The World in 1895

[kommy]

Commodore Perry's famous voyage to Japan in 1853 is indeed a monumental event. Japan in the 19th century is an incredibly amazing story. I'm almost certain to want to cover that next. The Meiji Restoration and it's new programs were an incredible achievement by any standard.

For now, though, I've decided to quickly put one of the less specific topics, covering advances in the squishy, wet parts of science.

Science, Biology and Medicine

The great tragedy of Science — the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact. –Thomas Huxley

Science in the past century has advanced by leaps and bounds. In all fields, amazing progress has been achieved, granting people greater understanding of the universe than ever before. However, the field which stands out as making phenomenal progress is the study of life, biology, and its favorite application, medicine.

Cell Theory was first proposed in the earlier half of this century, roughly 1840, stating that cells, small, self contained life forms, are the buildings blocks of all plants and animals. Also, that all cells are only created from other cells. So far, the theory has with stood the slings and arrows of experimentation and is becoming the basis of modern biology.

Related to this development is the Germ Theory of Disease, primarily created by Frenchman Louis Pasteur, which states that one celled organisms and other discrete particles of life are the primary cause of diseases. The postulates of Dr. Koch in Germany have laid down the guidelines for future study in this field. Thanks to new microbiological techniques (such as Julius Petri and his handy dish), new vaccines are being created to prevent disease and new methods of sanitation cut down outbreaks by massive amounts, saving uncountable lives.

By far the most controversial theory, however, is Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. This theory states that all animals have been created through mutation and the selection of traits by the harshness of the environment. The controversy comes with the natural conclusion of this idea in that all thinking peoples are the descendents of animals. (A shocking and bold idea to all us furries, I’m sure… *cough, cough*)

Tying all this together are the new fields of taxonomy and embryology. Some scientists, such as Ernst Haeckel, are creating a network of similar species together, their work pointing that indeed many species seem shockingly related to each other, particularly in early development.

Medicine has taken these latest developments, as well as advances in chemistry, and run with them. Artificial drugs, such as acetylsalicylic acid (popularly known as aspirin) are now on the market as well as more powerful concoctions such as cocaine, phenobarbitol, and new anesthetics such as ether. With the development of antiseptic techniques, surgery is no longer a death warrant for a patient and with painkillers and anesthetics, more ambitious and vital surgeries are now possible. Disinfectants also can cut down the chance of infection from trauma, making the loss of limbs (and life) thankfully more rare than only a few decades ago. In addition to the classic vaccine against small pox, the recent creation of a vaccine against rabies is a major accomplishment, especially as it is even effective if given shortly after exposure.

Extremely radical surgeries, including the possibility of significantly altering one's self, also seem possible (ie: Loucille). It's hard to say where the boundaries of these fields can end. After all, their business is life itself.
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"Doktor! Are you sure this will work?!" "HAHA! I HAVE NO IDEA!"

[duo2nd]

Theory of evolution is the best.

[Ashton Gray]

Yet another enjoyable historical tidbit from the ravishing Dr. Camarilla "Cammy" von Fuchs.
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Silentium est aurum

[Crimson]

very enjoyable indeed
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Crimson's Construction.
Bettering Bon Bon one building at a time.

[LabrnMystic]

Truly the most knowledgeable of us all.

If it was a stat in our card game, you'd be the only 8 my dear.
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The suspense is killing me. I hope it will last.

[kommy]

Then it is a pity one's mind has so little impact on a game of seduction, is it not?

Though I must wonder why one could consider evolution the 'best' theory of those few I mentioned. Honestly, I consider both cell and germ theory far more important in terms of their fundamental usefulness and their impact on medicine. Evolution seems to get all the attention due to its impact on culture and theology rather than it's actual application.

Poor Darwin... He did his best to avoid the controversy. I feel sorry for him both for his vilification by opponents and the misrepresentation of his theories in popular culture.
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"Doktor! Are you sure this will work?!" "HAHA! I HAVE NO IDEA!"

[LabrnMystic]

Thats not entirely true. There are always tactics, plans, and having the knowledge of what to say, and what not to say.

To para-phrase Peter Griffon: "Its not just the great rack or the caboose, but that big sexy brain of yours."


As someone religious, I will admit that I also belive in Evolution. There is proof out there that it exists. (Though I shall not guide this conversation towards religion here).

I will, however say that as one who has received a great deal of vaccines, I thank the good scientists for the Germ Theory. Before I was deployed, I was exposed then vaccinated to small pox, because there had been outbreaks in the local populace where we'd be deployed. I can tell you from my personal experience, and the permanent scar on my left shoulder, that if it weren't for these scientific heros, "Life would Suck!" XD
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The suspense is killing me. I hope it will last.

[Xebulon]

An interesting little side-note I recently learned. During this time period, absinthe was still legal to serve (and if I'm not mistaken, Italy never formally banned it anyways). Though I should point out that there are no proven psychotropic effects from drinking absinthe, it just has a very high alcohol content (somewhere around 120 to 140 proof I believe). Also, by 1895, it was no longer a drink just for the bourgeois or the French.
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I like old jokes. With them I know when to laugh.

[admford]

Dunno if anyone would be interested, but I could try to make out some description on the tools, machines and work conditions in mines during the turn of the century.

I have to say that the design of diamond mines would probably be more economical if done via strip mining rather than tunnels and similar. Since the diamonds aren't really located in a specific area, but tend to be distributed widely in larger deposits (at least from what I know ).

[LabrnMystic]

Admford, feel free to add any historical knowledge you have here. Thats what this thread is for. ^_^
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The suspense is killing me. I hope it will last.

[Foxonian]

Concering Absinthe,I thought that the psycotropic effects are caused when it is made with a certain type of wood or other plant.I also recall reading that when it was made that way,the psycotropic effects were genuine.Absinthe today is made less potent and possibly using a different plant or wood.Again,I don't have any really facts yet to prove all this,just recollections of an article I once read on the subject.

[Ashton Gray]

I remember the same, Foxonian, so it may very well be true. Of course, we could both also be mistaken.
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Silentium est aurum

[Xebulon]

From what I've learned so far, it was the type of wormwood used to make absinthe that contains the chemicals. Apparently, if taken in great enough doses those chemicals can have psychotropic effects, but the amount you would have to consume would be toxic anyways. And if you were trying to achieve the same by drinking absinthe, the alcohol would kill you before the chemicals could make you hallucinate.
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I like old jokes. With them I know when to laugh.

[Ashton Gray]

Wormwood! That's what is was! I knew it started with a "W" but I just could'nt connect it with anything. Thank you, Xebulon.
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Silentium est aurum

[Xebulon]

Pas du quois.

I'm not sure f I spelled that right or not.
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I like old jokes. With them I know when to laugh.

[Foxonian]

*slaps forehead* Wormwood! Thanks,Xebulon.I totally forgot what that was.

[duo2nd]

Well I got no idea.

[LabrnMystic]

[Xebulon]

Basically correct Labrn, though chewing wormwood would likely prove fatal as well. You'd be getting much higher and more concentrated dose of said chemical and, like alcohol itself, its toxic.
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I like old jokes. With them I know when to laugh.

[Ashton Gray]

Ah, the things people think up when looking for fun and intresting things to do.
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Silentium est aurum

[Xebulon]

Hmm..... I wonder what will happen if I take this bag of charcoal, throw in a bunch of rotten eggs and top it off with a heaping helping of saltpeter, then throw it in the fireplace?
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I like old jokes. With them I know when to laugh.

[Ashton Gray]

I rest my case.
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Silentium est aurum

[Martin]

[LabrnMystic]

[Bestile1]

basic ingredients for gunpowder am i right?

[duo2nd]

Bingo!

[Foxonian]

Sounds like you would get a "bang" out of it! XD

[JohnnyPsycho]

Geez, I wish there were more stuff here, I was just getting a handle on the last decade of the 19th century... I might add some of my own knowledge of the history of the United States, though briefly...

The U.S. had suffered through it's Civil War between 1861 and 1865, as well as the political turmoil of the Reconstruction period that followed. Despite the hope of equality brought by the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which freed the African-American slaves and afforded them all the same rights as other citizens, institutional racism and segregation grew in many Southern states. This period, often referred to as the Nadir of American race relations, would continue well into the beginning of the 20th century. The massacre at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, was the last major armed conflict between Indigenous peoples and the U.S. Army, thus ending the Indian Wars. For many white American, the west had finally been "tamed", but attempts to "Americanize" the Indians would result in the widespread establishment of boarding schools, meant to separate Native children from their culture. These schools, too, would continue to be used well into the beginning of the 20th century.

Since the influx of numerous immigrants about midway through the 19th century, most notably the Irish (spurred to emigrate due to the "Great Famine" or "Irish Potato Famine" in the mid- to late-40's) and the Chinese (lured by the California Gold Rush of '49), a large labor force helped usher in a new era of industrialization in the country, as well as creating a batch of wealthy tycoons and entrepreneurs such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. A wealthy upper-class enjoyed a lifestyle of excess often referred to as the Gilded Age. However, since the Panic of 1893, when the nation's economy declined due to a decrease in the monetary worth of silver. The resulting economic depression caused many companies to go bankrupt, ushered in a wave of strikes, most notably the Pullman Strike of 1894, and resulted in the emergence of modern day labor unions. Harsh political debates resulted over the bimetalism standard, split between those who favored a silver standard for the U.S. dollar versus a gold standard.

At present time (1895), Grover Cleveland his ending is second term as President, to be succeeded by William McKinley in next year's election. The depression in the economy continues on until 1897, and the Spanish-American war is still three years away (1898).
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[Esichs]

I just got done brushing up with American history at this time and I'm glad to know there is still room for the "cowboy" archetype in this year.

[JohnnyPsycho]