Bacon’s fatal experiment
Stories from Physics
for 11-14
14-16
A story reported to John Aubery by Thomas Hobbes claims that Francis Bacon died whilst carrying out research on the preservation of food. According to the story, Bacon, on seeing some snow on the ground, got the idea that it could be used to preserve meat, in a similar way to salt. He bought a hen, removed its viscera and stuffed it with snow. It is reported that the exposure caused him to fall ill and he died a few days later.
References
Bacon’s fatal experiment
T. von Malssem, The Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon: On the Unity of Knowledge, Albany, NY, State University of New York Press, 2015, p. 242
