this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] [email protected] 115 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Thanks. I have so many questions about some of these. Cut of the stone, king's evil, Planet, rising of the lights, teeth... I'm mostly curious what king's evil is in this context. Gonna go look Edit: per the link it's scrofula.

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[–] [email protected] 78 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 78 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

“People called cancer the wolf, because it 'ate up' the person.” But this wasn't just a linguistic quirk. The idea was actually translated into practice. “Some doctors would even apply raw meat to a cancerous ulcer, so that the wolf could feast on that for a while instead of 'eating' the patient.

Source

[–] [email protected] 42 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I could see how people 400 years ago could think that makes sense.

[–] [email protected] 56 points 3 weeks ago

"There are two wolves inside of you. I'm afraid it's terminal."

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 weeks ago

Classic comedy duo, well until cancer went through the divorce...

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[–] [email protected] 60 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Kill'd by several accidents

When the universe is out to get you, but you survive the first accident

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 weeks ago

Rasputin syndrome

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[–] [email protected] 55 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Made away themselves.

Ah British dancing around the point terms.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 weeks ago

"Unalive" is the current dance. Euphemism isn't new.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago

Just trying to avoid the YouTube censors

[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 weeks ago

We’d still say “done away with themself”.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 3 weeks ago

So aggravating to not be able to sort by columns

[–] [email protected] 39 points 2 weeks ago (7 children)
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[–] [email protected] 37 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

"Killed by several accidents."

lol.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

"My teeth are killing me" meant something pretty different back then.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 3 weeks ago

"Teeth" actually meant "a child who's still teething." As with "chrisomes and infants," so many little ones died that often they were categorized by age rather than a specific cause. Probably the only reason to specify "overlaid, and starved at nurse" would be to blame and punish the wet-nurse.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 52 points 3 weeks ago

Scary:

"Dying of planet" was a term used in the 17th and 18th centuries to describe a sudden and severe illness or paralysis that was attributed to astrology and the influence of malevolent planets. People who died from "planet" exhibited symptoms similar to strokes, heart attacks, and aneurysms. At the time, people who picked up bodies for burial often knew little about the cause of death. Other causes of death listed in The Diseases, and Casualties this year being 1632 included "affrighted" and "made away themselves". -Via Overview.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

::: spoiler beware!

tf is King's Evil?

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Over-laid sounds like a good way to go.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Spelling "Lunatic" as "Lunatique" now. Shout out to the poor folks that just died in the street and starved. Surprised it's only 6.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You guys are all laughing about 'planet,' but I'll have you know my uncle died of a cerebral hemorrhage when Neptune hit him on the back of the head. And we all thought it was just a glancing blow, but two days later, he dropped dead right in the middle of the supermarket.

You won't laugh so hard when it happens to someone you care about.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Imagine being proudly offed by Pluto and then they make it not a planet any more.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
  1. I would choose wolves over cancer
  2. I suspect it means ear infections, but I choose to believe there was a big kettledrum accident that year
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[–] [email protected] 27 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)
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[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 weeks ago (9 children)

I saw this list on hidden killers of the Tudor home (even though this list is post-Tudor era). The specifically spoke about the 'teeth' part.

Basically what that mean was that a variety of tooth decay and oral issues pertaining to the teeth. This was an era that first saw a large consumption of sugar (which as you know LOVES to fuck with teeth) by wealthier people and coupled with a nonexistent oral hygiene practice and dentistry. Basically people's teeth would decay and cause gum disease or simply a shitload of pain that even the painful teeth pulling couldn't fully fix.

One thing that you must remember is that prior to widespread sugar availability most people's teeth were remarkably fine throughout life as people's diets didn't contain enough crap that will mess your teeth up. Of course this isn't to say that it was perfect. Braces would have been a good thing to have for many people and a simple toothbrush with half decent toothpaste would have been a very welcomed thing.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 weeks ago

RFK jr will do his damndest to ensure bad teeth becoming a leading cause of death. Right behind measles, flu, polio and other communicable diseases.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Chrisomes : died while under a month old.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago

Not sure, but I'm guessing part of the reason to specify the difference between "infants" and "Chrisomes" (baptized babies) might be to say where they'd be buried/where their souls would go.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago

"And in other news, the death figures were released today. Once again, the leading cause of death is: being a baby. Over the last year, 2,268 infants died naturally of babyness."

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago

oh, cool - RFKs suggested DSM just dropped!

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (4 children)

Only 7 murders? The population of London was apparently about 400,000 back then so that's less than half the murder rate of present-day New York City (which is considered a relatively safe city). I don't think that can be right...

1632 London: 7 / 400,000 = 17.5 murders per million people

2023 New York: 312 / 8,258,000 = 37.8 murders per million people

[–] [email protected] 46 points 3 weeks ago (8 children)

a relatively safe city [...] 37.8 murders per million

Ignoring that in 1632 it might've been easier for murder to go undetected, here are the numbers of present day London. It's about 13.1 mpm, even lower than in 1632, about a third of present day New York.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/862984/murders-in-london/

America is not really a shining example when it comes to those things...

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

Planet

wtf were they smoking in London?

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I never thought to combine deaths by cancer and by wolves to save space or because they’re similar enough. I can’t comprehend why they thought it was a good idea either.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 weeks ago

It wasn't cancer cancer, it was a big crab that lived in the Thames that hung out with a wolf.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

That one guy that died of Sciatica 😣

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (8 children)
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[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Rising of the lights?

...found it

Rising of the lights was an illness or obstructive condition of the larynx, trachea or lungs, possibly croup. It was a common entry on bills of mortality in the 17th century.[1][2] Lights in this case referred to the lungs.[3]

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago

'Planet' goes hard.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago
Olde Modern Count
Abortive, and Stillborn Abortion and Stillbirth 445
Affrighted Fear? Possibly a heart issue? 1
Ague Malaria, or a disease involving fever and shivering 43
Apoplex, and Meagrom Stroke and severe headache, migraine 17
Bit with a mad dog Rabies 1
Bleeding Blood loss 3
Bloody flux, scowring and flux Dysentery and cholera 348
Bruised, Issues, sores and ulcers Bruising, open sores, either as a symptom of something else (hemorrhagic fever) or because they got infected 28
Burnt, and Scalded Same 5
Burst, and Rupture Probably an externally visible rupture 9
Cancer and Wolf Cancer and Lupus 10
Canker Mouth sores, maybe from herpes? Probably not the underlying cause of death 1
Childbed Death following complications from childbirth 171
Chrisomes, and Infants Babies less than 1 month old and Infants 2268
Cold, and Cough Same (but probably a symptom of something worse) 55
Colick, Stone, and Strangury Gallstones, kidney stones, and other intestinal and urinary blockages 56
Consumption Tuberculosis 1797
Convulsion Seizure, possibly caused by epilepsy 241
Cut of the Stone Died during surgery to remove kidney / gallstones 5
Dead in the street, and starved Exposure, hypothermia, starvation 6
Dropsie, and Swelling Edema, fluid retention, possibly caused by heart failure 267
Drowned Same 34
Executed, and prest to death Executed is obvious, "prest to death" is accidental death while being tortured (via pressing) to force a confession 18
Falling sickness Epilepsy, perhaps "petit mal" seizures vs "grand mal" which went under Convulsion 7
Fever Same, interesting that it's distinct from Ague 1108
Fistula Same, horrific, distinct from childbed -- I guess the women lived a bit longer? 13
Flocks, and small Pox Smallpox and other diseases causing pustules 531
French pox Syphilis 12
Gangrene Same 5
Gout Gout, or inflammatory arthritis, not the underlying cause of death, but a clear symptom 4
Grief Modern medicine would be more specific but... 11
Jaundies Jaundice, liver disease 43
Jawfaln Fallen jaw, lockjaw, tetanus 8
Impostume Abcess, a symptom of an infection 74
Kil'd by several accidents Trauma, I assume 46
King's Evil Scrofula or Mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis 38
Lethargie Chronic fatigue, a symptom of something else 2
Livergrown Swollen liver, possibly cirrhosis from drinking 87
Lunatique Lunatic, mental illness -- curious about the actual cause of death though 5
Made away themselves Suicide 15
Measles Same 80
Murthered Murdered 7
Over-laid and starved at nurse A smothered baby, either accidentally or on purpose, starved from lack of milk 7
Palsie Paralysis, Parkinson's, similar things 25
Piles Hemorrhoids, not a cause of death, but a source of infections and an obvious symptom 1
Plague same 8
Planet Sudden death thought to be related to something astrological (planet alignment) 13
Pleurisie, and Spleen Pleurisy (chest infection), apparently it can sometimes be caused by damage to the spleen? 36
Purples and spotted Feaver Bruising and spotted fever (tick borne disease), distinct from bruising, listed earlier 38
Quinsie Quinsy, Peritonsillar abscess, can cause many other things 7
Rising of the Lights Fluid in the lungs, possibly caused by croup 98
Sciatica Same, possibly caused by spinal disc herniation 1
Scurvey, and Itch Ye Scurvy dogs! Ye been sailing with yer limes! 9
Suddenly um... 62
Surfet Surfeit, overeating, overdrinking, not fatal on its own, but perhaps blamed when it was the underlying reason 86
Swine Pox Possibly a euphemism for "French Pox"? 6
Teeth Probably children dying at an age when their permanent teeth were coming in. Similar to "Chrisomes" named for the cloth used when christening a child. Either that or serious tooth infections that led to complications. 470
Thrush, and Sore mouth Thrush (Candidiasis) could make it hard to eat or drink, or lead to other infections 40
Tympany Excess gas in the gastrointestinal tract making the belly like a drum, many potential underlying causes 13
Tissick A wasting disease, often associated with a cough 34
Vomiting Long term vomiting can cause dehydration, might also have been used for someone choking on vomit and dying from asphyxiation 1
Worms Ugh. 27
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