WEIRD FACTS ABOUT
SYPHILIS
'Syphilis' was originally the title of a 1530 poem written in Latin by Fracastoro, concerning a hero named Syphilis who has syphilis. In the 16th century, astrologers believed that syphilis was caused by the conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars in Cancer, which corrupted the air. Petrus Maynardus, who taught medicine at Padua, said that only men born under the sign of Scorpio, the sign that rules the genitals, are prone to catch syphilis. He further predicted - sadly incorrectly - that syphilius would vanish after another conjunction in 1584.
Before it became generally known as syphilis, The Dutch called it the Spanish disease, the Russians called it the Polish disease, the Turks called it the Christian disease and in Tahiti it was known as the British disease.
In 2008, researchers in the US reported that a genetic analysis of syphilis had revealed that its closest relative was a South American disease that causes yaws. Their conclusions support the theory that syphilis was brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus's crew.
Related links:
BAUDELAIRE
The favourite foods of the French poet and critic Baudelaire were onion soup and bacon... MORE
CHURCHILL
Churchill's mother was one-eighth Iroquois Indian.
His father and Al Capone's father both had syphilis.
Baudelaire also... MORE
COLUMBUS
Although Christopher Columbus had blonde hair in his youth, by the time he was 30,... MORE
FALLOPPIO
The Italian anatomist Gabriele Falloppio, also known as Fallopius, after whom the Fallopian tube is... MORE
St GEORGE
St George replaced Edward the Confessor as patron saint of England in the 14th century.... MORE
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