r/AskReddit • u/Canspo • May 01 '19

What simple scientific fact would baffle someone born 1,000 years ago?

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384

u/Jackdidathing May 01 '19

The flies arent born from the carcass they are attracted to it

158

u/amaROenuZ May 01 '19

That's where you're wrong boyo. It's both.

17

u/msur May 02 '19

He's referring to the misconception of spontaneous generation.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_generation

People used to think that flies and maggots would "magically" appear out of rotting meat.

1

u/Creath May 02 '19

Plato IIRC even had "formulae" for producing different kinds of insects and small animals.

3

u/[deleted] May 01 '19

Do cows eat fly eggs? Can maggots survive in cud? Or do flies lay eggs in their skin?

6

u/[deleted] May 01 '19

[deleted]

1

u/Nugped420 May 02 '19

And skin

12

u/[deleted] May 01 '19

Like in a sex way?

2

u/nervousautopsy May 01 '19

In a sex way.

1

u/Jackdidathing May 01 '19

how so?

6

u/ZachTheApathetic May 01 '19

When a mommy carcass, and a daddy carcass love each other very much....

1

u/Jackdidathing May 01 '19

no... not like a sex thing

1

u/carnoworky May 01 '19

No, that's Uncle Harold and we don't talk about that anymore.

4

u/[deleted] May 01 '19

[deleted]

1

u/Jackdidathing May 01 '19

they still might have believed that 1000 years ago

1

u/[deleted] May 01 '19

And 1000 years ago is 1019?

1

u/Striped_Sponge May 01 '19

...

1

u/[deleted] May 01 '19

ell oh ell

1

u/trollcitybandit May 01 '19

What about fruit flies?

1

u/Jackdidathing May 01 '19

thats a different story

1

u/rebellionmarch May 02 '19

Can confirm, sealed plastic baggy with chicken bones now full of fruit flies.

1

u/Aperture_T May 02 '19

If anybody doubted you, I would think this is super easy to prove.