this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 8 points 23 hours ago
Olde Modern Count
Abortive, and Stillborn Abortion and Stillbirth 445
Affrighted Fear? Possibly a heart issue? 1
Ague Malaria, or a disease involving fever and shivering 43
Apoplex, and Meagrom Stroke and severe headache, migraine 17
Bit with a mad dog Rabies 1
Bleeding Blood loss 3
Bloody flux, scowring and flux Dysentery and cholera 348
Bruised, Issues, sores and ulcers Bruising, open sores, either as a symptom of something else (hemorrhagic fever) or because they got infected 28
Burnt, and Scalded Same 5
Burst, and Rupture Probably an externally visible rupture 9
Cancer and Wolf Cancer and Lupus 10
Canker Mouth sores, maybe from herpes? Probably not the underlying cause of death 1
Childbed Death following complications from childbirth 171
Chrisomes, and Infants Babies less than 1 month old and Infants 2268
Cold, and Cough Same (but probably a symptom of something worse) 55
Colick, Stone, and Strangury Gallstones, kidney stones, and other intestinal and urinary blockages 56
Consumption Tuberculosis 1797
Convulsion Seizure, possibly caused by epilepsy 241
Cut of the Stone Died during surgery to remove kidney / gallstones 5
Dead in the street, and starved Exposure, hypothermia, starvation 6
Dropsie, and Swelling Edema, fluid retention, possibly caused by heart failure 267
Drowned Same 34
Executed, and prest to death Executed is obvious, "prest to death" is accidental death while being tortured (via pressing) to force a confession 18
Falling sickness Epilepsy, perhaps "petit mal" seizures vs "grand mal" which went under Convulsion 7
Fever Same, interesting that it's distinct from Ague 1108
Fistula Same, horrific, distinct from childbed -- I guess the women lived a bit longer? 13
Flocks, and small Pox Smallpox and other diseases causing pustules 531
French pox Syphilis 12
Gangrene Same 5
Gout Gout, or inflammatory arthritis, not the underlying cause of death, but a clear symptom 4
Grief Modern medicine would be more specific but... 11
Jaundies Jaundice, liver disease 43
Jawfaln Fallen jaw, lockjaw, tetanus 8
Impostume Abcess, a symptom of an infection 74
Kil'd by several accidents Trauma, I assume 46
King's Evil Scrofula or Mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis 38
Lethargie Chronic fatigue, a symptom of something else 2
Livergrown Swollen liver, possibly cirrhosis from drinking 87
Lunatique Lunatic, mental illness -- curious about the actual cause of death though 5
Made away themselves Suicide 15
Measles Same 80
Murthered Murdered 7
Over-laid and starved at nurse A smothered baby, either accidentally or on purpose, starved from lack of milk 7
Palsie Paralysis, Parkinson's, similar things 25
Piles Hemorrhoids, not a cause of death, but a source of infections and an obvious symptom 1
Plague same 8
Planet Sudden death thought to be related to something astrological (planet alignment) 13
Pleurisie, and Spleen Pleurisy (chest infection), apparently it can sometimes be caused by damage to the spleen? 36
Purples and spotted Feaver Bruising and spotted fever (tick borne disease), distinct from bruising, listed earlier 38
Quinsie Quinsy, Peritonsillar abscess, can cause many other things 7
Rising of the Lights Fluid in the lungs, possibly caused by croup 98
Sciatica Same, possibly caused by spinal disc herniation 1
Scurvey, and Itch Ye Scurvy dogs! Ye been sailing with yer limes! 9
Suddenly um... 62
Surfet Surfeit, overeating, overdrinking, not fatal on its own, but perhaps blamed when it was the underlying reason 86
Swine Pox Possibly a euphemism for "French Pox"? 6
Teeth Probably children dying at an age when their permanent teeth were coming in. Similar to "Chrisomes" named for the cloth used when christening a child. Either that or serious tooth infections that led to complications. 470
Thrush, and Sore mouth Thrush (Candidiasis) could make it hard to eat or drink, or lead to other infections 40
Tympany Excess gas in the gastrointestinal tract making the belly like a drum, many potential underlying causes 13
Tissick A wasting disease, often associated with a cough 34
Vomiting Long term vomiting can cause dehydration, might also have been used for someone choking on vomit and dying from asphyxiation 1
Worms Ugh. 27
[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 4 points 22 hours ago

It's interesting how there's a hint of science here, but so much non-science.

Like, trying to categorize things is a bit scientific. Trying to distinguish between similar but different things is a bit scientific. At the same time, so many of these causes of death are symptoms not causes. And, there are too many cases where they didn't bother to try to find a cause, like the "Planet" cases or "Suddenly". Also, almost all of the deaths are in children / infants, but in those cases they don't try to figure out the cause of death, they just note the age.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 day ago

Probably speaking of lupus. The only reason that somehow makes any sense 🤔

[–] AbsoluteChicagoDog@lemm.ee 38 points 1 day ago (4 children)
[–] MadBob@feddit.nl 8 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Wolf is an old name for Lupus, which of course is Latin for wolf.

[–] pseudo@jlai.lu 2 points 1 day ago

It took me a will to figure out it was not a joke...

[–] Professorozone@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)
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[–] Machinist@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

The term I grew up with for botfly larva was wolves. Cancer was often diagnosed when the tumors erupted through the skin. The crab.

So, probably a bad death.

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[–] psion1369@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What is King's Evil and why did so many die from it?

[–] NutWrench@lemmy.world 35 points 2 days ago (4 children)

"Killed by several accidents."

lol.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Hah! Gonna take more'n ONE accident to kill me, you bastards!!!

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[–] qx128@lemmy.world 23 points 1 day ago (2 children)
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[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 7 points 1 day ago

This will make a useful crib sheet for reading the causes of death in the US next year under Health Tsar RFK Jnr .

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

"Over-laid" sounds like death by snu-snu.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 2 points 1 day ago

I volunteer!

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 28 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You guys are all laughing about 'planet,' but I'll have you know my uncle died of a cerebral hemorrhage when Neptune hit him on the back of the head. And we all thought it was just a glancing blow, but two days later, he dropped dead right in the middle of the supermarket.

You won't laugh so hard when it happens to someone you care about.

[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 16 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Imagine being proudly offed by Pluto and then they make it not a planet any more.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I never thought to combine deaths by cancer and by wolves to save space or because they’re similar enough. I can’t comprehend why they thought it was a good idea either.

[–] ryathal@sh.itjust.works 26 points 2 days ago

It wasn't cancer cancer, it was a big crab that lived in the Thames that hung out with a wolf.

[–] RotSteinFinke@feddit.org 8 points 1 day ago

Maybe they mean lupus? I think wolfes were already extinct in the 1600s on the British isles.

[–] flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz 59 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Kill'd by several accidents

When the universe is out to get you, but you survive the first accident

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[–] 2ugly2live@lemmy.world 28 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Spelling "Lunatic" as "Lunatique" now. Shout out to the poor folks that just died in the street and starved. Surprised it's only 6.

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[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Bit with a mad dog

This makes it seem like someone wielded the dog as a weapon

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[–] hactar42@lemmy.world 147 points 2 days ago (3 children)
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[–] enbyecho@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Lots of great ideas here!

[–] Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee 24 points 2 days ago (8 children)

I saw this list on hidden killers of the Tudor home (even though this list is post-Tudor era). The specifically spoke about the 'teeth' part.

Basically what that mean was that a variety of tooth decay and oral issues pertaining to the teeth. This was an era that first saw a large consumption of sugar (which as you know LOVES to fuck with teeth) by wealthier people and coupled with a nonexistent oral hygiene practice and dentistry. Basically people's teeth would decay and cause gum disease or simply a shitload of pain that even the painful teeth pulling couldn't fully fix.

One thing that you must remember is that prior to widespread sugar availability most people's teeth were remarkably fine throughout life as people's diets didn't contain enough crap that will mess your teeth up. Of course this isn't to say that it was perfect. Braces would have been a good thing to have for many people and a simple toothbrush with half decent toothpaste would have been a very welcomed thing.

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[–] Nougat@fedia.io 110 points 2 days ago (3 children)
[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 92 points 2 days ago (1 children)

“People called cancer the wolf, because it 'ate up' the person.” But this wasn't just a linguistic quirk. The idea was actually translated into practice. “Some doctors would even apply raw meat to a cancerous ulcer, so that the wolf could feast on that for a while instead of 'eating' the patient.

Source

[–] SuperIce@lemmy.world 51 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I could see how people 400 years ago could think that makes sense.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 54 points 2 days ago

"There are two wolves inside of you. I'm afraid it's terminal."

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[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 18 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (7 children)
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[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 43 points 2 days ago

So aggravating to not be able to sort by columns

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