Category Archives: 19th century

1835: Giant beavers walk upright on the Moon

Sir John Herschel – possibly after reading discoveries attributed to him in *The Sun*

In August 1835 The Sun, New York’s most serious and conservative newspaper, ran a series of six articles detailing fantastic discoveries purportedly made by English astronomer, Sir John Herschel.

Citing an Edinburgh newspaper as the source, The Sun told its readers that Herschel had constructed a gigantic new telescope, featuring a precision-moulded glass lens weighing almost seven tons. Using some technical detail, The Sun explained how Herschel’s telescope had powers of magnification far exceeding earlier devices.

The unknown writer then offered a detailed account of what Herschel saw when he turned his enormous telescope on the Moon: vast oceans, giant mountain ranges, active volcanoes, tropical vegetation, thick forests – and several types of animal, including a form of beaver erectus:

“[Dr Herschel] classified nine species of mammalia and five of ovipara. Among the former is a small kind of reindeer, the elk, the moose, the horned bear and a biped beaver. The last resembles the beaver of the earth in every other respect than in its destitution of a tail and its invariable habit of walking upon only two feet. It carries its young in its arms like a human being and moves with an easy gliding motion. Its huts are constructed better and higher than those of many tribes of human savages, and from the appearance of smoke in nearly all of them, there is no doubt of its being acquainted with the use of fire.”

According to The Sun, Herschel documented numerous other species living on the Moon, including a humanoid race four foot tall with yellow faces, beards and giant wings like those of a bat:

“The wings seemed completely under the command of volition, for those of the creatures whom we saw bathing in the water, spread them instantly to their full width, waved them as ducks do their to shake off the water and then as instantly closed them again in a compact form. [The creatures] then almost simultaneously spread their wings and were lost in the dark confines of the canvas before we had time to breathe from our paralyzing astonishment. We scientifically denominated them as Vespertilio Homo, or ‘man bat’, and they are doubtless innocent and happy creatures.”

As might be expected, the reports in The Sun caused a sensation, giving rise to frantic discussions and speculations among New Yorkers. It also sparked a marked increase in the newspaper’s sales. Other American newspapers seized on it and ran excerpts from The Sun’s articles.

It wasn’t until October, some seven weeks later, that The Sun reports were exposed as a hoax. Despite this the newspaper never published a retraction, admission or apology.

Source: The Sun (New York), August 27th and 28th, 1835. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.

1851: Today’s weather: mild and overcast with a chance of meat

In the summer of 1851, a military depot at Benicia, California reported being hit by a bizarre thunderstorm. According to eyewitnesses, pieces of raw meat rained from the sky for around three minutes. When the deluge subsided, five acres of the base had been carpeted with small chunks of flesh, origin unknown. According to one San Francisco press report:

“The pieces were from the size of a pigeon’s egg up to that of an orange, the heaviest weighing three ounces. No birds were visible in the air at the time. Specimens of the meat, which is apparently beef, were preserved by Major Allen and the Surgeon of the Post. A piece that was examined three hours after it fell showed a portion of a small blood vessel, some of the sheath of a muscle and muscle fibre.”

Any thoughts of hosting California’s largest barbecue were quickly dispelled when the meat turned out to be “slightly tainted”.

The ‘meat shower’ in Benicia wasn’t the only incident of its kind in 19th-century California. Small pieces of flesh reportedly fell in Sacramento (March 1863), Los Nietos (August 1869), Juapa (September 1870) and near Los Angeles (August 1871). These later showers also deposited blood, brains, other organs and bone fragments.

Experts could provide no adequate explanation for these incidents of gory precipitation. Two of the most popular theories were that a tornado had hit a slaughterhouse or offal pit and lifted its contents into the troposphere – or that these towns had been hit by passing flock of vomiting vultures.

Source: The San Francisco Daily Herald, July 24th 1851. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.

1898: The perils of pausing periods for parties

Dr Ira Warren’s The Household Physician was one of the 19th century’s most popular medical guides, remaining in print for more than four decades. It offered extensive advice on sexual and reproductive issues, as well as menstrual health and hygiene (then furtively known as ‘women’s troubles’).

According to Dr Warren, the age of first menstruation is determined by a number of factors:

“It occurs much earlier in warm than cold climates. It is hastened by high living; by the whirl and bustle and excitement of city life; by reading novels which are full of love incidents; by attending balls, theatres and parties; and by mingling much in the society of gentlemen.”

Warren also warns against the practice of intentionally suppressing or delaying or the monthly cycle. Some ladies do this to continue their social activities, he maintains, but it can be deadly:

“Girls sometimes in their utter thoughtlessness or ignorance dip their feet in cold water, when their courses are upon them, and bring on a suppression of a most dangerous character. The most lovely and innocent girls have done this for the purpose of attending a party; and in some instances the stoppage induced has ended in death within a few hours.”

Source: Ira Warren, The Household Physician; for the Use of Families, Planters, Seamen and Travellers, 1898 edition. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.

1866: “The Thames porpoise has been shot, get back to work”

In the autumn of 1866, several English newspapers reported the “very exciting scene” of a porpoise frolicking in the Thames in central London. There were several sightings of the creature between Tower Bridge and Waterloo. According to one report:

“It appears that for some time past this interesting visitor has been disporting itself in the ample bosom of Old Father Thames and has been much admired by the voyagers up and down the river.”

But the porpoise’s playful antics were not tolerated for long. On Wednesday October 3rd, two boats were launched from Blackfriars Road, each packed with men carrying rifles. They spent several hours firing shots into the murky Thames, in places where they thought the hapless cetacean might be swimming.

Eventually the shooters got lucky and the porpoise died after being hit with several shots. A heated argument later broke out between the riflemen over who was entitled to its carcass. Another newspaper expressed relief that the sideshow was at an end and everyone could get back to work:

“The creature of the deep having now been dispatched, the workers [of London] can now cease dallying along the Thames banks and attend to more rightful duties.”

Source: The Morning Post, October 5th 1866; Kentish Chronicle, October 8th 1866. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.

1827: Stephen King frightens himself to death

In the summer of 1827, a London coroner’s inquest heard evidence about the death of Stephen King. A married man aged 40, King had dropped dead the previous Monday. According to the Morning Chronicle, Mr King was suddenly awakened in the night by a loud clap of thunder. The noise terrified him and caused him to jump from his bed in an agitated manner. He immediately fell down next to his wife, which is where he died.

At the inquest, King’s doctor said that:

“…He was a man of good health and sober habits but was known to be superstitious, susceptible to visions and easily terrified.”

The attending physician suggested that King’s nervous disposition had contributed to his demise: the clap of thunder and King’s frightened response “caused the blood to flow too quickly to his head, producing apoplexy [stroke].” The coroner agreed but ultimately ruled that King had “died by the visitation of God”.

Sources: The Morning Chronicle, August 1st 1827; LMA coronial inquests, f.3, 1827. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.

1891: Oysters lead to teenage pregnancy, twins

In February 1891, a Mr Lee Viner of London sued Ernest Franks, a travelling salesman from Fulham, for the seduction of his teenaged daughter, Maud.

According to testimony given by Franks and others, Maud Franks had caught his eye at a metropolitan railway station. She was 18 while Franks was 66 and married. He obtained Maud’s address and later sent her notes and presents, asking for a meeting. When she agreed, he took her to an oyster house off Oxford Street.

The seduction occurred after Franks bought her oysters, champagne and brandy and soda. The end result of this liaison was that Maud Viner fell pregnant and delivered twins. According to one press report, the presiding judge said that:

“..the proceedings in this case were about the most foolish he had ever heard of. Nothing could be more ridiculous than for an old man like the defendant to go trotting about after a young girl like the plaintiff’s daughter. It had been stated in evidence that the defendant caught a cold while looking for the young girl at the Empire [Club]. It served him right. It would have been a good thing if he had caught a few more colds in such discreditable adventures.”

The jury found for the plaintiff, Mr Viner, who was awarded damages of 100 pounds. The fate of Maud Franks and her illegitimate twins is unknown.

Source: Various, inc. Liverpool Mercury, February 9th 1891. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.

1842: Masturbation kills, writes Dr Alfred Hitchcock

In 1842, a Boston medical journal published a short essay titled ‘Insanity and Death from Masturbation’. Its author, the appropriately named Doctor Alfred Hitchcock, claimed that:

“The mass of community remain profoundly ignorant on this subject and are ready to attribute diseases from this habit to any but their true cause. Within ten years a number of fatal cases have fallen under my observation, where death was clearly traceable to that cause alone. In each of these cases, friends and neighbours assigned ‘disappointed love’ as the fons et origo mali [source and origin of the evil].”

Dr Hitchcock described one particular case at length, a 23-year-old man who came to him in 1840. The patient suffered from nervousness, fatigue, anaemia, sleeplessness, poor posture, dry skin, body odour and bad breath. He eventually confessed to masturbating for six years and Dr Hitchcock immediately diagnosed this as the cause of his illness.

The patient refused to give up self-pleasure, however, and his condition deterioriated until his death five months later. Dr Hitchcock attended an autopsy on the corpse, noting in an I-told-you-so manner that the testicles were dried and shrivelled while the abdomen, intestines and lower spine were all infected and surrounded by pus.

Dr Hitchcock later headed the American Medical Association’s committee on insanity and worked as a battlefield surgeon in the US Civil War.

Source: Dr A. Hitchcock, “Insanity and Death from Masturbation” in The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, vol. 26, June 1842. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.

1884: Joe Quimby shoots his wife, gets a governor’s pardon

In March 1884, several newspapers reported that a West Virginia man, Joe Quimby, had shot dead his wife while drunk:

Quimby was duly charged with murder. In September, he appeared before a Mason County judge and was sentenced to 15 years’ hard labour. But in October 1891 Quimby, then less than halfway into his sentence, was given a governor’s pardon that generated considerable controversy at the time.

According to the papers of West Virginia governor Aretas B. Fleming, Quimby was pardoned on vague medical grounds because he “only hobbles about the place [the prison] doing nothing”. Quimby’s pardon was granted against the express wishes of the prison superintendent.

Source: Jamestown Weekly Alert, March 14th 1884; Public Papers of A. B. Fleming, October 23rd 1891. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.

1859: A native delicacy – acorns pickled in human urine

Paul Kane (1810-71) was an Irish-born artist who spent years living with and painting native tribespeople of Oregon and western Canada. He also kept detailed travel memoirs which years later were published as The Wanderings of an Artist among the Indians of North America.

Here, Kane reluctantly describes a local delicacy known to other white settlers as “Chinook olives” – or acorns pickled in human urine:

“About a bushel of acorns are placed in a hole dug for the purpose, close to the entrance of the lodge or hut, and covered with a thin layer of grass [and] about half a foot of earth. Every member of the family for the next five or six months regards this hole as the special place of deposit for urine, which on no occasion is to be diverted from [this] legitimate receptacle. Even should a member of the family be sick and unable to reach it for this purpose, the fluid is collected and carried thither.”

According to other sources, these “Chinook olives” were rendered black by the pickling process, after which they were cooked in the ashes of a campfire. Those brave enough to sample them claimed they were soft with a chewy centre and possessed a pungent salty taste but a foul smell.

Source: Paul Kane, The Wanderings of an Artist among the Indians of North America, 1859; The Canadian Journal, 1857. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.

1890: Hungarian woman prematurely buried, gives birth

In 1890, several European and American newspapers ran an amazing story about the premature burial of a pregnant woman. The story emanated from Pester Lloyd, a German-language newspaper in the Austro-Hungarian empire. It told of events near Szegedin, approximately 100 kilometres south of Budapest.

According to the London Standard‘s retelling:

“A married woman named Gonda, belonging to a village near Szegedin, was reported to have died while under the hands of the midwife. The doctor granted a certificate of death and the woman was interred. Her husband, however, doubting whether she had really died, caused the body to be exhumed. On opening the coffin the woman was found lying on her side, with a newborn child dead beside her. An investigation into the case has been instituted.”

It may be that this was a case of ‘coffin birth’: the post-mortem expulsion of a foetus during decomposition. Wikipedia, of course, has a page on this phenomenon.

Source: Pester Lloyd, Budapest, September 12th 1890; The Standard, London, September 20th 1890. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.