140 years later, it took curious high schoolers to discover why wounds were glowing.
Angels’ Glow at The Battle Of Shiloh.
Fascinating story, with an even more fascinating morale to it.
Wars in the past are gruesome affairs.
Medicine was non-existent and our understanding of science and technology was still nascent.
The Battle of Shiloh was fought in southwestern Tennessee, in 1862.
Thousands of soldiers died and many were wounded.
When nightfall came, the noticed that their wounds were glowing under the moonlight.
It was a peculiar glow and observers named it “Angel’s Glow”.
Even stranger, the soldiers who had glowing wounds seemed to heal faster than others.
It was a phenomenon and no one could explain.
Everyone either thought it was just soldiers seeing things or that angels really exists.
It took 2 inquisitive high schoolers nearly 140 years later to discover what it was.
Bill Martin was a 17-year old high school student whose mum was a bacteriologist.
She was sharing about bioluminescent bacteria with Bill.
When Bill happen to visit the site of the Battle of Shiloh, he got curious and started piecing things together.
They researched and discovered that it was the Photorhabdus luminescens (P. luminescens) bacteria.
P. luminescens glows in the dark and basically eats some of the other bacteria that causes infections, hence making the soldiers heal faster.
It is amazing how curiosity can lead us to answers we would otherwise never have discovered.
Stay curious, always.
What I find surprisingly heart-warming is the fact that a 17-year old bothered to ask questions, look at patterns and engage in scientific enquiry with his mind.
He did what 99.99% of people would not.
Indulge his innate curiosity.
He probably got dissuaded or laughed at in the beginning.
But who’s laughing now?
If you look around, curiosity help create some of the best things in our lives.
The entire basis of science is about finding answers to mankind’s curiosity.
Some of the best inventions we have came from innovators who were feeding their curiosity.
Most successful founders are curious by nature.
Stay curious people.
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