Thread by @AdamRutherford

Right then chums, as well as a new series of Rutherford and @FryRsquared on Radio 4, we also have a new book out this week, crammed full of stories, about how humans invented science to bypass our natural physical and psychological limits. 🧵bit.ly/3oLa82Q

Here’s a quickie: we talk about confirmation bias – my own that I always look at the clock at 11.38, and @FryRsquared that she has a magic orchid that reflects her successes and failures, like in E.T. ‘There’s a sucker born every minute’ as PT Barnum once said.

@FryRsquared EXCEPT he never said it at all. In upstate New York farm, in 1869, the petrified body of a 10-foot-tall fossilised remains of an ancient Native American were discovered and soon became a huge scientific and tourist attraction.

@FryRsquared It was actually a rather rubbish statue buried there by the farm owner’s cousin, who sold the figure to a syndicate of businessmen led by David Hummum for the princely sum of $23,000. They took the giant on a touring show all around New York state.

@FryRsquared Enter P. T. Barnum! (NB: not as handsome as @RealHughJackman) Never one to miss out on a big scam, he offered Hummum $50,000 for the Cardiff Giant. Hummum said no.

So what did Barnum do?

He made one of his own. A Barnum lackey secretly took some measurements and carved a mini-model out of wax to make a full replica, which he then displayed in a museum in New York, raking in the cash from even more gullible punters who believed it was the real fake.

On hearing that his scam had been scammed, it was David Hummum who uttered the immortal line:

‘There’s a sucker born every minute.’

Anyway. One more thing. PT Barnum also made a wodge of cash displaying the legendary feejee mermaid. Not Ariel or a clam-bra beauty. Good god, no. A desiccated monkey sewn onto a fish. This by the brilliant @theAliceRoberts - she illustrated our book - is what it looked like.

That, and so much else is all in Rutherford and @FryRsquared's Complete Guide To Absolutely Everything (Abridged). Two things will happen if you don't buy it: 1) Hannah will be sad, and 2) You won't own this AMAZING BOOK.
amzn.to/3oJyvh3