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Historical Curiosities:Part II

© Debbie St. Germain

This week I have the answers to the questions asked in Historical Curiosities. If you missed them, you can go back and read the stories with the questions to see how people in the past, confused science and medicine because of their ignorance of the facts.

What caused the hay to fly in the air? If you guessed, "dust devils," then you were correct. A dust devil is similar to a tornado but without the clouds. The energy comes from the intense heat on the ground rising up to meet the the air above. As hot air bubbles rise and air is pulled toward the ground, convection currents develop, which concentrate the rotation, and speed up to produce the whirlwind. All loose objects such as dust, tumbleweeds and even hay from the fields will dance through the air. In ancient times, people believed that dust devils were the devil himself, rising from the underworld; leaving a path of devastation where he walked.

So I assume you know that rocks don't have babies; what they do leave behind are called concretions. Layers of sediment cover an object and immediately harden, they form a tough nodule. Sometimes, the inner layers of materials in a concretion erode away. This Leaves the small core rattling around inside a tough outer layer, and when split open it looks like a baby rock popped out. One of the most unusual findings was in concretions found in a coastal salt marsh in England. The concretions in the marsh formed around World-War-II military shells, bombs, and shrapnel, including some large unexploded shells.

What the ancient physicians didn't know was that transfusions can be lethal if the wrong blood groups are mixed. In 1901, Karl Landsteiner discovered two basic markers, called antigens, in red blood cells. He called these two markers A and B, these or a combination of these are called your blood type. Landsteiner also discovered that plasma has antibodies that react with the A and B antigens.

Do you know what the strange animal was? It was a platypus, animal that lives in Australia. If you want to see pictures and learn more about the platypus visit the links below.

Creature World Colorful, easy to read profile on the platypus.

PlatypusAll about the platypus from the Australian park service.

PlatypusInformation about the platypus with some beautiful photos illustrating the platypus in its natural habitat. Other unique Australian animals are available here.