Brad Bolman — who I had the pleasure of meeting just the second time a couple weeks ago at HSS Mérida — tipped me off on Bluesky to this wonderful painting by the German Realist painter Wilhelm Trübner (1851–1917), titled Caesar at the Rubicon. Caesar am Rubikon is held at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe (Inv. Nr. 899), which has an … Continue reading Ave, Caesar!
Category: methods
This year’s big History of Science Society meeting is in Mérida, Mexico. I’m very excited to go, both to share my recent work, reconnect with friends and colleagues, and to go see some ancient Mayan monuments! (If you want to see me present, I'm in the "Biomedicine" session on Friday the 8th, 15:30, Fiesta Americana … Continue reading Unserious travel tips for HSS Mérida
A common chemical reagent for botanical microscopy in the latter half of the nineteenth century was chloriodide of zinc, or, in German, Chlorzinkjod. The exact name varies — chlor-zinc-iodide, iodine zinc chloride, etc. — but basically it is a test for cellulose, having replaced the more volatile iodine + sulfuric acid test of the 1830s. But … Continue reading Who invented the chloriodide of zinc test for cellulose? An online adventure…
As a historian of biology—of mostly the 19th and 20th centuries, and of mostly German biology, a little bit of English- and French-language biology, and teensy-weensy bits of Dutch, Czech, and Russian biology—I rely a lot on multilingual dictionaries to help me understand my sources. I think old, digitized dictionaries are invaluable for doing good … Continue reading Historical dictionaries for historians of biology
Last Spring the Deutsche Bahn inflicted on me some of worst CAPTCHAs I’ve ever seen: “Please click on the pictures of the cookies that are in the shape of a dog.” This horror show is their example image for what a cookie in the shape of a dog looks like: Is this unsettling yet? Dear … Continue reading The worst CAPTCHA’s
Daniel Liu, History of Science 