4 Responses to “Vorticella”

1. dantedanti Says:
   May 22nd, 2007 at 9:45 am

   wanted to get this up for yall to see:

   http://www.christianitytoday.c...

   not sure if anyone has posted anything about it yet….hitchens and wilson going at it in four parts. havent read the whole thing, but looks at least a little better than the harris and dawkins debates.

   cheers

   dantedanti

Comment by dantedanti — May 22, 2007 @ 9:45 am

2. Zachriel Says:
   May 22nd, 2007 at 11:36 am

   Off-topic
   –

   There is an interesting story concerning noodles, Frankenstein, a volcano, Vorticellae, galvanism, and Erasmus Darwin, Charles Darwin's grandfather.

   A volcanic eruption in modern-day Indonesia caused widespread climate disruptions leading to the Year without a Summer in Europe.

   In July 1816 "incessant rainfall" during that "wet, ungenial summer" forced Mary Shelley, John William Polidori and their friends [Percy Shelley, Lord Byron] to stay indoors for much of their Swiss holiday. They decided to have a contest, seeing who could write the scariest story, leading Shelley to write Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus and Polidori to write The Vampyre.

   In the introduction to Frankenstein, Mary Shelley makes reference to Erasmus Darwin. She relates how an initial misunderstanding concerning purported spontaneous generation of vermicelli (a type of noodle) in a glass case. (The organisms were actually vorticellae which can stay dormant for long periods of time when dehydrated and then return to life when water returns.)

   Shelley: Many and long were the conversations between Lord Byron and Shelley, to which I was a devout but nearly silent listener. During one of these, various philosophical doctrines were discussed, and among others the nature of the principle of life, and whether there was any probability of its ever being discovered and communicated. They talked of the experiments of Dr. Darwin, (I speak not of what the Doctor really did, or said that he did, but, as more to my purpose, of what was then spoken of as having been done by him,) who preserved a piece of vermicelli in a glass case, till by some extraordinary means it began to move with voluntary motion. Not thus, after all, would life be given. Perhaps a corpse would be re-animated; galvanism had given token of such things: perhaps the component parts of a creature might be manufactured, brought together, and endured with vital warmth.

   And so, science-fiction is born.

Comment by Zachriel — May 22, 2007 @ 11:36 am

3. Thought Provoker Says:
   May 22nd, 2007 at 8:42 pm

   Hi Mike,

   I like these pictures. I hope you keep them coming.

   Shall we label this one "fast, fast, fast" in honor of Joy's input?

   Regards,
   TP

Comment by Thought Provoker — May 22, 2007 @ 8:42 pm

4. MikeGene Says:
   May 22nd, 2007 at 11:03 pm

   Hi TP,

   I like these pictures. I hope you keep them coming.

   Yeah, I love these little guys. Watching them gives you a "feel" for the plausibility of front-loading, as the little critters remind me of big critters.

Comment by MikeGene — May 22, 2007 @ 11:03 pm

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