1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:16,959 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry. I'm Tracy me Wilson, Jersey. Do you 4 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: know what everyone on Earth is talking about? It is? 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: We've reached It's all eclipses all the time. We've reached 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: the point that my mom and her sisters are talking 7 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: about eclipses on our family Yahoo group, which is a 8 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 1: threshold in how many people are talking about something right. Uh. 9 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: And that is, of course because of the event that 10 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: is being built at least in the US as the 11 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: Great American Eclipse, which will have happened on the same 12 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: day that this episode publishes August. Uh. I suspect this 13 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: episode will air after the eclipse actually happened, or right 14 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: around it in terms of when it goes live. But um, Moreover, 15 00:00:57,240 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: if people are into the eclipse, they're probably out watching 16 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: the eclipse and not sitting somewhere listening to a podcast. 17 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: I'm gonna tell you that's where I will be is 18 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: the I'm traveling to because we you are near the 19 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 1: line of frutality. I am not. So we're going on 20 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:16,480 Speaker 1: a trip. Yeah, we have a little officey thing planned. Um. 21 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 1: But so for that end, we are not going to 22 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 1: fill this with warnings about how to carefully observing eclipse. 23 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: I hope you will have gotten those before you may 24 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:28,679 Speaker 1: be looked up. Um. But it seems like a great 25 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:32,400 Speaker 1: time to discuss some eclipses in history. There are a 26 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:34,839 Speaker 1: lot of eclipses that have been recorded through the ages, 27 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: but today we're going to talk about five of them. Uh, 28 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:40,319 Speaker 1: if we leave your favorite out, our apologies, but we 29 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: just wanted kind of a sampling of eclipses and kind 30 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 1: of their interesting points in the historical record. Yeah. And 31 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: to be clear, today we are talking specifically about solar 32 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: eclipses when the Moon passes between the Earth and the 33 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: Sun and at least a portion of the Sun is blocked, 34 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: casting a shadow on the Earth. We are not getting 35 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: as who lunar eclipses when the Earth passes between the 36 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: Sun and the Moon, which causes the Moon to go dark. Right. 37 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:11,360 Speaker 1: And there are four types of solar eclipse, partial, annular, total, 38 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,519 Speaker 1: and hybrid. And a partial eclipse occurs when the Moon 39 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:16,799 Speaker 1: only obstructs a part of the Sun, and this is 40 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: often described as the Sun looking as though there is 41 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: a bite taken out of it annular means ring shaped. 42 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 1: I don't know about you, Holly, but the eclipses that 43 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: I have seen so far, aside from partial ones, have 44 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: all been annular eclipses um, which comes from the Latin 45 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 1: word annulus, So an annual. An annular eclipse is when 46 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:38,839 Speaker 1: the Moon passes in front of the center of the Sun, 47 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 1: but it leaves a ring of the Sun visible around 48 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 1: the moon, and a total eclipse as when the Moon 49 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 1: is close enough to the Earth that as it passes 50 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: in front of the Sun, the Sun is completely blacked out, 51 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,079 Speaker 1: so there's not a sliver or a ring around the 52 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 1: outside as in the case of the annular eclipse. The 53 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: Sun's corona is still visible though, and there is this 54 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 1: much talked about eclipse that's happening that the day this 55 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:08,640 Speaker 1: episode airs, which is August, that is a total eclipse. Yeah, 56 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,640 Speaker 1: sometimes I have found in it. When I was younger. 57 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 1: It took me a long time to really grasp This 58 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: sounds so foolish as I say it, but the difference 59 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: between an annular eclipse and a total eclipse, because you 60 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: still see that coronal ring on a total eclipse, And 61 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: I'm like, but you can still see it and They're like, no, 62 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: you're not seeing the sun. You're seeing the light off 63 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: of the sun, right, And I'm like, but I'm seeing 64 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: sunlight and so but it's that's the thing. You still 65 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 1: see light. And as we were planning our whole our trip, 66 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: we were talking to the other folks who are going 67 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 1: to be traveling with us um and I had I 68 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: was like, okay, but I remember watching an eclipse at 69 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: my elementary school and I had to go look that 70 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: up and like figure out what year was that, what 71 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: was going on? It was an annular eclipse. And then 72 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: I said, okay, now I also remember watching one in 73 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: our yard. Look that one up, also an annular eclipse. 74 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: And then I was like, okay, obviously my memory is 75 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: not as sharp as I would like it to be 76 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: regarding what eclipses I have seen. Oh, mine definitely is 77 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: not um And the fourth type that we mentioned, a 78 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: hybrid eclipse, is one that appears to be a total 79 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 1: eclipse from one vantage point on Earth and an annular 80 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,360 Speaker 1: eclipse from another point on Earth at the same time. 81 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:20,359 Speaker 1: And that has to do with where the moon is 82 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,599 Speaker 1: in position in relation to your position on Earth, in 83 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 1: the position of the Sun. So additionally, annular, total and 84 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: hybrid eclipses will look like partial eclipses from positions they're 85 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 1: outside of the path of totality. So where you are 86 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: in Atlanta is near the path of totality, so we 87 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,279 Speaker 1: mostly covered up. Yeah. Also, we're kind of excited about 88 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: this whole eclipse situation. If you cannot tell. The oldest 89 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: known story of a solar eclipse also comes with a 90 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,240 Speaker 1: sad tale of two men who failed to predict it. Uh. 91 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: This particular event took place in China around seven b C. 92 00:04:56,880 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: There are actually some discrepancies as to whether or not 93 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 1: that you res accurate. Writings in China from this period 94 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: have described such events really quite poetically, as quote, the 95 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: Sun and Moon did not meet harmoniously. So to be clear, 96 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 1: there were eclipses before this point, but we are just 97 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: talking about ones that were recorded. It was not the first, 98 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: I must have been, but yeah, so ancient China's mythology 99 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: around eclipses was that they took place when a celestial 100 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,719 Speaker 1: dragon was eating the sun, and in a tradition that 101 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: built around the idea of scaring the dragon a way 102 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: to get the sun back, people would make lots of 103 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,160 Speaker 1: noise by blinking banging pots together, playing drums, and basically 104 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: doing anything that would create the loudest sound possible. It 105 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: sounds pretty fun, uh. The apocryphal story attached to this 106 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:52,040 Speaker 1: ancient eclipse involves to court astronomers Ho and He. Their 107 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 1: job was to predict any important celestial events and inform 108 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: the emperor of them, and as the story goes, in 109 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,679 Speaker 1: this case, the empre only learned of the eclipse event 110 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,359 Speaker 1: when he heard the banging noises of his people trying 111 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:10,479 Speaker 1: to frighten the mythical dragon. Naturally, this failing on the 112 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 1: part of the astronomers, who according to legend, were drunk 113 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: when they should have been doing their jobs, was met 114 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: with a great deal of anger on the part of 115 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: the emperor, and the story goes that they were then 116 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: executed for their poor job performance. There's even a pretty 117 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:30,280 Speaker 1: unkind poem that's often cited when the story is discussed, 118 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 1: and the poem goes, here lie the bodies of Ho 119 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:38,880 Speaker 1: and He, whose fate, though sad, was visible, being hanged 120 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,280 Speaker 1: because they could not spy the clips which was invisible. 121 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: Hi Ho Ti said a love of drink occasioned all 122 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: that trouble, But this is hardly true. I think for 123 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:53,839 Speaker 1: drunken folks c double. This text is unattributed. We don't 124 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: know who wrote it, and it was likely almost certainly 125 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:59,559 Speaker 1: written long after the event in China by a Western author, 126 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:03,320 Speaker 1: just based on these sort of apocryphal stories of Ho 127 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,800 Speaker 1: and He, and this has led to this blanket assumption 128 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: that these two men were incompetent. But there have been 129 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: other discussions of them in the historical record and China's 130 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:17,559 Speaker 1: astronomical knowledge that was done in a few different works 131 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: throughout the centuries. So according to Chinese animals analyzed by 132 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: later astronomers, he and Ho had actually done a great 133 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: deal of work on reforming the Chinese calendar through their 134 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: observations and their calculations, and they had made it a 135 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: lot more accurate. Eighteenth century Englishman John Jackson, after doing 136 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: his own research and analysis and pulling from translations of 137 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: Chinese animals as well as contemporary astronomy authors, found that 138 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: accounts suggested that this eclipse, if it's the one that 139 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 1: astronomers were pointing to, was very brief, and he wrote 140 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: in seventeen fifty two quote, if the eclipse was really 141 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 1: so small and so short, it is not to be 142 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: wondered that the two astronomers He and Ho should not 143 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 1: have observed it, nor could any others hardly be supposed 144 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: to have seen it. But part of the problem is 145 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: that all of this is backwards engineering an event that 146 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,720 Speaker 1: could have been just one of any number of possible 147 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 1: eclipses that were referenced within ancient Chinese writings. The Jackson 148 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: quote that we just mentioned is an analysis of one 149 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: of those events, which may or may not have been 150 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: the one that sealed the astronomer's spates. So again, that 151 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: is if this whole execution story is actually true. The 152 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:34,080 Speaker 1: Proceedings and Transactions of the Scientific Association includes the full 153 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,040 Speaker 1: text of an address that was given by the Reverend J. T. 154 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,040 Speaker 1: Petty about this story, and he makes the case that 155 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: if you take this story at its word, it really 156 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: serves as a testament to how advanced China's astronomical knowledge 157 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 1: was at the time. As part of his case, he says, quote, 158 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: China must have been pretty well stocked with astronomers, or 159 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,479 Speaker 1: she could not have afforded to sacrifice two of them. 160 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:59,600 Speaker 1: Had they been the only astronomers in the empire, their 161 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 1: lives would have been spared for future service. Whatever their 162 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 1: dereliction of duty. Yeah, so those poor drunken astronomers maybe 163 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: just got a bad room. Uh. And next up, we're 164 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:11,839 Speaker 1: going to talk about Homer's Odyssey, but before we get 165 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 1: into that, we're gonna pause and have a little sponsored break. 166 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,679 Speaker 1: The Odyssey was written by Homer around eight hundred b C, 167 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: but it tells the story set around twelve BC, centuries 168 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:33,960 Speaker 1: before this poem was actually conceived, and in telling the 169 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: tale of Odysseus in his decade long voyage, Homer might 170 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 1: have recounted an eclipse that took place in eleven seventy 171 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: eight b C. E The Acclimatists, a seer character within 172 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 1: the narrative, shares a prophecy about the doomed fate of 173 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 1: penelope suitors, and ends with what some people believe is 174 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 1: a description of an eclipse quote, the sun has been 175 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: obliterated from the sky and an unlock, an unlucky dark 176 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,439 Speaker 1: nous invades the world, and the story that's still very 177 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,079 Speaker 1: much alive. Odysseus kills all of the suitors during this event. 178 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,520 Speaker 1: In the early part of the twentieth century, astronomers Carl 179 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 1: Shock and Paul Nugebauer determined that the Ionian Islands would 180 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:18,559 Speaker 1: have seen a total solar eclipse on April sixteenth of 181 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 1: eleven seventy eight BC, and this place did about one 182 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,079 Speaker 1: decade after the city of Troy was destroyed, But this 183 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: idea was largely dismissed by critics, who felt that there 184 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: was no way that Homer could have had knowledge of 185 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:32,839 Speaker 1: such an event and written about it when it had 186 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: happened several hundred years before his time. But this topic 187 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:40,400 Speaker 1: was revived in two thousand seven when two biophysicists, Constantino 188 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:44,679 Speaker 1: by Cusas and Marcello oh Magnasco, used software to analyze 189 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: data they collected from this text. They combed through the 190 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 1: Odyssey and noted mentions of constellations and the positions of 191 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: Venus and Mercury, and the new moon which happened the 192 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,800 Speaker 1: night before the prophecy, and using all of that collected data, 193 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 1: they determined the possible day eights that could have matched 194 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: the descriptions in the epic poem, and their match was 195 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 1: drumroll please April seventy eight. But even in their paper, 196 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,600 Speaker 1: which was published in two thousand eight by Cusius and Magnasco, 197 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:19,440 Speaker 1: are very clear that it would be amazing and not 198 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:22,280 Speaker 1: terribly likely if Homer knew about this event, they wrote, 199 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 1: quote The main implausibility in the conclusions is that they 200 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,320 Speaker 1: imply that the author of the lines in question was 201 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:31,840 Speaker 1: first interested in advanced astronomy at a time when there 202 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: were no traces left that the Greek had an interest 203 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:38,319 Speaker 1: in it beyond cylindrical purposes, and in possession of detailed 204 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:43,160 Speaker 1: astronomical data of events happening perhaps five centuries before him. 205 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 1: This paper goes on to discuss the indications that Homer 206 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 1: was interested into in astronomy, and then examines various improbable 207 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,079 Speaker 1: but not impossible means by which the knowledge of a 208 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:56,000 Speaker 1: historical eclipse could have made its way into his sphere 209 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:58,960 Speaker 1: of knowledge. But they acknowledged that it's really hard, a 210 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 1: really hard case to pre and they conclude with quote 211 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: much research is needed before we can move beyond such speculations. 212 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: We can only modestly hope to convince other scholars that 213 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: the case against Chokes eclipse may have been too hastily closed, 214 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:16,400 Speaker 1: and just inspire them to ponder if the remarkable coincidence 215 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:19,120 Speaker 1: described in this paper may in fact not be coincidental 216 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:23,200 Speaker 1: at all. And to be clear, they have definitely had 217 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:27,080 Speaker 1: detractors like they have. They have had people right response 218 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 1: papers that are criticizing all of this. But it's an 219 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:33,360 Speaker 1: interesting idea to think about. The next eclipse that we're 220 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 1: going to talk about happened in eighteen thirty six. So 221 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:39,679 Speaker 1: on May fifteen, thirty six, there was an annular eclipse 222 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: that crossed over the United Kingdom and its totality. And 223 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:47,520 Speaker 1: during this particular event, a characteristic of eclipses was identified 224 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:51,719 Speaker 1: and named for its observer, Francis Bailey. Francis Bailey was 225 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,880 Speaker 1: a British astronomer who had been born in seventeen seventy four, 226 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: and initially he had gone into business and done quite 227 00:12:57,679 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 1: well for himself, but at the age of fifty one 228 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 1: and he retired from his work on the London Stock 229 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,160 Speaker 1: Exchange and writing books about annuities to instead devote his 230 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 1: time to science. That charms me a lot, me too. 231 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:12,239 Speaker 1: But this really wasn't like an out of the blueshift 232 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: for him. It's not like he said, Okay, business time 233 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 1: over now, I'm when I think about the night sky. 234 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: He had actually been interested in science and astronomy for 235 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 1: quite some time, and in eighteen twenty, which was five 236 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:25,320 Speaker 1: years before he left his finance work. He had been 237 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 1: a driving force behind the formation of the Royal Astronomical 238 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: Society and in the founding of that society, which aimed 239 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:35,360 Speaker 1: to promote research in astronomy. He was among colleagues such 240 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:38,600 Speaker 1: as John Herschel and Charles Babbage for the eighteen thirty 241 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 1: six eclipse. Bailey, wanting to see it at his best advantage, 242 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:45,680 Speaker 1: traveled to Scotland and the weather on a day of 243 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: the event was excellent. The sky was cloudless, and Bailey's 244 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:53,000 Speaker 1: experience was relayed in a December ninth, eighteen thirty six, 245 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:56,880 Speaker 1: proceeding of the Royal Astronomical Society, as he had spoken 246 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:00,560 Speaker 1: about it at their meeting, and this is kind of long, 247 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,320 Speaker 1: but it's a relaying of what he saw, so bear 248 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: with us on this lengthy quote. After a brief discourse 249 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 1: on Bailey's position and set up to watch the eclipse, 250 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 1: this account in the proceedings reads quote he says he 251 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,160 Speaker 1: was in expectation of meeting with something extraordinary at the 252 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 1: formation of the Annualists, but imagined it would only be momentary, 253 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,560 Speaker 1: and consequently that it would not interrupt the noting of 254 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:28,320 Speaker 1: the time of its occurrence. In this However, he was deceived, 255 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:32,160 Speaker 1: as the following facts will show, For when the cusps 256 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:35,280 Speaker 1: of the Sun were about forty degrees asunder, a row 257 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:38,640 Speaker 1: of lucid points, like a string of beads, irregular in 258 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:42,360 Speaker 1: size and distance from each other, suddenly formed around that 259 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: part of the circumference of the Moon that was about 260 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,240 Speaker 1: to enter on the Sun's disk. This he intended to 261 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 1: note as the correct time of the formation of the annualists, 262 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 1: expecting every moment to see the ring of light completed 263 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,640 Speaker 1: round the Moon, and attributing this serrated appearance of the 264 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:00,200 Speaker 1: Moon's limb, as others had done before him, to the 265 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:04,160 Speaker 1: lunar mountains. Although the remaining portion of the Moon's circumference 266 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 1: was perfectly smooth and circular as seen through the telescope, 267 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 1: he was somewhat surprised, however, to find that these luminous points, 268 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: as well as the dark intervening spaces, increased in magnitude, 269 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,000 Speaker 1: some of the contiguous ones appearing to run into one 270 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 1: another like drops of water. Finally, as the Moon pursued 271 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 1: her course, these dark intervening spaces were stretched out into long, black, 272 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:30,720 Speaker 1: thick parallel lines joining the limbs of the Sun and 273 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:33,680 Speaker 1: the Moon, when all at once they suddenly gave way 274 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: and left the circumference of the Sun and the Moon 275 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:39,680 Speaker 1: in those points, as in all the rest, apparently smooth 276 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: and circular, and the Moon perceptibly advanced on the face 277 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,760 Speaker 1: of the Sun. After the Moon had crossed over the 278 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:50,120 Speaker 1: center of the Sun, Bailey observed another surprise. According to 279 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: his account, quote, all at once, a number of long, black, thick, 280 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: parallel lines exactly similar in appearance to the former ones mentioned, 281 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:00,800 Speaker 1: suddenly darted forward and joined the two him says before, 282 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 1: and the same phenomena were repeated, but in inverse order. 283 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 1: So we witnessed the lines terminating in a curved line 284 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: of bright beads, which vanished as the annualists ended. The 285 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 1: formation of the beads wasn't witnessed by other astronomers as well, 286 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:20,160 Speaker 1: several of which Bailey consulted with. And Bailey was right. 287 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,160 Speaker 1: It's the lunar geography that causes these beads to form, 288 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,640 Speaker 1: as the Sun outlines the valleys and peaks on the 289 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:29,240 Speaker 1: Moon's surface. Uh Incidentally, when only one beat is visible, 290 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 1: this is called a diamond ring effect because you kind 291 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 1: of see the little corona of light and then one 292 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,440 Speaker 1: bright spot, so it kind of looks like a sparkly ring. 293 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,400 Speaker 1: And though other astronomers did observe this happening, the beat 294 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 1: effect is named for Bailey, and while observing eclipses after 295 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: the one in May of eighteen thirty six, astronomers continued 296 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 1: to look for Bailey's beads as hallmarks of the eclipse process. Today, 297 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:55,120 Speaker 1: photos of eclipses are readily available in books and online, 298 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,120 Speaker 1: but that certainly was not always the case. So in 299 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,720 Speaker 1: a moment we are going to talk about the first 300 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:03,560 Speaker 1: photo of an eclipse, but first we will pause for 301 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:15,159 Speaker 1: a word from a sponsor. On July one, there was 302 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,639 Speaker 1: a total eclipse with the totality over Prussia, and this 303 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:22,160 Speaker 1: particular eclipse is noteworthy because in preparation for the event, 304 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:25,919 Speaker 1: the director of the Royal Observatory in Knigsberg hired a 305 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:30,520 Speaker 1: photographer to capture it. Johann Julius Friedrich Brokowski was a 306 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,480 Speaker 1: skilled the garatypist, and he was the man the observatory 307 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: reached out to. Brokowski used a small refracting telescope in 308 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:41,679 Speaker 1: conjunction with a heliometer, which is a telescope design for 309 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,920 Speaker 1: measuring the apparent diameter of the Sun and for measuring 310 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,439 Speaker 1: angles between celestial bodies or points on the lunar surface. 311 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:52,080 Speaker 1: It took an eight four second exposure. Once the eclipse 312 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:56,640 Speaker 1: is totality began and what resulted was the first successful 313 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: photo of a solar eclipse, which included the visual cant 314 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,480 Speaker 1: sure of prominences emanating from the Sun's surface. And this 315 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,520 Speaker 1: image is tiny. It's one of those things when you 316 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: think about a photograph, and especially if you've seen it 317 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: online or in books, you think of like photograph size, 318 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 1: like four by. This thing is little, little, it's way 319 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,240 Speaker 1: smaller than that. The moon on the original plate was 320 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:20,920 Speaker 1: only seven point eight five millimeters in diameter. And while 321 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 1: the director of the observatory initially wrote about the groundbreaking 322 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:29,240 Speaker 1: photo without crediting Burkowski, eventually the photographer Slash Degirotypist made 323 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 1: his own prints from his plate. These prints were slightly enlarged, 324 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:35,439 Speaker 1: but still quite small. As a point of reference, the 325 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: moon's diameter and these prints was eight point six nine millimeters. 326 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,199 Speaker 1: One of these prints still exists and is in the 327 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 1: collection of the Yenna University Observatory in Yenna, Germany. Another 328 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:51,119 Speaker 1: set of prints from Burkowski's plates was ordered by German 329 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:56,040 Speaker 1: astronomer Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Peters in and copies of the 330 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:58,680 Speaker 1: Peters prints would go on to be used in textbooks 331 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: and other publications. Today you can easily find Brokowski's iconic 332 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 1: photograph online and there are even some images of a 333 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 1: human hand holding a framed prince to illustrate how little 334 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: this groundbreaking photograph is. Yeah, it with the frame included. 335 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:16,480 Speaker 1: We're talking like a couple inches that someone can just 336 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:19,080 Speaker 1: hold between their thumb and four finger is very small. 337 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 1: The last eclipse that will talk about is one that's 338 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 1: come to be known as Einstein's eclipse. It took place 339 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:28,640 Speaker 1: on May twenty nine of nineteen nineteen, and several years 340 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,640 Speaker 1: prior to this eclipse, Einstein had published his now famous 341 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:35,919 Speaker 1: General Theory of Relativity UH for very broad strokes. The 342 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:38,560 Speaker 1: crux of the theory is that space can be curved 343 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: by the influence of gravity of anybody with mass, and 344 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:44,440 Speaker 1: this was at odds with Newton's Principia, which we have 345 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,919 Speaker 1: talked about on the podcast before, and which established mathematical 346 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:51,399 Speaker 1: rules that applied to celestial motion and was more static 347 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,359 Speaker 1: and did not take into account something like a gravity bend. 348 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:58,480 Speaker 1: Sir Frank Watson Dyson, Astronomer Royal of Britain, began to 349 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: think about the possibility of testing the theory by observing 350 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 1: light with gravity could distort space, then light passing through 351 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 1: that space would also curve. But our Sun is so 352 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:12,439 Speaker 1: bright that we can't really see the way other stars 353 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 1: light might be bent by the Sun's gravity, and this 354 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,560 Speaker 1: led him to realize that the darkness of the Sun 355 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:21,679 Speaker 1: as viewed from Earth during an eclipse would offer an 356 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:25,720 Speaker 1: opportunity to observe light bending as it approached the Sun's 357 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 1: edge if Einstein's theory was correct. In side note, you 358 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,720 Speaker 1: might be wondering if photographs of previous eclipses in the 359 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:37,520 Speaker 1: decades since Burkowski's first digaratype would have offered any evidence. 360 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:41,679 Speaker 1: But this bending light is seriously slight the photographs at 361 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:43,959 Speaker 1: that point we're not of good enough quality to detect 362 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,639 Speaker 1: such a change, which really can only be analyzed with 363 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:50,920 Speaker 1: really quite precise measurement. Once it was determined the eclipse 364 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:55,600 Speaker 1: would be the testing ground, another British astrophysicist, Arthur Stanley Eddington, 365 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:59,159 Speaker 1: led the test in the first two months of nine nineteen. 366 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:01,640 Speaker 1: He measured the position of the stars that the Sun 367 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:04,920 Speaker 1: would be passing in front of during the predicted May eclipse. 368 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,920 Speaker 1: For the eclipse itself, he traveled to an island off 369 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:10,760 Speaker 1: of Africa's western coast, and at the same time he 370 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:14,359 Speaker 1: dispatched another team of astronomers to Brazil to take measurements, 371 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 1: and this was for coverage in the event that the 372 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,760 Speaker 1: island had cloud cover on May the twenty nine, but 373 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,200 Speaker 1: as it turned out, both locations had a clear view 374 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:24,679 Speaker 1: of the eclipse, so there were two separate sets of 375 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:29,040 Speaker 1: measurements to use. The eclipse lasted for six minutes during 376 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:32,119 Speaker 1: its totality, and both teams took photos throughout that brief 377 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:35,520 Speaker 1: time and after the eclipse ended, Eddington gathered all the 378 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:37,880 Speaker 1: information and went back to England and spent the next 379 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: several months analyzing it. Eddington's findings, which are announced on 380 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:46,639 Speaker 1: November six, nineteen nineteen, vindicated Einstein improved his general theory 381 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:50,479 Speaker 1: of relativity was correct. While there were certainly detractors who 382 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,960 Speaker 1: suspected that Eddington had somehow falsified the data to support Einstein, 383 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:58,320 Speaker 1: this is literally the moment that made Einstein famous. On 384 00:21:58,359 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: November seven, he was front page news and suddenly the 385 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:04,640 Speaker 1: German born physicist was the global poster child for genius 386 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:10,400 Speaker 1: measurements taking during eclipses after continued to back up Einstein's 387 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 1: theory and Eddington's findings. Yeah, which is really cool. I 388 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 1: did somehow I missed that growing up, that piece of 389 00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:21,960 Speaker 1: information that it was really an eclipse that made Einstein 390 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 1: famous in my head because he's such a famous figure. 391 00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: I think in my head he just people are like, wow, 392 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: this is an amazing theory. You're smart. I never think 393 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,040 Speaker 1: of him as being, you know, having detractors, but of 394 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:38,440 Speaker 1: course he did, and it's just my weird, uh take 395 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,040 Speaker 1: on it. But yeah, So those are a few stories 396 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:43,880 Speaker 1: of eclipses in history. As we said, there are many 397 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:46,240 Speaker 1: many more. I think the next eclipse doesn't happen until 398 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:50,080 Speaker 1: four So if we're still doing this podcast is seven years, 399 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:54,760 Speaker 1: we can do another, or just if we want to 400 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: talk about eclipses at some point between now and then, 401 00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:59,920 Speaker 1: we could do an eclipse Survey episode and talk about 402 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: a few more about lunar eclipses. People don't get as 403 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:08,840 Speaker 1: excited about lunar eclipses, yeah, because they're like, it's already dark, 404 00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 1: so the darkening of the moon isn't quite as dramatic, 405 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:14,920 Speaker 1: even though it's very cool and you can sometimes get 406 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: like a blood moon, which is amazing. Um yeah, yeah, 407 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:25,199 Speaker 1: but they're fascinating. I hope if everybody listening watched it, 408 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,400 Speaker 1: whether in person or online or some other way one. 409 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:31,919 Speaker 1: I hope anybody that actually watched it in person was 410 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:36,600 Speaker 1: very careful with their vision and camera. Don't and does 411 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:40,160 Speaker 1: your camera point your camera at the sun. No, there 412 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,679 Speaker 1: are so many things you have to be careful with. Uh. So, 413 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed it, and if you, uh you know, 414 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 1: missed it. The good news is we live in an 415 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:53,919 Speaker 1: information age where it's all going to be online instantly. Hooray. Yeah. So, 416 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,760 Speaker 1: do you have some listener mail for us? I do 417 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:59,040 Speaker 1: I have a correction and then a gift mail. So 418 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 1: we got I feel super stupid, but I'll explain my 419 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:07,480 Speaker 1: stupidity and my um blind spot in knowledge, which was 420 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:12,760 Speaker 1: a pleasant blind spot to have, and then it went away. 421 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:14,840 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah yeah. So when we did the sit Boy 422 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: mutiny sometimes called the rebellion, sometimes also called a freedom movement, 423 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 1: we talked about one of the punishments of the Indian 424 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:29,399 Speaker 1: resistors on the part of the British Empire, let's just 425 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,520 Speaker 1: shoot them from cannons, but that's not correct. It's so 426 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:34,840 Speaker 1: much grosser. And several people wrote us, We're like, well, 427 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 1: you didn't get this right. In my defense, the way 428 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:39,480 Speaker 1: it is written, and I'm gonna read one of the 429 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:42,560 Speaker 1: accounts that describes it. If you don't know what it is, 430 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,879 Speaker 1: that is a fairly reasonable way to place to land 431 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,719 Speaker 1: in your head. Um, I'm reading a piece written by 432 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:53,159 Speaker 1: Douglas Peers about it. Uh, And I didn't in my 433 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 1: little note that I wrote here, I didn't cite the 434 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:56,880 Speaker 1: book it came from, so my apologies, but it says 435 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: quote the fear of spiritual debasement came full sir goal 436 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,960 Speaker 1: for the mutineers. The British deliberately defiled rebel suit boys 437 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:07,880 Speaker 1: that were caught. Some were blown from cannon, Some Hindus 438 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,639 Speaker 1: were smeared with cow fat before they were hanged. Some 439 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:14,680 Speaker 1: Muslim rebels were forced to chew pig fat. So blown 440 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:17,600 Speaker 1: from cannon, to my mind, meant blown from a cannon. 441 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: But that's not what blown from cannon means. What it 442 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:24,560 Speaker 1: actually means is that the person this is so horrifying. 443 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:26,640 Speaker 1: So I apologize for those of you that also would 444 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:29,440 Speaker 1: have liked to maintain that blind spot um the person 445 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,680 Speaker 1: is strapped to a cannon while it is shot, and 446 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 1: the resulting force causes dismemberment, and the body, in terms 447 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:41,040 Speaker 1: of religious matters, is defiled, and it prevents the proper 448 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:45,960 Speaker 1: administration of religious funeral rights for Hindus and Muslims. So uh, 449 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: really really gross but important distinction to make. So thank 450 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:51,720 Speaker 1: you to all the people that wrote in and mentioned that. Uh, 451 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,080 Speaker 1: and then to bring it up because that's a terrible 452 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:57,560 Speaker 1: note to land On. I have a wonderful gift that 453 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,520 Speaker 1: we got from our listener, Kaylee. She send us some 454 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:03,639 Speaker 1: really fun jewelry, which she describes herself. In her note. 455 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,160 Speaker 1: She says, Hello, I'm a big fan of the show. 456 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:07,879 Speaker 1: I have a d h D. So it's great to 457 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 1: listen to you while I'm working on crafts. Speaking of which, 458 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:12,880 Speaker 1: one of my crafts this chain mail, and I wanted 459 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:15,760 Speaker 1: to make you guys some pieces. The gold one is 460 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:18,480 Speaker 1: a tribute to Holly's laughter, because there's nothing that makes 461 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:21,199 Speaker 1: my day brighter than hearing such full laughter or an 462 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 1: amused tittering at the ridiculousness of history. The purple bracelet 463 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:28,520 Speaker 1: is a weave called byzantine, and the silver piece I dedicated, 464 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,680 Speaker 1: which is a little cuff I dedicate to Tracy's sigh. 465 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:34,720 Speaker 1: The pursing of lips that could all is so good. 466 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:38,120 Speaker 1: She's so great. Um, the pursing of lips that could 467 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:40,359 Speaker 1: almost be a smirk as she knows she's about to 468 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:45,320 Speaker 1: drop a knowledge bomb that will blow everyone's minds wide open. Uh, 469 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,760 Speaker 1: it's so cool, Like, what an amazing honor and delight 470 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:52,639 Speaker 1: to have an artist, you know, memorialize our behaviors and 471 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:55,080 Speaker 1: in jewelry form. And then she has a little suggestion 472 00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:57,160 Speaker 1: for a topic, but she says lots of love, Kaylee. 473 00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,880 Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, that is so sweet and thoughtful and amazing. 474 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:01,679 Speaker 1: So thank you, thank you, thank you, Kaylee. Those are 475 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:04,760 Speaker 1: fantastic and just such a delight and put a huge 476 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 1: smile on my face as I read your card this morning. 477 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 1: So thank you, thank you, thank you. Uh. If you 478 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:11,040 Speaker 1: would like to write to us, you can do so 479 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:13,720 Speaker 1: at History Podcast at house to works dot com. You 480 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:16,280 Speaker 1: can also visit us across the spectrum of social media. 481 00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:23,920 Speaker 1: We are missed in history pretty much everywhere that includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumbler, Pinterest. 482 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:26,960 Speaker 1: You can visit us at our home page, which is 483 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,520 Speaker 1: missed in history dot com and see every episode of 484 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:31,639 Speaker 1: the show that's ever happened from way back in the beginning, 485 00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,280 Speaker 1: long before Tracy and I were attached to it, as 486 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: well as show notes for any of the episodes that 487 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:38,440 Speaker 1: Tracy and I have worked on. UH. If you would 488 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:40,400 Speaker 1: like to visit our parents site, you can do that. 489 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:42,639 Speaker 1: That is how stuff works dot com. If you type 490 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 1: in the word eclipse in the search bar, you're going 491 00:27:45,359 --> 00:27:47,640 Speaker 1: to get a recent article that was written called three 492 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:51,040 Speaker 1: times total Eclipses Influenced World History. We only have one 493 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,160 Speaker 1: overlap eclipse with that article, so you'll get some new knowledge. 494 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:56,880 Speaker 1: If this wedded your appetite, but we encourage you come 495 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:58,919 Speaker 1: and visit us at missed in history dot com and 496 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:05,679 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. For more on this and 497 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:16,919 Speaker 1: thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com. 498 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:16,520 Speaker 1: M