Rectal phenomena
Reading the article ‘Here’s sick in your eye’ [FT431:50] reminded me of a book entitled We Are Electric by Sally Adee. In this we read that Alexander von Humboldt inserted a silver wire connected to a galvanic pile into his rectum from which he experienced involuntary fæcal expulsions, abdominal cramps, and visual sensations. He then forced the wire in further and experienced a bright white light before his eyes (p. 61). Experimentation on criminals was allowed in 1803, so wires were placed in most parts of the bodies including the rectum in front of a packed audience (p. 49).
James Wilkins
Southampton, Hampshire
Chip wrapping
Mythchaser [FT433:27] suggested two popular answers as to why fish and chips no longer come wrapped in newspaper. Potential hazards from ink were one. I think there’s an implication that fish and chips used to come wrapped direct in newspaper. I can remember that, while back in the 1970s fish and chips were always wrapped in newspaper (how appalled were some of us when Styrofoam boxes appeared!), they were never wrapped directly in newspaper. Getting newspaper ink on your fingers was common back then, but no one thought that it was good for you and no one wanted it on their chips – so far as I can recall there was always a small paper bag for the chips and a square or two of light brown plain paper before the newspaper. However, I can’t vouch for anything before the 1970s.
• Good to see the review by Ted Harrison – his fiction book based on Elvis was a stonking read which I bought after it was reviewed in FT. And keep up the good work as they say. Still reading FT from cover to cover.
John Parkes
Leeds, West Yorkshire
Mundane origin?
Regarding the scorch marks on the door of St Mary’s Church in Blythburgh, Suffolk, said to have been made by “the Devil in dog form”, or alternatively to have been, by Hugh Roberts, Mary Montague and Barry Naylor (1999).
