the Maori easily overcame the threat of the moa - by 1400, the giant bird was no more.
Unfortunately, with its primary food source gone, the Haast’s eagle also went extinct, shortly after the moa. Today, birds like the kakapo, kiwi, taiko, and takahe, are all critically endangered, because of human influence and habitat destruction. New Zealand’s island environment, with its few airborne predators and unusual evolutionary pressures, has lead to extremely specialized birds, and they unfortunately adapt poorly to a modern world that has feral cats, rats, and poachers. While conservationists attempt to protect them from the pressures of non-island life, there is little telling what the future holds for them.
Images:
Extinct Birds. Lionel Walter Rothschild, 1907.
A History of the Birds of New Zealand. Walter Lawry Buller, 1873.
“Ancient DNA Tells Story of Ancient Eagle Evolution”. Art: John Megahan, 2005.
Wolliez’s Spirophore
As bizarre as it looks, M. Wolliez’s spirophore was a forerunner of the iron lung. It was the first negative pressure ventilator that was both widely used, and easily useable over long periods of time.
The first negative pressure ventilator that has a name attached to it was described by the Scottish physician John Dalziel, in 1832. However, successful use of similar apparatuses has been recorded as far back as the turn of the 19th century.
Wolliez’s model was hand-powered, but the bellows made it possible to perform resuscitation on a possible drowning victim or stillbirth for hours on end, provided your assistant had able arms. In the age of fears of premature burial, wealthy patrons with well-equipped physicians would were known to insist on their stillborn children being placed in the spirophore and ventilated for long periods, before being declared dead.
While its uses in reviving the stillborn were notable but limited, a larger version of the spirophore apparatus was also used, especially in the British Raj, where snakes with neurotoxins, and British people with poor swimming skills were frequent causes for calls to the physician. The larger spirophores (and later, automated iron lungs) were extremely useful in recovery from cobra and mamba snakebites - as most deaths were caused by paralysis of the diaphragm and suffocation, if the patient was kept alive long enough to break down the toxin, they had a decent chance of survival if they avoided subsequent infection.
Cyclopaedia of the Diseases of Children, Medical and Surgical. Edited by John M. Keating, 1890.
Bottom image via Technologies Biomedicales (original from Wolliez Patent)
Canis Jubatus (now Chrysocyon brachyurus) - The Maned Wolf
[Another entry from bird and moon’s comic.]
While it might have a mane of sorts, the maned wolf is not a wolf. In fact, it’s not even a fox, even though it might look like a fox on stilts. Speaking of stilts, these guys are the tallest living canid, measuring up to 42 inches (106 cm) at the shoulder! Historically, the maned wolf was placed in the genera Canis and Vulpes (the wolves and foxes, respectively), because of superficial morphological similarities.
However, on further anatomical examination, and later, DNA analysis, the maned wolf was found to be unique in the genus Chrysocyon. There are no known extant or extinct species that come close to the maned wolf, though part of that is almost certainly due to a lack of fossilized remains - there may have been other members of the genus in the Pleistocene and Holocene that have not been found yet.
Currently, one of the most accepted theories on why the maned wolf is so unique is that it just happened to be the sole surviving species of its genus, during the Pleistocene (or Quaternary) extinction. That extinction event snuffed out all the large canids of South America, along with almost ¾ of all the large mammals living at that time.
The diet of this species may lend a clue as to how it survived the mass extinction: it’s extremely omnivorous. While they search out and eat birds, small mammals, and reptiles, they also eat berries, leaves, fruits, and tubers, and spread the seeds of many plants. Their diet also lends the maned wolf its nickname - the Skunk Wolf. They produce pyrazines and other musky plant derivatives that they spray about to mark territory. In fact, the smell of the maned wolf enclosure at the Rotterdam Zoo set off a search for marijuana, before they discovered the true source!
Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoologic Society of London. Part III (May-June), 1877.
Microhierax latifrons - White-fronted Falconet
This tiny member of the Falconidae is a native to the island of Borneo, and is one of the smallest birds-of-prey in the world. The Siamese Rhinoceros Beetle (Xylotrupes gideon) is also native to Borneo, and is one of the largest and heaviest insects extant.
Unfortunately, the rhinoceros beetles don’t have the toxins and horrible taste that most of the other tropical insects have, making them the perfect prey for falconets.
The Ibis, a quarterly journal of ornithology. Vol. I, 1871.
“Star of India” Clematis
The clematis flowers are members of the Ranunculaceae family, which also includes the buttercups and the Acontium (wolfsbane or monk’s bane) genus. There are hundreds of species, and over a thousand cultivars of Clematus spp.
Found in European gardens (by way of the Japanese) by the 18th century, and in the United States since the mid-19th century, clematis flowers are hardy and perennial, but solely ornamental. Despite having a “pepper-like” taste, the seeds, sap, and everything else from the plant, is highly toxic, causing intense abdominal pain and intestinal bleeding when consumed.
The Floral World and Garden Guide. Edited by Shirley Hibbard, Esq., 1871.
Giant Golden Mole - Chrysochloris trevelyani [now Chrysospalax trevelyani]
If there were ever a mammal worthy of being given the common name of “Blorp”, this would be it. But no, they get to be called the “giant golden mole”, despite not being all that giant, or all that golden. I’m still calling them Blorps.
These pudgers are ancient, mostly-desert-dwelling Gondwanan creatures which are remarkably well adapted to climates with significant thermal shifts. During times of extreme heat or cold, their bodies can go into a state of torpor, almost stalling their basal metabolism rate, and completely turning off their internal thermoregulation until the temperature returns to a more amicable range.
The family of golden moles, Chrysochloridae, is not related to the “true moles” (Talpidae), but get their common name from their similar appearance, which developed through convergent evolution. Most scientists agree that the golden moles are more closely related to hedgehogs and shrews than to true moles, though some theories group them with the tenrecs. Until full genetic profiles are established for the Insectivoridae, we probably won’t have a definitive answer.
Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1875.
How To Die at Work: 1875 edition.
Thanks again to Antiquus Morbis for the inspiration; many of these terms can also be found over there, in addition to hundreds of other causes of death.
————————————————————————-Though the Occupational Safety and Health Act as we [in the US] know it has only existed since 1970, there have been differing levels of federal oversight in the workplace since the Bureau of Labor was created as part of the Department of the Interior in 1888, and the Department of Labor was established in 1913. Though their oversight may not have been as stringent as what we have now, and laws may not have protected people as they do today, it was certainly better than nothing.
So what was working before ANY oversight like? Well, here are a few ways you could have died from your occupation, assuming you didn’t get killed by falling, getting crushed, getting impaled, or straight up getting ripped apart by the machinery (read: I’m not covering industrial disasters today; they’re coming later):
Aluminosis/Kaolinosis - Fibriod phthisis caused by the inhalation of clay dust.
Brass Founder’s Ague - A debilitating fever (often cyclical, like ague) caused by inhalation of the fumes of burned-down zinc, copper, or magnesium, in brass foundries.
Byssinosis - A lung disease caused by inhalation of cotton fiber dust or other vegetable fiber dust (flax, hemp, sissal). Leads to coughing, wheezing, progressive lung scarring and narrowing of the airways, and eventually death. Death isn’t so much due to the scarring, but more because of the highly reduced ability to fight pulmonary infections. Was particularly common in young girls and women, especially those in thread factories.
Caisson Disease - Spinal affection caused by either moving from a condensed atmosphere underground or a pressurized diving apparatus into the ground-level atmosphere again. Often occurs in conjunction with “The Bends”. Known as Diver’s Paralysis.
Cancer Scroti - …this is an awful one. A cancer noted by Percival Potts, affecting primarily chimney sweeps. Scrotal cancer, often appearing around puberty. Unfortunately was often treated as if it was a venereal disease, which wouldn’t have helped anything. Often led to the cancer spreading to the lymph nodes, leading to death before 18. Also known as Soot wart.
Danbury Shakes/Hatter’s Shakes - Symptoms of inhalation mercury poisoning exhibited by the hat-makers in Danbury, CT (the hat capital of the world in the 1800s). Often involved shaking, delirium, slurring speech, twitching, and a lurching gait. Sometimes these guys were mistaken for drunks.
Lacemaker’s Disease - Lead poisoning sometimes found in lace-makers.
Mad Hatter’s Syndrome - Differs from Danbury Shakes in that it more often leads to death, and is more often caused by unintentional ingestion of mercury (rather than inhalation). Involves severe ataxia, gastrointestinal symptoms, and emotional instability, in addition to the symptoms of Hatter’s Shakes.
Matches Disease - Oh god. Phossy jaw. Will do a full post on this and radium jaw soon. Caused by working with and inhaling the dust of white/yellow phosphorous, which was the primary ingredient in matches for a long time. Young girls and unmarried women were the primary makers of matches, and ended up the most affected by this disease. In the end, your jaw basically rots off and you go crazy and then you die. Also known as Phosphorus necrosis.
Potter’s Rot - Known as silicosis today. Caused by inhalation of silica particles often found in clay. Silica embeds itself deep in the alveolar sacs (meaning that it cant be coughed out), and the body, trying to get rid of the irritant, becomes inflamed and deposits collagen around the silica. This causes fibrotic nodules in the lungs, respiratory insufficiency, severe cough, fever, right ventricle heart disease, weight loss, and cyanosis. Silicosis leads to a significantly increased risk of tuberculosis and cancer, as well as mycobacterial infections. Also known as slate-worker’s lung/sandblaster’s asthma.
Ptilosis - Another form of fibroid phthisis, caused by inhalation of feather dust and down dust. In the ostrich feather industry of South Africa (which aside from pen quills, had a huge boom around 1880 thanks to the fashions of the time - feathers were prominent for over a decade, and came back in style frequently), this was particularly prevalent.
Rag Sorter’s/Rag-Picker’s Disease - Anthrax. Should do a post on the history of anthrax soon. Really interesting topic. Rag sorters were the women who sorted rags in the paper factories. Rag sorter’s disease often manifested itself as cutaneous anthrax, but pulmonary (inhalation) anthrax was not uncommon.
Sailor’s Fever - Yellow Fever. Almost always acquired in the tropics.
Silo-Filler’s Lung - Acute bronchiolitis fibrosa obliterans, caused by inhaling high levels of nitrogen oxides. Recently-filled silos have very high levels of nitrogen dioxide (which is one reason why you never want to be in a poorly-ventilated silo). Nitrous fume intoxication causes cough and shortness of breath, followed by high fever, chills, and a more serious shortness of breath. Death from pulmonary edema following the second phase was not uncommon.
Woolsorter’s “Pneumonia” - Inhalation anthrax. Anthrax spores are soil-borne, and when wool is sorted, it still carries the environmental dirt and grime that the sheep (who largely live outdoors) pick up. As the dirt is knocked free, soil-borne spores are also released. The sheep didn’t necessarily have to be infected itself to pick up anthrax spores as it lay on the ground. Though mortality rates from pulmonary anthrax hover around 45% these days thanks to early diagnosis, improved treatment, and (most of all) Pasteur’s anthrax vaccine for livestock, historic mortality rates were ~92%. Pretty awful thing to catch in the workplace.