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The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe - Podcast 362 - 6/23/2012
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The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, LLC - dedicated to promoting critical thinking, reason, and the public understanding of science through online and other media. The first episode of the SGU podcast went online on May 4th, 2005. It soon became a popular science/skeptical podcast, and remains one of the most popular science podcasts on iTunes.
SGU Podcasting Awards: SGU on XM: You can listen to the SGU on America's Talk XM 166 every Saturday night from 8-9pm Eastern.
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Podcast
362
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June 23, 2012
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Interview with Professor Zhong Lin Wang
This Day in Skepticism
News Items: Mystery Carbon Spike, Younger Dryas Impact, Liberation Procedure Study, Testing Female Athletes
Who's That Noisy
Your Questions and E-mails: Fetal Pill Update
Science or Fiction
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Segment: This Day in Skepticism
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Segment: News Items
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Segment: Interview
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Segment: Who's That Noisy
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Who's That Noisy
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Answer to last week: Baby rhinos
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Segment: Questions and Emails
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Question #1 - Fetal Pill Update
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A few weeks ago you referenced and discussed an article that came out of South Korea, concerning the seizure of shipments of pills that contained ground human foeti (correct spelling of the plural of foetus?) that had been sent from China. The comment was made and I'm sorry but I forget by whom, that aside from the lack of fact checking there was a lack of information to back up the Asian/Eastern medicine beliefs extending to human body parts. Those beliefs being, that the consumption of certain parts of humans provide medicinal benefits much in the way eating birds' nest soup or shark fin soup, or dried tiger penis will impart some sort of advantage.
I have come across some information that would state otherwise. Now I recognize that it is coming from a tertiary source, but the research of this source tends to reputable. Joel Brinkley, Pulitzer prize winning author and journalist of "Cambodia's Curse" references just such a belief. His references is a Chinese bureaucrat sent to the Angkor kingdom in the year AD 1295 and 1296 by the name of Zhou Daguan. On page 21 of "Cambodia's Curse" Brinkley makes expressive mention of Cambodians, the Vietnamese (Champa) and others eating human body parts. There is even mention of this continuing well into the 20th century.
The belief in various parts of the body being inhabited by spirits remains strong in Cambodia and other parts of SE Asia. This article from the Phnom Penh Post, provides further evidence and perhaps discussion: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012061256749/National-news/the-power-of-faith-and-medicine.html
So, presumably the feotal tablets are not inconceivable knowing the value ascribed to human life and those of others and the beliefs in certain types of medicine that persist here in Asia. I of course being a "barang" (foreigner) am not privilege to all of these beliefs and can only provide anecdotal evidence based upon my observations, but as I said before the pills made of human babies is possible.
Thank you for your time and keep us thinking.
Greg Pellechi
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
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Segment: Science or Fiction [ Click Here to Show the Answers ]
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Segment: Skeptical Quote of the Week
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Skeptical Quote of the Week
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"I believe in nothing, never have, never will. What matters is what I can see, hear, smell, taste, touch. Tangible things, physical things, reality. The rest is imagination." - Wolverine, X-Men Issue 165
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