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Do you have cracked, dry hand skin?
Has all this constant hand-washing left you looking like a horrible Lizard-person?
Well, this Hungarian scientist from the 1800s would be VERY proud of you.
#StayHome
Has all this constant hand-washing left you looking like a horrible Lizard-person?
Well, this Hungarian scientist from the 1800s would be VERY proud of you.
#StayHome
It's time for this week's Random Person from History Who Is Surprisingly Relevant thread.
This is Ignaz Semmelweis, and he was born in Hungary in 1818. His story is quite a sad one, really, but thanks to YOU… his legacy lives on.
This is Ignaz Semmelweis, and he was born in Hungary in 1818. His story is quite a sad one, really, but thanks to YOU… his legacy lives on.
That’s because Ignaz was a pioneer of handwashing.
Until the 19th century, people thought that illness was spread by bad smells in the air.
That’s why people walked around during the plague wearing NOT AT ALL TERRIFYING masks like this lovely number.
That’s why people walked around during the plague wearing NOT AT ALL TERRIFYING masks like this lovely number.
Well, that all changed when Ignaz Semmelweis burst on to the scene.
(Or, at least, it SHOULD have all changed. More on that later)
Ignaz was a physician during a time when complications from childbirth were very common – many women unfortunately died from unexplained infections that no doctor could find a medical reason for.
Semmelweis was one of the first people on earth to spot the relationship between bacteria and these infections.
He encouraged doctors to wash their hands between operations, and the childbirth mortality rate fell from 18% to 1%.
He encouraged doctors to wash their hands between operations, and the childbirth mortality rate fell from 18% to 1%.
Unfortunately, Semmelweis’ discovery was NOT appreciated by other doctors, who called him crazy and mocked his suggestion that they should wash their hands.
(Thus proving that history is filled with stupid people who don’t see a reason to follow the rules. Just saying.)
Ignaz was put in an asylum and sadly died there after just two weeks. He was 47.
Thankfully, his genius has been recognised for over a hundred years, now. The benefits of handwashing are well-known, and BOY has he been proved right in 2020.
So, consider this a little morale boost courtesy of Doncaster Council.
If your hands are chapped and dry, keep washing.
If you’ve run out of songs to sing along to for 20 seconds, keep washing.
If your Lizard-like skin has you contemplating a new diet of flies, keep washing.
If your hands are chapped and dry, keep washing.
If you’ve run out of songs to sing along to for 20 seconds, keep washing.
If your Lizard-like skin has you contemplating a new diet of flies, keep washing.
