Bacteria in Daily Life

coolsparks

What a splendid surprise!!! …………………………….The author is a lady named Grace Coleridge Frankland, and she is married to a noted and cutting-edge analytical chemist in Britain at the time of the book’s writing, between 1896 and 1902, as is mentioned in the book’s introductory message……………………………………So this lady is married to a noted analytical chemist. Out of curiosity, I looked him up on Wikipedia to see how his fame has fared over the last 100+ years……. Indeed, Percy Frankland has an entry, and his middle name is “Faraday”, which tickled my brain because of its general familiarity to me from its association with breakthroughs in the world of science. A cool nugget: even from birth, this guy was from a family so steeped in scientific curiosity that THE Michael Faraday was actually a close friend of his parents. So close, in fact, that Mr. Faraday was Mr. Percy Frankland’s godfather, for heaven’s sake, and the little fellow was given the middle name of “Faraday” in honor of that godfather………. ……..Well, there is such excitement in the author’s laying out what she understands about ‘Bacteria in Daily Life’. It’s written to be comprehended by an average person like me, yet no ‘dumbing down’ was detectable to me in its delivery………..She must be in her middle age by the turn of the century, as she recollects names of people as LIVING (or recently living) who have become immortal legends to us by now. That’s immediacy for sure! (One person I remember hearing a whole lot about was Louis Pasteur.) ……… As the book unfolded, I saw how interconnected were the researchers of the world’s science community. Germany and France, Italy and Russia. Long ago, I remember learning of what studies were utterly indispensable to any person who was formally educated hearing. Any such person who was formally educated would need to have studied Greek and Latin well enough to read and write it. In a parallel way, back at the beginning of the last century, doctors (and other educated men) had the same need to read, speak, and write in foreign languages, such as French and German, lest they miss out on the latest cutting-edge research being published in academic journals at universities around the world. ………………………………………………Back to the main subject- BACTERIA! are centerstage. First off, I felt the author’s awe about how prevalent bacteria are. And how curious we are about them! Remember how cool it was to see little creatures through a microscope for the first time? You wonder if you could keep some alive, if you could figure out how to take care of them and find out if they had any unsavory habits, any amazing powers. Well, if you’re someone like Pasteur, you’re trying to help people who have been bitten by rabid dogs…. or who are farmers who have lots of sheep and cattle that are suddenly dropping like flies… or are contending with anthrax and diphtheria, cholera and the plague……………………………….So you start shifting from “What is that?” and “What are they doing?”….to the OTHER end of what motivates people to do research, “What happened and Why?” and “How can we make it STOP?”………… so the author starts with “WHERE are they?” Air? Water? Hot places? Cold places? Dark places, Sunny places? In Wet conditions? Dry ones?……. How long can they live without_______?(fill in the blank). ………..This has been an eye-opener for the history of public health through the ages. This work is a gem! Thanks to all of you who are making such works accessible. ……..(P.S. Florence Nightingale had a lot of observations about the sensible design of human dwellings and basic sensible practices that promote good health and allow for steady recovery (if any recovery at all) from accident or illness. This author says so much that resonates with the observations of Miss Nightingale, a soul who made a difference. …… Along those lines, the author sees aspects of various bacterial abilities that give her pause, and with hindsight, we know ways in which just such things have run amok in the years since she was alive. …..Another recollection of a way in which I found this book a goldmine for reflection….the author unwittingly allows us a glimpse of how ubiquitous and commonplace was 1) devastating, random illness and 2) episodes of sudden sweeping death through random communities of living things. …. I kept thinking, she has no idea what’s coming… for the worse (the Spanish flu epidemic and World War 1….) for the better…. Penicillin, polio vaccine. ………………..Again, thank you for making it possible for me to bump into such a lovely surprise!