Old Sailors' Almanac - Week 06, 2021 (Fluid Design based on percentage of screen platform

Americans secure Guadalcanal on February 08, 1943

Americans secure Guadalcanal: On this day February 8, 1943, Japanese troops evacuate Guadalcanal, leaving the island in Allied possession after a prolonged campaign. The American victory paved the way for other Allied wins in the Solomon Islands.

Guadalcanal is the largest of the Solomons, a group of 992 islands and atolls, 347 of which are inhabited, in the South Pacific Ocean. The Solomons, which are located northeast of Australia and have 87 indigenous languages, were discovered in 1568 by the Spanish navigator Alvaro de Mendana de Neyra (1541-95). In 1893, the British annexed Guadalcanal, along with the other central and southern Solomons. The Germans took control of the northern Solomons in 1885, but transferred these islands, except for Bougainville and Buka (which eventually went to the Australians) to the British in 1900.

The Japanese invaded the Solomons in 1942 during World War II and began building a strategic airfield on Guadalcanal. On August 7 of that year, U.S. Marines landed on the island, signaling the Allies’ first major offensive against Japanese-held positions in the Pacific. The Japanese responded quickly with sea and air attacks. A series of bloody battles ensued in the debilitating tropical heat as Marines sparred with Japanese troops on land, while in the waters surrounding Guadalcanal, the U.S. Navy fought six major engagements with the Japanese between August 24 and November 30. In mid-November 1942, the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, died together when the Japanese sank their ship, the USS Juneau.

Both sides suffered heavy losses of men, warships and planes in the battle for Guadalcanal. An estimated 1,600 U.S. troops were killed, over 4,000 were wounded and several thousand more died from disease. The Japanese lost 24,000 soldiers. On December 31, 1942, Emperor Hirohito told Japanese troops they could withdraw from the area; the Americans secured Guadalcanal about five weeks later.

The Solomons gained their independence from Britain in 1978. In the late 1990s, fighting broke out between rival ethnic groups on Guadalcanal and continued until an Australian-led international peacekeeping mission restored order in 2003. Today, with a population of over half a million people, the Solomons are known as a scuba diver and fisherman’s paradise.

History Channel / Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / New World Encyclopedia.org / NAVY.mil / ARMY.mil / National WWII Museum.org / The Strategy Bridge.org / The Atlantic / Americans secure Guadalcanal on February 08, 1943 (YouTube)

This Day in History February 08

• 1238 Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.

• 1587 Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

• 1693 College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II.

• 1807 Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Eylau: Russians under Bennigsen and the Prussians under L'Estocq concede to Napoleon.

• 1865 Delaware refuses to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlawing slavery. Delaware ratified the Thirteenth Amendment on February 12, 1901.

• 1910 Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce

• 1915 D. W. Griffith's controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.

• 1922 United States President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio set in the White House.

• 1924 Capital punishment: Gee Jon becomes the first state execution in the United States by gas chamber in Nevada.

• 1942 World War II: Battle of Singapore: Japan invades Singapore.

• 1942 World War II: Dutch Colonial Army burns Banjarmasin, South Borneo to avoid Japanese capture.

• 1945 World War II: Mikhail Devyatayev escapes with nine other Soviet inmates from a Nazi concentration camp in Peenemünde on the island of Usedom by hijacking the camp commandant's Heinkel He 111.

• 1950 Cold War: The Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, is established.

• 1971 NASDAQ stock market index opens for the first time.

Wikipedia.org

Understanding Military Terminology

Precipitation Static

(DOD) Charged precipitation particles that strike antennas and gradually charge the antenna, which ultimately discharges across the insulator, causing a burst of static.

Also called P-STATIC.

Joint Publications (JP 3-13.1) Electronic Warfare

Precise Time and Time Interval

A reference value of time and time interval (frequency).

Joint Publications (JP 3-59) Meteorological and Oceanographic Operations

Precision-guided Munition

A guided weapon intended to destroy a point target and minimize collateral damage.

Also called PGM, Smart Weapon, Smart Munition.

Joint Publications (JP 3-03) Joint Interdiction

Joint Publication - Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

The Old Salt’s Corner

“Tales of Legendary Ghost Ships”

Legend of the SS Valencia

The most famous ghost ship of the maritime coast of Nova Scotia, hails from Lunenburg County is said to appear in the waters between Mahone Bay and Chester. The Teaser, or the Teaser Light as some locals call it, is the spectre of a burning ship. The Teaser was a typical sailing schooner of the 1800s, employed as a privateer. A privateer is a licensed pirate ship that stalked the waters around Mahone Bay during the War of 1812. Using the Bay’s many coves and islands as cover, the ship would prey upon unarmed British merchant ships, taking them back to Boston to be sold for prize money.

It was common practice among countries to allow privateers in times of war to attack enemy merchant ships and claim any loot they found. This was a big help because it robbed the enemy of needed supplies. It also gave naval ships more time to fight battles. Privateering was a very dangerous way to make a living, but many ship owners participated for it was a quick way to make a fortune. During the War of 1812 many American privateers chased down British ships along the southeastern coast of Nova Scotia, just as did the American own schooner Teazer.

In June of 1813 one of these American privateers, the Young Teazer, became the hunted instead of the hunter. On June 27th the HMS Hogue encountered the Young Teazer and forced her into Halifax Harbour (spelled: Harbor in U.S.) but the Young Teazer managed to escape. A few days later the frigate HMS Orpheus chased the Teazer into Luneburg Harbour. But the Orpheus lost her near Mahone Bay due to light winds. The chase lasted all day, with the Young Teaser desperately searching for a place to hide or escape. She was shelled by the battery at Lunenburg, and eventually made her way into the mouth of Chester Harbour where she ran aground near Quaker Island.

The Hogue then picked up the chase again, after 18 hours she was able to trap the Young Teazer in Mahone Bay. The Hogue began to fire upon the Teazer viciously. Soon the Orpheus joined in.

That evening the Hogue readied five boats to board the Teazer. Meanwhile, Captain Dobson on board the Young Teazer discussed plans to defend his privateer with his 38-man crew. Lieutenant Johnson known for erratic behavior on previous cruises, argued with the captain and then disappeared below. The schooner exploded a few minutes later.

Johnson, who was a British deserter, knew that once his identity was discovered he would be hanged. In desperation he threw a lit torch into the ship’s supply of gunpowder blowing the Teazer to smithereens.

Only eight of the ship’s 36-man crew survived, and most were horribly maimed. A few of the Teazer’s men who survived the explosion were badly burned. They were found by local residents clinging to the burning spars and bow of the shattered hull of the schooner. Approximately, 30 of the Teazer crew died. The local militias secured the survivors including the captain and were sent to Melville Island prisoner war camp in Halifax.

Some of the men who died were buried in St. Stephen’s cemetery in Chester in unmarked graves.

Almost a year later to the day the ghost ship Teazer was first seen near Chester in Mahone Bay. This was only the beginning of many appearances. Hundreds have seen a burning ship out on the bay. Many state this ship just appears out of nowhere. Some report seeing this burning ship head right for them. Terrified, they felt it was about to run them down– only to see it vanish at the last second. Sometimes this ship passes so close to the shore witnesses on the beach can even make out seamen up in its riggings. They have even stated they heard the tortured cries of the men who were trying to escape this flaming ghost ship.

The Young Teazer is most often seen near the anniversary of when it exploded and in the exact spot where it exploded Once seen the firey ship vanishes into thin air!

When the moon is nearly full and a fog blows in from offshore, residents claim that a ghostly Teaser replays her last voyage across Mahone Bay over and over again…

Sadly there aren’t as many sightings in recent years. A possible reason for this being the encroachment of civilization—lights from homes, marinas etc. making it much harder to see out over the bay. Others claim that they have debunked these sightings. They state that when a bank of fog covers the moon as it raises over the horizon it causes the illusion of a ship on fire.

The number of the crewmembers and how many were killed in the explosion are not known so approximate numbers are given.

Some of the wreckage salvaged was used for building materials. One store near Mahone Bay was built from this salvaged wood. Other materials where turned into souvenirs. A piece of the keel was used to build a cross—the same cross that stands inside the St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in Chester today. Another fragment of the scotched oak wood keel is displayed at the Maritime Museum of the Atlanta in Halifax.

Home Earth

“I’m Just Sayin”

“Reason obeys itself;

let it be in my day,

and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.”

“I prefer peace.

But if trouble must come,

let it come in my time,

so that my children can live in peace.”

“If there must be trouble,

let it be in my day,

that my child may have peace.”

~ Thomas Paine

“Thought for the Day”

“Always take hold of things by the smooth handle.”

“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”

“Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices,

a rottenness begins in his conduct.”

“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.

but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation,

and freedom in all just pursuits.”

“Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself.

Can he, then be trusted with the government of others?

Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him?

Let history answer this question.”

~ Thomas Jefferson

“What I Learned”

“In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

~ Anonymous

Second Hand News: Articles from Week 06 - February 08, 2021 - February 14, 2021

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo aide admits office hid coronavirus nursing home deaths out of fear of political retribution • Trumpism on trial: Impeachment Day 3 highlights • White House bets on counterprogramming Trump impeachment

Romney running, Pence evacuated: What you may have missed on impeachment Day 2 • Grand jury declines to indict two Buffalo officers who pushed elderly protester • Amazon link to Uighur crackdown could draw Bezos into clash with Biden

World Health Organization (WHO) chief: Wuhan lab leak theory needs further studyl • Biden withdraws Trump rule on schools disclosing ties to Chinese state-run Confucius Institutes • Democrat House impeachment manager Eric Swalwell returns to spotlight in impeachment trial following Chinese spy scandal

MOST READ: Biden administration sitting on $1 trillion in unspent COVID-19 relief funds • Biden withdraws Trump rule on schools disclosing ties to Chinese state-run Confucius Institutes

Nurses advised to swap words such as 'breast milk' for the more inclusive 'human milk' • Biden, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen brush aside inflation warnings Washington Examiner

Biden Administration Flip-Flops On School Reopening Goal After Flak For Anti-Science ‘One Day A Week’ Plan • This Impeachment Of Donald John Trump Is Trial By Feelings • CDC: Don’t Quarantine If You’re Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19

De Blasio Is Right; It’s Time To Cancel Cuomo’s Emergency Powers • Gina Carano And Costar Both Made Nazi Analogies. Hers Was Better, And She Got Fired • Podcast: Gamestop, Conspiracy Theories, And Social Alienation

MOST READ: Biden Considering Stronger Travel Restrictions On Red States Than On Mexico • FIVE Times Joe Biden Openly Urged Violence Against Political Opponents • White House Supports Mavericks Scrapping The National Anthem Because America Fails ‘Often’ • The War On Women’s Sports: Wisconsin Man Wins Women’s Cycling Race

Bombshell Report Reveals Mounting Evidence That China Concealed COVID-19 In October 2019 • Twitter Goes After James O’Keefe And Project Veritas For Exposing Facebook Censorship • San Francisco Schools Chief On Erasing Abraham Lincoln: He ‘Is Not Someone I See As A Hero’ • Africans Plead With Joe Biden To Stop Paying Their Countries To Kill Children The Federalist

CORRUPTION CHRONICLES: The Sham Impeachment & The Attack on Free Speech • IPublic University Prof. Charged with Stealing $1.75 Million in U.S.-Funded Research for China

“Investigating the Investigators:” Judicial Watch Continues Pursuit of Biden’s Hidden Senate Records • INCITEMENT Reminder: Schumer Threatened SCOTUS Justices, Which is a Crime! Justice Department and Senate did NOTHING!

BROKEN PROMISE: Hunter Biden Still Involved In Chinese Firm

What is Biden “Hiden”? Judicial Watch

On CNN’s Prime Time, host Chris “Fredo” Cuomo: CNN Conceals Corrupt New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Cover-Up of Nursing Home Deaths from Justice Department • MSNBC’s “Joyless” Reid, Guest: Republicans Are ‘Radicalized’ ‘Terrorist Cell’ That ‘Champions’ Violence • New York Times Seeks to Blame Anger-Stoking 'Right-Wing Radio' for Capitol Riot

Networks Skip Revelation Cuomo Sent 9,000 COVID Patients into Nursing Homes • Twitter War: Twitter BANS Project Veritas, Restricts Founder O’Keefe • CRINGY CBS Tony Dokoupil Cheers Porn King Flynt: At Ten, Hustler Mag “Changed My Life Forever!”

Fail: MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Tries to School Ted Cruz, Falls Flat on Face Instead

The hole in the Democratic charge: President Of The United States is not a king to command any citizen in any fashion.
Impeachment opens with Democratic-edited video.
Why do the narrow majority Democrats press extreme partisan outcomes?

Who believes the WHO in Wuhan, China?
State of the City, the State, the Union: Will President Biden reverse the cancellation of the critical Keystone XL pipeline?
Zuckerberg/Facebook/Groups fail.

Trump trade deal with the Communist China falls short.
Trump Trade Deal with the Communist China falls short & What is to be done?
Tibet is the model for the Uyghur concentration camps for Communist China.
Gathering storm to boycott or move the Beijing Winter Olympics.    John Batchelor (02/06/2021)

Mr. Answer Man Please Tell Us: What Is the Insurrection Act?

Thomas Jefferson Signed the Insurrection Act in 1807 to Foil a Plot by Aaron Burr

With his political career in ruins after killing Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr set off to claim lands in the Southwest—and President Jefferson intended to stop him.

The Insurrection Act gives U.S. presidents the authority to deploy active duty military to maintain or restore peace in times of crisis. The Insurrection Act was invoked numerous times in the 20th century, most famously when Dwight D. Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the desegregation of public schools in Little Rock, Arkansas.

But the origins of the Insurrection Act date back more than 200 years to a bizarre chapter in American history - when Aaron Burr plotted to raise an army and establish his own dynasty in either the Louisiana Territory or Mexico.

Burr, a decorated Revolutionary War officer and senator from New York, served as vice president during Thomas Jefferson’s first term. Burr had grand political aspirations, but they were dashed after he killed his rival Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804.

After Duel With Hamilton, Burr Sets Sights on Louisiana

Even though dueling was illegal, Burr was never arrested or tried for Hamilton’s murder, but it effectively ended Burr’s political career. With no prospects in Washington, D.C. or New York, Burr set his sights on the West, namely the newly acquired Louisiana Territory and Mexican-owned lands in the Southwest.

The details of Burr’s plot were never clear, but it involved mustering an army to invade Mexico under the pretense of a war with Spain, and then keeping the conquered land for himself. Burr thought he had an ally in General James Wilkenson, commander of the U.S. Army and first governor of the Louisiana Territory, but when rumors of Burr’s plot leaked into the newspapers, Wilkenson turned on his co-conspirator.

In a letter sent on October 21, 1806, Wilkenson spilled the details of the plot to Jefferson without mentioning Burr by name. But Jefferson had already grown concerned enough about Burr’s strange activities that Jefferson had sent his own letter to Secretary of State James Madison asking if the Constitution granted him authority to deploy the army to stop a rebellion.

In his reply, Madison said no.

“It does not appear that regular Troops can be employed, under any legal provision agst. insurrections”, wrote Madison, “but only agst. expeditions having foreign Countries for the object.”

Both Jefferson and Madison were strict interpreters of the Constitution and wouldn’t dare exercise authority that wasn’t explicitly written in the founding document, so they needed to convince Congress to give Jefferson that power. And to do that, they first needed proof of Burr’s conspiracy. That’s where Wilkenson’s letter comes in.

“Jefferson was looking for a legitimate source of authority on Burr’s plot and he was willing to believe Wilkenson, even though historians suggest that Jefferson knew darn well that Wilkenson was a liar with his own suspect reputation”, says John Fea, a history professor at Messiah College. “But Jefferson needed a source to move the gears to try to stop Burr, who was his biggest fear.”

Jefferson Orders Burr's Capture

Armed with Wilkenson’s “proof”, Jefferson issued a proclamation on November 27, 1806 that laid out the plot and enjoined all military officers, both state and federal, to

“to be vigilant… in searching out and bringing to condign punishment all persons engaged or concerned in such enterprise, in seizing and detaining, subject to the disposition of the law, all vessels, arms, military stores, or other means provided or providing for the same, and, in general, in preventing the carrying on such expedition or enterprise by all lawful means within their power.”

“Jefferson essentially puts a bounty on Burr’s head”, says Fea, and within weeks, an Ohio militia seized boats belonging to Burr’s ragtag army and raided a private island on the Ohio River that served as a military encampment.

But Burr evaded capture and rumors continued to swirl that he was recruiting soldiers en route to the Louisiana Territory and soliciting help from Britain to establish his spinoff nation in the West. Jefferson still refused to deploy the standing U.S. Army to track down Burr and quash the rebellion once and for all, a reticence that was mocked by his political enemies, the Federalists.

“Jefferson, to his credit, says I’m not going to act unless the Constitution says I can act”, says Fea. “The Federalists take a much broader view of the Constitution. If the Constitution doesn’t outright condemn it, then it’s OK.”

Jefferson stuck to his principles and in December of 1806 asked Congress to pass a bill “authorising the emploiment of the land or Naval forces of the U.S. in cases of insurrection.” This legislation, known as the Insurrection Act, would take another three months to become law. When it was finally signed on March 3, 1807, Aaron Burr had already been in custody for 11 days.

So while the Insurrection Act was written expressly to foil Burr’s plot, it wasn’t used to capture him. The very first time the Insurrection Act was actually invoked was a year later in 1808, when American merchant ships in the Great Lakes flouted Jefferson’s trade embargo with the British. In response, Jefferson accused the rogue traders of “forming insurrections against the authority of the laws of the United States” and authorized the military to take action.

When Has the Insurrection Act Been Invoked?

Since 1807, the Insurrection Act has been amended several times to meet different political challenges.

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln expanded the law to form the legal basis for waging the American Civil War. Without it, he wouldn’t have had the authority to send federal troops into a state without the governor’s permission.

After the Civil War, the Insurrection Act was further amended to give the president authority to enforce the 14th Amendment and the conditions of Reconstruction in the South. That authority is now found in Section 253 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code, which gives the president the right to take military action within a state when

“any part or class of its people is deprived of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law, and the constituted authorities of that State are unable, fail, or refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, or to give that protection.”

That’s the same authority invoked during the civil rights era by Presidents Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson to deploy troops to the South to enforce desegregation in defiance of the governors of Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama.

The Insurrection Act was last invoked in 1992 under President George H.W. Bush, after Peter Wilson, then-governor of California, requested help to quell widespread riots after four police officers charged in the beating of Rodney King were acquitted.

In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, President George W. Bush explored expanding the Insurrection Act to place command of the region's National Guard under federal control. Ultimately, Bush declined to invoke the act, although it was eventually amended in 2006 to broaden the scope under which the president may act under the law.

History Channel / Wikipedia / Berkeley Law.edu / Cornell Law School.edu / The National Association of Rural Landowners - NARLO.org / Mental Floss / Quora / What Is the Insurrection Act? (YouTube)

NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang

Sack-o'-Lantern: A scrotum stretched across a battle lantern that has been energized. Smiley-face art optional.

Saltpeter: Chemical supposedly added to "bug juice" aboard ship to stifle libido.

Salt and Peppers: Refers to the old style working white uniform, where the sailor wore a white shirt, and black pants. Today, Salt and Peppers are worn by cooks that work in a ship's wardroom.

Salty: Old and experienced (or simply old and sea-worn, as in “my salty hat”). Can also refer to the traditionally profanity-laced language patterns of sailors.

Wiktionary.org

Just for you MARINE

S/F: Abbreviation for Semper Fidelis when used as a valediction, or closing statement, in written or typed communication (i.e. letters, emails, texts).

SACO: Substance Abuse Control Officer, a Marine responsible for the initial screening and evaluation of a Marine or sailor with alcoholism or illegal drug use issues to the proper medical facilities for rehabilitation & treatment.

SAFE: Mnemonic Control Officer, a Marine responsible for the initial screening and evaluation of a Marine or sailor with alcoholism or illegal drug use issues to the proper medical facilities for rehabilitation & treatment.

Safety Brief: Usually given by an NCO to junior enlisted Marines prior to being released for liberty.

“Marines if you are going to drink, don't drive, if you are going to drive, don't drink, if you meet some gal be smart and use a condom (if you can't wrap it, smack it, as my sergeant would tell us) etc...”

Wikipedia.org

Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

HSC-21 Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC) Squadron TWO ONE - nicknamed the “Blackjacks”

United States Navy Naval Air Station - Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC), Naval Air Station - Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC), Naval Air Station North Island, Naval Base Coronado - San Diego, California / Coronado, California / Squadron Lineage: HS-11: October 1, 1977 - November 7, 2005 / HSC-21: November 7, 2005 - present.

Where Did That Saying Come From?

“Procrastination is the thief of time:”

Meaning: Putting off an action leads to time wasting. If something is necessary, it is best to act quickly to accomplish it.

History: The English writer Edward Young, who coined this saying, published The Complaint: or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality, more simply known as Night-Thoughts, in 1742. Although Young isn't as widely as contemporaries like Pope and Samuel Johnson, he was revered by them and Johnson called him ‘was a man of genius and a poet’. The Night-Thoughts poem itself is a major work and has been described as the 18th century's greatest long poem. Long is unarguable; it consists of nearly 10,000 lines of blank verse. It is in nine sections - the ‘Nights’ of the title and was published in serial form between 1742 and 1746.

The poem involves a nocturnal speaker grieving over the deaths of a child, wife and a friend and finding consolation in Christian thoughts. The 'procrastination is the thief of time' line appears towards the beginning of the work:

“Be wise to-day; ’tis madness to defer;

Next day the fatal precedent will plead;

Thus on, till wisdom is push’d out of life.

Procrastination is the thief of time;

Year after year it steals, till all are fled,

And to the mercies of a moment leaves

The vast concerns of an eternal scene.”

A similar thought, published in a work that would have been known to Young is found in Robert Greene's Gwydonius, 1584:

“You shall finde that delaie breedes daunger, & that procrastination in perils is but the mother of mishap.”

Phrases.org.uk

Science & Technology

Physics principle explains order and disorder of swarms • Quantum 'fifth state of matter' observed in space for first time • Warm springs bring early, rapid plant growth, and severe droughts • Nature provides roadmap to potential breakthroughs in solar energy technology Phys.org / MedicalXpress / TechXplore

The Internet’s most important - and misunderstood - law, explained • UPnP flaw exposes millions of network devices to attacks over the Internet • Antibody testing suggests immune response post-COVID is very variable • Tesla stock soars above $1,000 as Musk vows to “go all out” for Semi ARS Technica

Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good - real news story)

Newton's recipe for “toad vomit lozenges” up for auction

Sir Isaac Newton - famous for developing the three laws of motion and advancing calculus - apparently had a far-out idea for how to treat the plague, also called the black death: toad-vomit lozenges.

In addition to recommending a number of gemstone amulets against the plague, he gave detailed instructions on how to make the putrid toad-vomit treatment, according to two unpublished pages handwritten by Newton that are now on the auction block.

Newton describes in detail how to suspend a toad by its legs in a chimney for three days, until it vomits up “earth with various insects in it”. This vomit must be caught on “a dish of yellow wax”, he added.

After the toad dies, its body should be turned into powder, mixed with the vomit and a serum and “made into lozenges and worn about the affected area”. This treatment would drive “away the contagion” and draw “out the poison”, Newton wrote.

The toad treatment was best, but if someone was in a pinch, then amulets made out of the gemstones hyacinth, sapphire or amber could also serve as antidotes, he wrote.

Newton and his contemporaries didn't know that the plague doesn't respond to toad vomit or gems. It wasn't until 1894 that the French-Swiss scientist Alexandre Yersin learned that the disease is caused by a bacterium, which was later named Yersinia pestis in his honor.

These days, plague is treated with antibiotics, not vomit from toads that were hung upside down. (Toad Eats Beetle, Immediately Regrets It - Watch Retching Aftermath)

However, while the polymath's laws of motion became blockbusters, his writings on the plague's causes, symptoms and treatments did not enjoy world renown. In truth, these notes weren't entirely his own. Rather, Newton had been reading "Tumulus Pestis" ("The Tomb of the Plague"), by Jan Baptist Van Helmont, a chemist, physiologist and physician from the Spanish Netherlands, a collection of Holy Roman Empire states also run by the Spanish Crown.

“Newton's notes are not verbatim transcriptions of Van Helmont's text, but rather a synthesis of his central ideas and observations through Newton's eyes”, according to Bonhams.

Not everything Van Helmont wrote was dismissed by later generations. For instance, he found that chemical reactions could produce substances that were neither solids nor liquids, which led him to invent the word “gas”, according to the Science History Institute in Philadelphia. But religious zeal led to some unusual medical treatments. A verse in the King James Bible at time proclaimed “the Lord created medicines from the earth, and a sensible man will not despise them”, (Ecclesiasticus 38:4). Van Helmont interpreted this line to mean that doctors were ordained by God, and spent the rest of his life convincing others that this was his role, according to the Science History Institute.

In 1936, Newton's “plague” manuscript was sold along with a vast trove of his other writings in Sotheby's Portsmouth sale, but these two pages were uncovered only recently after being lost for more than 70 years, according to Bonhams. Bidding is currently at $65,000 and goes until June 10.

Equal & opposite reactions: Newton's third law of motion

How Isaac Newton changed the world

Force, mass & acceleration: Newton's second law of motion

The mysterious physics of 7 everyday things

Science Daily (06/08/2020)