June 9, 2015

"Teenage American Civil War buff Bill Martin was fascinated by a legend of soldiers at the battle of Shiloh whose wounds glowed an eerie blue-green at night..."

"... and who subsequently had better recoveries, a phenomenon dubbed 'the angel's glow.' He knew from his microbiologist mom's work that some soil bacteria were bioluminescent, and wondered if there could be a connection. Turns out, yes there probably was!"

5 comments:

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

I guess cold enough for the beasties, but warm enough for the humans, is what Goldilocks would have called just right.

campy said...

The story would be better if the kid had a more diverse-sounding name. "Bill Martin"? Might as well be Whitey McWhitebread.

Skeptical Voter said...

If there was ever any illusion that the Civil War would not be a hard fought and vicious one, Shiloh killed the illusion. Grant and W. T. Sherman started making their reputations there.

Dr.D said...

That is a fascinating story, probably the most interesting thing Althouse has put up in a long, long time. Thank you.

Alex said...

Shiloh was a meat grinder that convinced everyone it was going to be a hell of a war.