Friday, March 28, 2008

Dr. Doches talks about Spermatozoa

Anton van Leeuwenhoek was made famous in the mid 1600's. He had a degree in geography, a successful business,and was interested in the magnifiers used by textile merchants. He knew a thing or two about lens and greatly improved on the design and co-created the 1st microscope.

Just imagine his thought processes.

He's read Robert Hook, who'd discovered cells (he named them after the rooms the monks lived in- cells) earlier that century. So he says to himself one fine day, "I bet I can make a better magnifier." And that's just what he did.

And I bet he was just like the students in my classroom when they learn how to use a microscope-

"Hey, I wonder what this looks like?" This being fingernails, torn paper, key edges, spit, rubber bands, string, bits of skin, tree bits, paper money, coins, pen tips, eyebrows, even boogers.

Anton discovered our microscopic world. Overnight, the world changed.

I wish I'd been there. A person went to bed with no notion of the microscopic world and woke up to find that there was a lot more in their world. Do you think there were people who didn't believe him?
He discovered protists, bacteria, the banded patterns of muscles, and my personal favorite Spermatozoa.

Yep, he discovered sperm. I wonder what went through his head
....haha- that's too funny.....
what went through his mind as he sat jerking off one night?

Wait. He was a Calvinist. Did they do that? Or did he take the sample from his wife? Or wipe the extra off his...

Oh, man, I can't say penis when talking about important scientific discoveries, and dick sounds waaaay to callus (There's a joke about calluses and masturbating, isn't there?)

Anyway, did you think he said to himself, "Hey, I wonder what this shit looks like"?

He first thought the sperm were parasitic worms, then realized they were important to reproduction. He thought later that preformed human embryos were stored in the sperm and that the egg provided a place for it to grow. Heh, guess he was trying to give the Man all the credit. Which I guess is what you get in a Patriarchal Society.

Don't really have a point to this post, it just cracks me up that he discovered sperm and I can't help thinking about what he was thinking...

4 comments:

Erica said...

Not to be funny or anything, but is it at all possible that he conducted a circle jerk with his closest male friends to see if they, too, had the little wormies swimming around in their spermies, so he could compare and contrast their jism from his under the microscope?

Isn't that part of the scientific method, to gather the necessary data, observe its similarities, differences, test theories, and...maybe he learned that his spunk wasn't the only one that had stuff swimming around in it.

Being a married man, I'm sure he took a swab or two of his mate's feminine moisture and stuck it under the microscope. But I'd be fascinated to know who discovered how the actual human seed planting and fertilization thing worked.

I really should have paid more attention when I was in school. Now I go to you & Elisson for science, Bou for math, and Eric for history.

Rosie said...

He-he. Yes, the funnier thing is how he went around to his buddies to get samples for determining if they were parasites or not.

"Yea, verily--go behindeth yon curtain and ye shall find woodcuts of saucy wenches. Here--taketh this cup."

Mrs. Who said...

Rosie: LOl!!

Anonymous said...

Holy crap, this is frickin' GREAT.