Interesting facts about Copernicus and Sandwich

by Igor
(Moscow)

Copernicus is known to all as an astronomer, founder of the heliocentric world view. However, according to historians of medicine and S. Hand's A. Kunin, he deserves no less, and perhaps even greater fame as the inventor of the sandwich. The invention has been made to them for medical purposes. The history of invention is a sandwich.

In his youth, Copernicus studied medicine for two years at the University of Padua in Italy, but has not received the doctoral degree. After that, his uncle Bishop Vattseprode by a relative gave him a canon of the cathedral, while Fromborksky commandant Olsztyn Castle. Army besieged the castle of Teutonic Knights, and a few months in the castle epidemic of an unknown disease. It is known that the incidence was high, and the mortality rate - low (only two people were killed.) Medicines applied Copernicus failed. Then he decided to investigate the causes of the disease. Physician-astronomer decided that the reasons may be due to diet. He divided the inhabitants of the fortress on the small groups to isolate them from each other and put on different diets.

It soon turned out that is not sick, only one group - the one in which the diet was not included bread. In this case, it would be reasonable to opt out of bread in the diet, but do it in a besieged castle, where there was a large variety of stores, was not possible. Coarse brown bread was the main food of slum stronghold. Walking the long corridors, climbing the narrow spiral staircase to the towers, the defenders of the castle often dropped his ration of bread on the floor. Picking up a piece, or blew his shakes and eat. Perhaps judged Copernicus, infection came from the dirt that got on the slices of bread on the floor. Physician-astronomer had the idea that pieces of bread should spread some light edible substance, against which will be easy to see the dirt. Then adhering dirt could be brushed off with the spreads. As such spreads elected cool whipped cream, no sugar, that is oil. Thus was born the sandwich. And infection soon ceased to roam the castle. Teutons did not manage to capture the fortress, or to learn the secret sandwich.

When they were forced to abandon the siege, in Olsztyn came from Leipzig guildmaster pharmacists and doctors Adolf buttenad to on-site to learn about the causes and treatment of the disease. Copernicus shared with him experience. Two years after the death of the great astronomer, in 1545, after one of IE wars fought between the many and the small German principalities, this disease appeared in Europe again. Buttenad remembered method Copernicus and became his advocate. It is known that the sandwiches at this time did not help stop the epidemic, but had many new foods to taste and gradually spread to all countries.