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Re: (meteorobs) Meteor infall & disease
Through my research, I have also studied the mythologies of over 150
different cultures around the world, most within North, Central, and South
America. It is interesting to note that the Aztecs were afraid to go
outside at night because they were afraid they would be hit by a meteor,
develop an infection, and die (the actual description of the infection is
actually quite gross...worms are involved). I know this is not an
indication of germs from space ("germs from space" sounds like a 1950s
B-movie). But the discussion reminded me of this story and I'd thought I'd
share it. (I have always wondered why the Aztecs worried about such things,
unless it did actually happen once).
Gary
>On Wed, 5 Mar 1997, Thomas Ashcraft wrote:
>
>> I discovered Arrhenius by reading Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe's
>> various books on "diseases from space." They went to great lengths to try
>> to prove a correspondence with meteor infall and influenza outbreaks. I do
>> not believe they came near to any proof but they sure do write good books.
>
>I remember an RAS meeting where FH & CW presented some of their work.
>Few of the audience were convinced by their thesis. As theoreticians
>it was clear that they didn't appreciate data errors, and
>overinterpreted their IUE data. It was a rousing meeting more akin to
>those in the 19th century, so was far more entertaining than normal.
>These days we're far more polite and reserved.
>
>Seeing "diseases from space" reminds me of a slide collection on
>meteors and meteorites on sale at the Royal Greenwich Observatory
>around the early 1980s. In its commentary, it referred to the
>"Germinids". So that's why there are so many colds around December
>and January. (-:
>
>Malcolm