Tycho Brahe, the genius Danish astronomer and wearer of metal noses, is being exhumed by scientists in Prague who want to know how he died.
The cause-of-death candidates are:
- exploding bladder
- murder by a sneaky Johannes Kepler
- Mad Hatter-style mercury poisoning
- assassination by the King of Denmark, who didn’t like Brahe sleeping with his mother
No wonder scientists are curious: the guy was a walking gossip column. Plus:
“Scientists also hope to determine what kind of metal Brahe’s [false nose] was made of — it was commonly believed to have been gold and
silver, but others suggested it might have contained copper.”
Amazing. Time to add Brahe to one of our favorite loops, Exhumation Celebration.