Quote:
Originally Posted by Amnorix
December 6
1768. The first edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica is published.
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The first edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica was published in 1768 and included some odd entries, even describing monsters as a human species. The editors of British newspaper The Daily Telegraph share some of the weirdness.
Humans and monsters
Homo sapiens were sub divided into five varieties: the American, the European, the Asiatic, the African and the monstrous.
Medicine
Cures for flatulence included drinking chamomile tea and blowing smoke from a pipe ‘through the anus.’
Chocolate
Chocolate was prohibited to be imported but may be made at home for private use ‘upon three days notice given to the officer of excise, and provided no less than half an hundred weight be made at one time.’
Petrol
Petroleum was used as an ointment to treat pains of the limbs, and to try and cure paralysis. (No cars in those days yet.)
Solar system
The solar system was described as having six planets. (Uranus was discovered in 1781 and Neptune in 1846.)
California
The US state of Callifornia was spelt with two ‘L’s’ and is described as ‘a large country of the West Indies. Unknown whether it is an island or a peninsula.’