Table of Contents
Frank B. Finite (a "true" atheist)
So-So Proofs of Intelligent Design
Primordial Soup for the Soulless
The Blind Fools Evolution Dictionary
The Blind Fools Guest Entry Log
Past Issues - Issues that ran before this
Linkage - Other sites that are way more
This Day in Evolution History
You may have heard the idea that the human embryo goes through various evolutionary stages, such as having gills like a fish, a tail like a monkey, etc., during the first few months that it develops in the womb.
This idea (called embryonic recapitulation) was vigorously infomercialized by Ernst Haeckel (a scientist) from the late 1860s to promote Darwin's theory (now fact) of evolution in Germany, even though Haeckel did not have evidence to support his views.
Ernst Haeckel
Lacking the evidence, Haeckel set out to spin the data. He fraudulently changed drawings made by other scientists of human and animal embryos, to increase the resemblance between them and to hide the dissimilarities, like this . . .
Haeckel's "tweeked" chart.
Haeckel's German peers were aware of this fraud and extracted a modest confession from him, in which he blamed the draftsman for blundering without acknowledging that he himself was the draftsman!
He also argued about the definition of the word, "is".
Actual embryonic stages
Anyway, all of this is historical water under the bridge of propoganda. However, not many people know about Ernst's older twin brother, Young. Young Haeckel had his own theory that he tried to pass off to the public before his brother tried with embryonic recapitulation with little success.
Young Haeckel
Young's theory was so, shall we say . . . "challenging" that he was pretty much laughed out of the scientific community. But not because it was a strange theory, but because the evolution elitists knew it couldn't be sold to the public.
The problem with this theory was that it was too easy for the non-scientist layperson to investigate and discover to not be true. All they had to do was dig up coffins and open them to see that the fictionalized process just didn't occur - much like an evolutionary process adding information to the genome - but I digress (actually progress - or whatever).
This theory was called "cadaverous decapitulation". It is somewhat like Young's younger brother's theory except that in this one the human body after death was supposed to regress through the various evolutionary stages therough the decomposition process.
Young claimed that the first decomposition stage was that of a monkey, then a lemur, then horse, sloth, poodle, duckbill platypus, mole rat, gecko, salamander, lobster, shrimp, fish, jelly fish, seaweed, coral, rock then sand.
But once people started digging up corpses and not seeing any of these changes, Young was stripped of his Evolution Elitist membership card and not welcome at any of the parties any more. Ernst, however, got his idea for embryonic recapitulation from his older brother's failed attempt.
Ernst's idea was successful because people weren't in the habit of opening up wombs to check for themselves. They had to rely on his drawings and accept it as fact based on his scientific authority.
However, as stated before, Ernst was found out to be a fraud. He was also eventually forced out of the scientific community. But in the mean time Young, in order to feed and clothe himself, had started a modest business. He would help businesses run their business in order to be a more profitable business.
Young took his brother on as a partner who really did well with his fraudulent chart making abilities. His business charts would say whatever he thought the people wanted to hear, thus getting the results he needed.
Soon Ernst became the senior partner and changed the business name from Y&E to Ernst & Young.
But on this day in 1877 Ernst sold the business away behind Young's back. He sold it to an old man he met on the road one day. The old man gave him some magic beans that supposedly would grow a frog.
Once the frog was grown, Ernst was to kiss it which in turn would transform it into a magic princess who would grant him three wishes. The old man showed him some convincing charts on how the whole process worked and Haeckel bought it hook line and sinker.
And the rest, as they say, is evolution history.
