90 Miles From Tyranny

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Lake George Florida

Traversing Florida's second largest lake

Bizarre Scientific Experiments

Candy For Mental Patients

In 1945, Sweden's new National Dental Service commissioned research, now known as the Vipeholm experiments, in which researchers gave subjects large amounts of sticky sugary candy in order to study the development of cavities. This might not have been so controversial, except that the subjects couldn't give consent to their participation:

"The use of mentally handicapped subjects was criticized in the Swedish press and all studies on mentally handicapped individuals were stopped in 1954," according to Topics In Dental Biochemistry by Mark Levine (Springer, 2010).

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Bizarre Scientific Experiments

Food Through A Hole In The Stomach

U.S. Army Surgeon William Beaumont (above) found an extraordinary patient in Alexis St. Martin, a Canadian trapper who was injured in a hunting accident and left with a hole in his belly that led directly into his stomach. Beaumont attached a string to various foods, including oysters and rare roast beef, and introduced them into the wound to observe the rates of digestion.

Despite the unorthodox techniques, this research would later lead to the discovery of the importance of stomach acid in digestion, earning Beaumont the epithet "father of gastric physiology."

Source: Experiments and observations on the gastric juice, and the physiology of digestion. Beaumont, Martin and Combe. Maclachlan & Stewart, 1838

A feast with fresh caught fish

Craaazy State Laws

A day on a river.

Well the bass fishing is not going so well. However we catch a lot of blue gill which we set upon the grill last night. Nice tasting fish. We kayaked up a fresh water spring also with crystal clear water. At the source is pure aqua marine colored water coming up enough to create a current. We snorkeled down in to the hole that the spring comes from. Big fish all around. The water is cold and refreshing. 72 degrees all year round too cold for alligators and water mocassins, perfect for swimming and outdoor fun. Our houseboat is seemingly running low on water so we are considering pumping in fresh water from the spring. Not sure how we are low as we bathe in the springs and are using little water. We feast every night swim fish and frolic by day. This is a kings life.

Data and Internet is almost non existent. Even cell coverage is often at zero. iPhone blogging is my only option. With send and hope coverage.

From the wilderness with most of the comforts of home.