Science: A Peculiar History
@peculiar-history.bsky.social
A new podcast covering amusing, interesting and significant episodes from the history of science, at historyofscience.podbean.com, on YouTube at youtube.com/@ScienceAPeculiarHistory, and on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
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buymeacoffee.com/JoeBath
At long last, the latest episode is out.
I introduce a third language experiment, that was supposedly carried out by James IV of Scotland, on an uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, with a surprising and frankly preposterous result.
Listen at:
historyofscience.podbean.com/e/10-the-for...
I introduce a third language experiment, that was supposedly carried out by James IV of Scotland, on an uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, with a surprising and frankly preposterous result.
Listen at:
historyofscience.podbean.com/e/10-the-for...
November 26, 2025 at 12:59 PM
At long last, the latest episode is out.
I introduce a third language experiment, that was supposedly carried out by James IV of Scotland, on an uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, with a surprising and frankly preposterous result.
Listen at:
historyofscience.podbean.com/e/10-the-for...
I introduce a third language experiment, that was supposedly carried out by James IV of Scotland, on an uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, with a surprising and frankly preposterous result.
Listen at:
historyofscience.podbean.com/e/10-the-for...
Emily Wilson Odyssey discourse is going on again on Twitter
November 18, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Emily Wilson Odyssey discourse is going on again on Twitter
I've been learning about Jan Gerartsen van Gorp (aka Johannes Goropius Becanus), a 16th-Century antiquarian who claimed that the closest current language to the language spoken before the Tower of Babel was not Hebrew (as was widely believed at the time) but the Antwerp dialect of Dutch.
November 11, 2025 at 10:03 PM
I've been learning about Jan Gerartsen van Gorp (aka Johannes Goropius Becanus), a 16th-Century antiquarian who claimed that the closest current language to the language spoken before the Tower of Babel was not Hebrew (as was widely believed at the time) but the Antwerp dialect of Dutch.
My research often takes me in fascinating and unexpected directions. This time, I've ended up learning about the life and works of the 16th-century Hebraist Elias Levita.
November 3, 2025 at 7:56 PM
My research often takes me in fascinating and unexpected directions. This time, I've ended up learning about the life and works of the 16th-century Hebraist Elias Levita.
Science: A Peculiar History is now on Apple Podcasts, at podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/science-a-peculiar-history/id1849352201 and on Spotify at open.spotify.com/show/science...
Image largely unrelated
Image largely unrelated
October 29, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Science: A Peculiar History is now on Apple Podcasts, at podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/science-a-peculiar-history/id1849352201 and on Spotify at open.spotify.com/show/science...
Image largely unrelated
Image largely unrelated
There's a new episode out.
This episode continues from the last episode's look at an allegation that the Pharaoh Psamtik I had two children raised without exposure to language to find out what language they would speak, looking at another, similar rumour from centuries later.
This episode continues from the last episode's look at an allegation that the Pharaoh Psamtik I had two children raised without exposure to language to find out what language they would speak, looking at another, similar rumour from centuries later.
October 1, 2025 at 2:55 PM
There's a new episode out.
This episode continues from the last episode's look at an allegation that the Pharaoh Psamtik I had two children raised without exposure to language to find out what language they would speak, looking at another, similar rumour from centuries later.
This episode continues from the last episode's look at an allegation that the Pharaoh Psamtik I had two children raised without exposure to language to find out what language they would speak, looking at another, similar rumour from centuries later.
August Kekulé discovering the structure of benzene
September 22, 2025 at 12:07 PM
August Kekulé discovering the structure of benzene
Inspired by the last few episodes of @thebhp.bsky.social
September 21, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Inspired by the last few episodes of @thebhp.bsky.social
I have finally got round to publishing the first episode in a new miniseries on four rumours of kings from Scotland to India, over more than 2000 years, conducting the same depraved experiment.
The first episode is available at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/8-the-forb...
The first episode is available at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/8-the-forb...
August 20, 2025 at 7:30 AM
I have finally got round to publishing the first episode in a new miniseries on four rumours of kings from Scotland to India, over more than 2000 years, conducting the same depraved experiment.
The first episode is available at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/8-the-forb...
The first episode is available at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/8-the-forb...
Progress update on Episode 8
(From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton)
(From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton)
August 18, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Progress update on Episode 8
(From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton)
(From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton)
I suppose the question you're probably all wondering about is when the next episode is coming out. The research for it sort of got out of control as I kept finding more things to write about.
August 4, 2025 at 11:24 AM
I suppose the question you're probably all wondering about is when the next episode is coming out. The research for it sort of got out of control as I kept finding more things to write about.
Researching the next podcast miniseries, I've recently come across the "Clepsydra Analogy" by the Pre-Socratic Philosopher Empedocles. He's saying that blood is pushed backwards and forwards by differences in air pressure when we breathe.
Several interesting points about this:
(Continued...)
Several interesting points about this:
(Continued...)
![From William Ellery Leonard's 1908 verse translation "The Fragments of Empedocles" (100: The Rushing Blood and the Clepsydra). PDF from the Internet Archive at https://ia601301.us.archive.org
And when from here the thin blood backward streams
The air comes rushing in with roaring swell
But when again it forward leaps, the air
In turn breathes out; as when a little girl
Plays with a water-clock [mistranslation] of gleaming bronze:
As long as ever the opening of the pipe
Is by her pretty fingers stopped and closed,
And thuswise plunged within the yielding mass
Of silvery water, can the Wet no more
Get in the vessel; but the air's own weight,
That falls inside against the countless holes,
Keeps it in check, until the child at last
Uncovers and sets free the thickened air,
When of a truth the water's destined bulk
Gets in, as air gives way. Even so it is,
When in the belly of the brazen clock [sic]
The water lies, and the girl's finger tip
Shuts pipe and tube: The air, that from without
Comes pressing inward, holds the water back
About the gateways of the gurgling neck,
As the child keeps possession of the top,
Until her hand will loosen, when again-
Pours out and under the water's destined bulk,
As air drops down and in. Even so it is
With the thin blood that through our members drives:](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:kxni7mtywvmrv45d5yjka6jp/bafkreick3wuf4bdxil22xnhj6wt7bs5fuvnbprc4lh6yoqupuhqxkpsrqu@jpeg)
July 16, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Researching the next podcast miniseries, I've recently come across the "Clepsydra Analogy" by the Pre-Socratic Philosopher Empedocles. He's saying that blood is pushed backwards and forwards by differences in air pressure when we breathe.
Several interesting points about this:
(Continued...)
Several interesting points about this:
(Continued...)
The fourth and final episode of the podcast's miniseries on Mary Toft is now available at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/mary-toft-4
In this episode we continue our look at the media coverage of Mary Toft, particularly looking at John Maubray, and his description of a "sooterkin".
In this episode we continue our look at the media coverage of Mary Toft, particularly looking at John Maubray, and his description of a "sooterkin".
July 4, 2025 at 9:52 PM
The fourth and final episode of the podcast's miniseries on Mary Toft is now available at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/mary-toft-4
In this episode we continue our look at the media coverage of Mary Toft, particularly looking at John Maubray, and his description of a "sooterkin".
In this episode we continue our look at the media coverage of Mary Toft, particularly looking at John Maubray, and his description of a "sooterkin".
It's also full of illustrations, including one of a bird that the Ayyubid Sultan gave to Frederick, that a team at the University of Turku a few years ago identified as a cockatoo, which must have come all the way from the eastern end of the Malay Archipelago.
June 24, 2025 at 3:25 PM
It's also full of illustrations, including one of a bird that the Ayyubid Sultan gave to Frederick, that a team at the University of Turku a few years ago identified as a cockatoo, which must have come all the way from the eastern end of the Malay Archipelago.
Frederick also refuted the common belief that geese develop from barnacles (so Catholics can eat them on Fridays). He describes acquiring wood from ships in the Arctic, allegedly the origin of barnacle geese, and observing that the barnacles don't resemble anything that geese could develop from.
June 24, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Frederick also refuted the common belief that geese develop from barnacles (so Catholics can eat them on Fridays). He describes acquiring wood from ships in the Arctic, allegedly the origin of barnacle geese, and observing that the barnacles don't resemble anything that geese could develop from.
He wrote a book, "De Arte Venandibus Cum Avibus" (The Art of Hunting with Birds), which, alongside a lot of practical information about falconry, was also a more general treatise on ornithology, including considerable detail on bird migrations, which were very poorly understood at the time.
June 24, 2025 at 3:25 PM
He wrote a book, "De Arte Venandibus Cum Avibus" (The Art of Hunting with Birds), which, alongside a lot of practical information about falconry, was also a more general treatise on ornithology, including considerable detail on bird migrations, which were very poorly understood at the time.
In writing my next miniseries, I've been finding out about the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily Frederick II, known as "Stupor Mundi" (The Wonder of the World). He was notorious for his huge menagerie of exotic animals and was especially obsessed with birds.
June 24, 2025 at 3:25 PM
In writing my next miniseries, I've been finding out about the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily Frederick II, known as "Stupor Mundi" (The Wonder of the World). He was notorious for his huge menagerie of exotic animals and was especially obsessed with birds.
The third episode of the Mary Toft miniseries, looking at how the media made fun of the doctors involved in the Mary Toft affair is now available at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/mary-toft-3 and on YouTube at youtu.be/VtcUkd6s9TI?...
June 17, 2025 at 3:34 PM
The third episode of the Mary Toft miniseries, looking at how the media made fun of the doctors involved in the Mary Toft affair is now available at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/mary-toft-3 and on YouTube at youtu.be/VtcUkd6s9TI?...
A crocodile, from a 14th century copy of Al-Jahiz's 9th-Century Book of Animals
June 7, 2025 at 2:24 PM
A crocodile, from a 14th century copy of Al-Jahiz's 9th-Century Book of Animals
In my research for an upcoming series, I recently came across the story of Abul Abbas. Abul Abbas was an Asian elephant, presumably originally from India, that the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid sent to Charlemagne as a diplomatic gift. (1/3)
June 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM
In my research for an upcoming series, I recently came across the story of Abul Abbas. Abul Abbas was an Asian elephant, presumably originally from India, that the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid sent to Charlemagne as a diplomatic gift. (1/3)
The second episode of our 4-part miniseries on Mary Toft is now available, in which a crowd gathers at a bagnio in the West End of London, waiting for Mary Toft to produce another rabbit.
Available at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/5-the-rabb...
Available at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/5-the-rabb...
June 3, 2025 at 3:13 PM
The second episode of our 4-part miniseries on Mary Toft is now available, in which a crowd gathers at a bagnio in the West End of London, waiting for Mary Toft to produce another rabbit.
Available at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/5-the-rabb...
Available at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/5-the-rabb...
Apparently the Megalosaurus was this close to being officially called "scrotum humanum"
May 22, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Apparently the Megalosaurus was this close to being officially called "scrotum humanum"
Very interesting study about students studying English trying to understand the opening of Bleak House.
The passage itself is interesting as an illustration of mid-19th-century attempts to reconcile Biblical literalism with the development of paleontology.
muse.jhu.edu/article/922346
The passage itself is interesting as an illustration of mid-19th-century attempts to reconcile Biblical literalism with the development of paleontology.
muse.jhu.edu/article/922346
May 22, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Very interesting study about students studying English trying to understand the opening of Bleak House.
The passage itself is interesting as an illustration of mid-19th-century attempts to reconcile Biblical literalism with the development of paleontology.
muse.jhu.edu/article/922346
The passage itself is interesting as an illustration of mid-19th-century attempts to reconcile Biblical literalism with the development of paleontology.
muse.jhu.edu/article/922346
The first episode in our new miniseries on Mary Toft is out.
On 1726, some of Britain's leading physicians travel to Surrey to investigate reports of a woman giving birth to unusual items.
Listen at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/4-the-rabb...
On 1726, some of Britain's leading physicians travel to Surrey to investigate reports of a woman giving birth to unusual items.
Listen at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/4-the-rabb...
May 22, 2025 at 10:21 AM
The first episode in our new miniseries on Mary Toft is out.
On 1726, some of Britain's leading physicians travel to Surrey to investigate reports of a woman giving birth to unusual items.
Listen at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/4-the-rabb...
On 1726, some of Britain's leading physicians travel to Surrey to investigate reports of a woman giving birth to unusual items.
Listen at historyofscience.podbean.com/e/4-the-rabb...
Scottish man-midwife John Maubray's 1724 description of an encounter with De Suyger, a screaming creature that (allegedly) was once a common feature of childbirth in the Netherlands. Covered in the upcoming miniseries on Mary Toft.
Listen to the last miniseries at historyofscience.podbean.com
Listen to the last miniseries at historyofscience.podbean.com
May 13, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Scottish man-midwife John Maubray's 1724 description of an encounter with De Suyger, a screaming creature that (allegedly) was once a common feature of childbirth in the Netherlands. Covered in the upcoming miniseries on Mary Toft.
Listen to the last miniseries at historyofscience.podbean.com
Listen to the last miniseries at historyofscience.podbean.com