Meh. Blondy wrote a song about that guy, heart of glass. Guess she never got to his brains. ------------- Max Charleston SC
On Thu, Jan 23, 2020 at 3:05 PM Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes < mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > Extremely off topic but nonetheless fascinating. Also macabre and > potentially upsetting for those with a delicate constitution. > > ITALYMount Vesuvius blast turned ancient victim's brain to glassPublished: > Thursday, January 23, 2020 > > The eruption of Mount Vesuvius turned an incinerated victim's brain > material into glass, the first time scientists have verified the phenomenon > from a volcanic blast, officials at the Herculaneum archaeology site said > today. > > Archaeologists rarely recover human brain tissue, and when they do it is > normally smooth and soapy in consistency, according to an article detailing > the discovery in *The New England Journal of Medicine*. The eruption of > Vesuvius in the year 79 instantly killed the inhabitants of Pompeii and > neighboring Herculaneum, burying an area 12 miles from the volcano in ash > in just a few hours. > > The remains of a man lying on a wooden bed were discovered at Herculaneum, > closer to Vesuvius than Pompeii, in the 1960s. He is believed to have been > the custodian of a place of worship, the Collegium Augustalium. > > A team led by Pier Paolo Petrone, a forensic anthropologist at the > University of Naples Federico II, determined that the victim's brain matter > had been vitrified, a process by which tissue is burned at a high heat and > turned into glass, according to the study. The fragments presented as > shards of shiny black material spotted within remnants of the victim's > skull. > > A study of the charred wood nearby indicates a maximum temperature of 968 > degrees Fahrenheit. > > "This suggests that extreme radiant heat was able to ignite body fat and > vaporize soft tissue," the study said. > > The resulting solidified spongy mass found in the victim's chest bones is > also unique among other archaeological sites and can be compared with > victims of more recent historic events like the firebombing of Dresden and > Hamburg in World War II, the article said. > > The flash of extreme heat was followed by a rapid drop in temperatures, > which vitrified the brain material, the authors said. > > "This is the first time ever that vitrified human brain remains have been > discovered resulting from heat produced by an eruption," Herculaneum > officials said. *— Associated Press* > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
