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.
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.
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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!”
The ancient Romans discovered evolution, though it worked a lot differently, with them theorizing we came from fish and that one day some guy with arms and legs burst out of a mother fish. According to the theory, things probably got incredibly awkward at family reunions.
So a speedrun from what actually happened.
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.deleted by creator
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.
You not only don’t need to hit the meridians, but you also don’t need to penetrate the skin.
What do you call alternative medicine that works? Medicine.
Actually, since the placebo effect is well documented to have an effect, anything that induces the placebo effect is effective.
I understand how that’s inconvenient, but that doesn’t make it untrue.