Posted on 06/07/2016 9:19:00 AM PDT by TroutStalker
"Let me tell you the story."
Kenneth Catania, a biologist at Vanderbilt University, takes a breath. He hasn't known this tale long, but it's quickly become one of his favorites.
Alexander von Humboldt, a famous German scientist, was on an expedition to document the geography and ecology of South America. He traveled for the better part of five years, debunking myths about mystical lakes, observing celestial events, naming new creatures, and investigating questions large and small. He once spent three whole months studying bird feces.
"And one part of his quest was to get eels to do experiments on electricity," Catania said, "since people were very excited about electricity at the time, but they didn't understand the nature of it." (You might recall a certain Founding Father flying a kite in a storm for the same reason.)
Eventually, Humboldt arrived at a village by a muddy stream in the Amazon rainforest, where locals said they could catch him an electric eel.
"They told him, 'We'll fish with horses,' " Catania recounted. Illustrations from the time show fishermen herding dozens of horses into a shallow pool while eels leap at the big mammals' throats, delivering a massive shock with each strike. The spectacle allegedly sapped the eels of their electricity, allowing Humboldt to wade in and catch one to take home.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
My hovercraft is full of them.
I will not buy this record; it is scratched.
“Drop your panties, Sir William, I cannot wait until lunchtime.”
...about a man name Jed.
Poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed
Then one day he was shootin’ at some food
Up from the ground came a bubblin’ crude!
Leaping electric eels
Nothing, I just like saying it.
Leaping electric eels
Shrieking eels are pretty bad too.
“Shrieking eels are pretty bad too.”
______________
Made me laugh, but I gotta know. Is there such a thing?
See them here..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGcat9tGZVU
(/rimshot)And that's how the Humboldt Current was discovered!
Rim Shot
Click the Pic
Thanks for the links. How could I have missed the shrieking eels? I did notice, however, that the little bald guy had the exact voice of the rabbi in Seinfeld, the one who almost undid George’s engagement with his parable on his TV show.
Little bald guy uses the word “inconceivable” a lot.
“Let me tell you the story.”
It’s an electrifying story. I was shocked at how they used the horses. I’m sure there were a lot of eels to p”eel” off of them.
;’D
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