I'm prepared to look silly this time. But here goes. Our bodies are made up of atoms. We discard atoms all the time through breathing,coughing, spitting, going to the bathroom, dripping blood, etc. Other people take in some of them through breathing, eating, etc. If this is true, isn't it possible that some of us have the atoms in our bodies of some very famous people of the past?

While I am certainly not a science guy, I think I can safely say that of course we have, or had at one point, just as some of the water we drink has traveled through various animals. I really don't like to dwell on the concept, however.
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08-18-05, 08:58 PM
Sherasi
Well, if you REALLY want to be technical, there has been no "new" stuff (also known as molecules) since the creation of the universe... it is all recycled material. Smile

08-18-05, 09:05 PM
Professor
Absolutely. The calculations have been done and appeared in print a number of times, though I don't have any links or references at the moment.

Every time you take a breath of air, for instance, you're taking in many atoms of nitrogen and oxygen that have passed through the lungs of Jesus Christ, Julius Caesar, etc., etc. -- not just famous people but indeed everyone who ever lived. It's a virtual statistical certainty.

Given that one atom of a particular element is fundamentally indistinguishable from another (except for their quantum states that are forever changing back and forth), I don't regard it as an especially interesting or remarkable notion. Atoms don't come with unique serial numbers or fingerprints. Smile

And to echo Sherasi: in the words of Carl Sagan, we are all made of "star stuff."

08-18-05, 09:12 PM
DorianGreyed
"And to echo Sherasi: in the words of Carl Sagan, we are all made of "star stuff." "

Also dinosaur droppings, don't forget. Big Grin

08-18-05, 09:36 PM
edgeview
Thanks everyone, I am pleased that last nights pondering was positive. Tonight I will ponder how I can bring about world peace. Might take two nights.

08-19-05, 12:01 AM
Professor
Back with a couple of links. For some reason, Julius Caesar is a popular guy in these calculations:

Wherever you are on Earth, right now, at this very moment, your own lungs contain 10,000,000,000 of the very same molecules that were in/exhaled by Julius Caesar!

There is a 98.2% chance that at least one of the molecules in your lungs came from Caesar's last breath. (From John Allen Paulos's Innumeracy)

08-19-05, 12:09 AM
DorianGreyed
No wonder Perry White said "Great Caesar's ghost!"

08-20-05, 01:32 PM
Professor
I dined out last night and said, "Great Caeser's salad." Oh-oh, another non-sequitur. I mistook this for the Cesarean section. DG, do all discussion threads eventually degenerate into punfests -- or only the good ones?

08-20-05, 02:50 PM
DorianGreyed
Only the good ones.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,

quote:

Originally posted by Professor:
DG, do all discuussion threads eventually degenerate into punfests -- or only the good ones?

No, only the ones that DG joins in on and takes