In 1840 Joseph Faber invented the Talking Machine known as
“Euphonia,” wich was able to speak sentences in a human if monotone voice (and it was able to sing "god save the queen) .
It
is a speech synthesizer. Faber studied language and human vocal anatomy in order to break them
down into parts and then reorganize them mechanically.
The Euphonia
operated by “By pumping air with the bellows and using different
combinations of 16 keys to manipulate a series of plates, chambers, and
other apparatus including an artificial tongue. If you havent yet, you should look up "automaton" on the internet , there are lots of videos too......
"Monster of Crackow", a child apperently born with a devilish face and tail, claws instead of hands , eyes on his stomach, and animal heads growing from his elbows, knees, and chest.
It reputedly died four hours after its birth, but not without warning,
"Watch, the Lord cometh."
By the time this monster was "born," Luther and Philipp Melanchthon had
published pamphlets about other monsters engendered by divine
displeasure with the papacy. Convictions that heretical beliefs were on the rise , likely played a role in the appearance of this beast.
The above photograph is the stomach contents of a psychiatric inpatient with pica.
The rare disoreder Pica is characterized by an appetite for substances largely non-nutritive, such as clay, chalk, dirt, or sand etc. Even nails as you can see or glass. Some
doctors believe the culprit may be a mineral deficiency. But for more information just read :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_%28disorder%29
Human teeth were in great demand for dentures during the Victorian
period. Teeth pulled from willing volunteers could not meet the demand.
A grislier source were bodies from European battlefields. Such teeth
were known as ‘Waterloo teeth’ for much of the 1800s. This denture also has
human teeth fixed into it. It was made for the lower jaw and is carved
from hippopotamus ivory. Ivory
was expensive and could only be afforded by the wealthy.
