woweee....i aint lyin'

sorry if this has already been reported here

http://www.abc.net.au/new...ms/4933618

Scientists have discovered that Richard III was infected with intestinal worms, probably as a result of medieval hygiene standards.

The remains of Richard III, who ruled from 1483-1485, were found beneath a car ... Leicester.

Since then, forensic scientists have been analysing the extraordinary find to uncover further details about the monarch.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge say they have found "multiple" microscopic eggs of a parasite in the lower region of the spine where his intestines would have been.

"These results show that Richard was infected with roundworm in his intestines," they reported in The Lancet medical journal.

Roundworm is spread by the faecal contamination of food by dirty hands, or use of faeces as a crop fertiliser.

The roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides, is a parasite common in parts of Africa and Latin America today.

Eggs swallowed by humans hatch in the intestine, burrow through the gut wall and migrate to the lungs through the blood system.

They are then coughed up and swallowed again, entering the stomach and intestine for a second time, where they mature into adult worms some as long as 35 centimetres, "swimming" against the flow of liquids and particles in the gut.

An adult female can produce around 200,000 eggs a day, which are then passed on in faeces, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.

Intestinal parasites were rife in England during the 15th Century.

They included whipworm, liver fluke, beef tapeworm, pork tapeworm and fish tapeworm, which are transmitted through uncooked, or poorly cooked, infected meat.

But none of these was found in Richard's grave.

"We would expect nobles of this period to have eaten meats such as beef, pork and fish regularly," investigation leader Piers Mitchell said.

"This finding might suggest that his food was cooked thoroughly, which would have prevented the transmission of these parasites."

After reading that, breakfast can wait.

Tempest said:

After reading that, breakfast can wait.

I'm munching on white cheddar rice cakes, while I am reading this .............. those can now wait now

I saw the thread title, I have only myself to blame

My appetite is done

??? somebody been draggin his ass under a car???

I'm related to the Plantagenets but I didn't inherit any worms.

Oh why, oh why did I open this thread??? Goodness.


But it goes to show, that we do forget all the things people in the way back when (good ole days) had to contend with all the time.

I never forget about the things people used to deal with and actually talk about it a lot.

I'm always reflecting that God knew what He was doing when he put me on this earth when He did. INDOOR PLUMBING! I cannot live without showering or bathing. Going for weeks at a time without bathing to me would be a fate worse than death.

Or, the women wearing those huge, heavy clothes with no A/C, having babies or their monthly friend, not being able to clean themselves very thoroughly, etc. etc. It would have been horrible.

^ I think about it too. All the things the average person didn't even consider way back when. Especially, in weather like this. How all our modern convenience are fairly recent, and I couldn't imagine living without them, even being broke. We gain something, we lose something, but I don't think I really want to go back.


All the things you said, now add perfumes to it.

Do you suppose there was anyone in the 15th century who didn't have worms? It isn't like they had modern sanitation.

Genesia said:

Do you suppose there was anyone in the 15th century who didn't have worms? It isn't like they had modern sanitation.

*

If there was anyone back then who didn't have worms, they prolly had some other kind of cootie or body louse. Yucko!

i wonder when the queen will release a statement regarding this hot news... my guess is any minute now

*so excited*

Looking at the photos, his scoliosis was pretty severe.

MoBetterBliss said:

i wonder when the queen will release a statement regarding this hot news... my guess is any minute now

*so excited*

I think it's been carefully swept under the rug at Buckingham Palace. Just a hunch.

Tempest said:

I never forget about the things people used to deal with and actually talk about it a lot.

I'm always reflecting that God knew what He was doing when he put me on this earth when He did. INDOOR PLUMBING! I cannot live without showering or bathing. Going for weeks at a time without bathing to me would be a fate worse than death.

Or, the women wearing those huge, heavy clothes with no A/C, having babies or their monthly friend, not being able to clean themselves very thoroughly, etc. etc. It would have been horrible.

Plus there was no garbage collection or sewer system and vermin all over the place. Imagine what it must have smelled like in medievial times (and before).

morningsong said:

^ I think about it too. All the things the average person didn't even consider way back when. Especially, in weather like this. How all our modern convenience are fairly recent, and I couldn't imagine living without them, even being broke. We gain something, we lose something, but I don't think I really want to go back.


All the things you said, now add perfumes to it.

I'm always thinking about this stuff when I read history,


I think that of all the modern conveniences, indoor plumbing/sanitation is the one thing I would never want to do without...Ick.

Imagine raw sewage in open gutters in the streets...disease literally to waiting happen, things even worse than worms, which is bad enough, especially since those people believed that bathing more than a few times a year was unhealthy.

I always think of the servants. It's bad enough having to deal with the stinky yuckies of yourself and your own family, then to have a job emptying chamber pots and cleaning stank ass laundry for other people...ewww.

Yep, the garbage collection and sewer situation would have been awful. Pew.

*

When we lived in Jerusalem (Israel), once in awhile the garbage collectors would go on strike. It would usually last for a 2 - 3 weeks at a time (sometimes longer). Meanwhile, everyone's garbage would collect in the garbage bins outside (and of course overflow around the bins). OK, it was short lived compared to having to live with it forever, but MAN WAS I GLAD WHEN THEY CAME BACK TO WORK! It could get pretty rank even in that amount of time (especially in the summer).

That was my only complaint about living in Jerusalem (union garbage collection). Otherwise, it was WONDERFUL!

*

There are cities in the USA that have union collectors as well and have the same issue when they go on strike. So, it's not unique to Jerusalem by any means.

*

[Edited 9/4/13 16:52pm]

....and with no dental care, you can imagine what folks teeth looked like. The rotten food didn't help either. That's why the spice trade was huge back then. The europeans needed something to improve the taste of all that shit they atr.

uPtoWnNY said:

....and with no dental care, you can imagine what folks teeth looked like. The rotten food didn't help either. That's why the spice trade was huge back then. The europeans needed something to improve the taste of all that shit they atr.

Yes, I've thought about the teeth situation as well (what teeth they had). Normally, they ended up losing a lot of them. Their breath must have been nice as well.

Tempest said:

uPtoWnNY said:

....and with no dental care, you can imagine what folks teeth looked like. The rotten food didn't help either. That's why the spice trade was huge back then. The europeans needed something to improve the taste of all that shit they atr.

Yes, I've thought about the teeth situation as well (what teeth they had). Normally, they ended up losing a lot of them. Their breath must have been nice as well.

maybe things are better today, but, from a lot of the brits i've seen, in my time, dental hygene still isn't a high priority

Just because dental care is available doesn't mean people will take advantage of it. Some people just don't care.