We've only just started to actually understand how 1742/3 worked! We've been reading and trying to sort out who lost no months and who lost nearly three months in 1751. But at least they all agree that everyone missed a third of September 1752. We think. We're going to need more tea!

Thank you so much for sharing all of this with us!

Just to clarify, we knew about the whole Julian / Gregorian calendar thing (we don't think we could be friends with @devaroman.bsky.social if we didn't) but we'd never encountered the double year dates before, or especially not written like this, if we had and just not noticed it.

Or would this have been an edit, added after it became official? That's totally possible, looking at the line spacing. History is wild.

Okay, so now we've just learned the Jan 1 as the start of the year was officially adopted in 1752 (Is that right? Or maybe it was 1751?). So would people have been doing this culturally for a while beforehand? It looks like this memorial was made (started? finished?) around 1749.

We had honestly never encountered this. Not our era of study! But so interesting and SO WORTH knowing about. Thank you for taking the time to explain it. We also enjoyed @cocktaillion.bsky.social's book recommendation and are now going to learn so much stuff not at all related to our current work.

whelp, we've gone down a rabbit hole, thank you and thank the Internet Archive

This is utterly fascinating and honestly, we had no idea! Did you?

We would sincerely enjoy and appreciate an explanation! We think the whole 'a joke isn't funny if you have to explain it' thing is over-rated anyways. We're always way more interested in the actual history!

anyone else?
no?
just us?
we must have been off sick the day it was covered in history class

The other day you may have seen us post about our new favourite review, highlighting some spare apostrophes on one of our church memorials from the 1830s (and a few spelling mistakes on our information boards)...

For more details on the memorial's location, see: www.findagrave.com/memorial/746... (a fascinating website, good luck getting any more work done today) and to learn more about the architecture of this memorial you can visit Colin Canfield's site: www.english-church-architecture.net/.../sherborn...

The Dutton's owned and lived at Sherborne House from the sixteenth century until World War II so maybe The Sherborne has some answers for us. How do we get them on here? Paging @durotrigesdig.bsky.social

Perhaps the Buckley's stone mason, who's work is displayed in here at St Michael's church, was just following in a long, proud tradition of making a memorial even MORE memorable.

As an aside, did Sir John Dutton die in 1742, 1743, or did we miss the bit in school where we learned about 174⅔?

We suddenly feel a lot better about a typo or two that have made it through! Incidentally the infamous 𝙹̶𝚘̶𝚑̶𝚗̶ Peter Barwick mentioned here (Sir John Dutton's maternal grandfather) was one of the physicians in ordinary to Charles II, meaning he acted as a personal doctor to the King!

A cropped photo of a marble stone, carved with words. It seems to be the upper right corner of a large area. It in the top right it says ML Rysbrack. Fecit 1749. Below, the main bulk of the text is cropped away, but prominent is the phrase Daughter of [struck through with two bold lines] John, and above has been chiselled Peter, then continuing on the main line, Barwick. Below it says, February the first [with a long s) 174 and then it looks like 2/3, the symbol for two-thirds.

A large carved memorial statue inside a church. It is white marble and shows a man, in Roman dress, leaning casually against a large urn. It is to Sir John Dutton, Baronet and below the sculpture reads a memorial: Sir John Dutton Baronet Son of Sir Ralph Dutton, by Mary the Daughter of [struck through] John, added above Peter, continues on main line, Barwick, Doctor of Physick departed this Life February the first 1742/3 in the sixty first Year of His Age. He was twice Married First, to Mary, only Child of Sir Rushout Cullen of Upton in Warwickshire Baronet by Her having no Issue. His second Wife was Mary, Daughter of Francis Keck of Great Tew, in the County of Oxford Esquite. By whom He has One Daughter, who dyed an Infant. He represented this County in Parliament With great Integrity, Was an excellent Justice of Peace Hospitable, Affable, and benevolent.

A stone plaque on a wall, carved with memorial symbols and text: In memory of Hannah. The beloved wife of Alderman Richard Buckley of this city. Who died April 12th 1827, aged 78. Also the above named Richard Buckley esq. who died during his mayoralty July 17th 1832, aged 73. Erected by their nephew's and niece's. Nephew's and niece's has been underlined in red digital ink and below in white text it says Should be nephews* and nieces*

One of our followers took the time to send an e-mail with this incredible example of a stone mason's mistake from Sir John Dutton's memorial in St Mary Magdalene's Church, Sherborne. As they said, it's such small error, no one's probably noticed it before. 😄

Photograph © KGG, used with permission.

There's no good way forward now though. If we reply and say, "Well, actually..." 😬

We thought we understood how apostrophes worked, but now we've lost confidence. Imposters' Syndrome

Okay... someone has suggested that by referring to [Ricard and/or Hannah] in that passage (by including the word 'their') it’s now denoting a form of possession making the nephew’s and niece’s correct. But we can't work it out. Can we page @susiedentwords.bsky.social ?

Look, we only come on here when we have something good to share and that seems to be about once every three months or so.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ though, which is nice, we'll take the hit of losing one star on behalf of the Buckley's nephews and nieces. Not even death can save you from the grammar police.

A stone plaque on a wall, carved with memorial symbols and text: In memory of Hannah. The beloved wife of Alderman Richard Buckley of this city. Who died April 12th 1827, aged 78. Also the above named Richard Buckley esq. who died during his mayoralty July 17th 1832, aged 73. Erected by their nephew's and niece's. Nephew's and niece's has been underlined in red digital ink and below in white text it says Should be nephews* and nieces*

Our new favourite review, which rightly points out a few grammar/spelling mistakes on some information boards. However, we think it's a bit much to ask us to take responsibility for the spare apostrophes on this church monument from the early 1800s embedded into the wall of the building...

on bluesky they get a 11/10, would still let them balance our humours

what's the feeling here, do we like video slideshows of these photo carousel posts or would you rather just a thread of the images four at a time, but without the twee music?

Last minute shopping? We love Sick to Death as much as the next person, but these objects probably wouldn’t make the best Christmas presents

(with thanks to the Royal Armouries Museum on Tiktok for introducing us to this trend)

A prosthetic dummy dressed as Santa Claus with a white fake beard, red velvet trousers and jacket with white trim. His chest cavity is open and prop organs can be seen inside, along with a fake bladed knife. He is lying on an autopsy table.

we like to play our own version of Whamageddon where we sing the lyrics and then you have to guess if we mean it literally or like ❤️

8 Text: So, thank you to Dr Stretton and thank you to Chris for bringing this fascinating story of medical history to all of us here at Sick to Death. At the top is a slightly blurry photo of an older man, with a large white moustache, in a suit and tie*. It’s frame with brown scrapbook details. To the right is half of a green circle with a white cross inside.

9 Text: If you’re interested in reading more about Dr Lionel Stretton, you can visit https://johnlionelstretton.com/ for a more in-depth history of his life and work. *Thank you to Chris Stretton for providing access to photos from Lionel Stretton Family Collection to include in this post. On the left is the other half of the green circle and white cross. Below the text, which is on white paper with brown tape, is a black and white photograph of an early 20th century white family outside in a garden. There is a moustached man sat in a wicker chair, to the right is a women in a striped dress and jacket with large sleeves and collar. From the left, starting on the ground and then moving behind the man in the chair, as three children: a boy in the cap sat on the ground holding a cricket bat and ball, a girl in a dark dress and jacket, wearing a straw hat, holding a tennis racket, and a younger boy in light trousers and shirt, as well as a cap, stood straight up, one hand resting on a cricket bat, the other at his waist.

5 Text: This specific formulation was strong enough to be antiseptic, but gentle enough to avoid skin irritation, it had a long shelf-life, and wouldn’t fumigate the wards (something nurses certainly seemed to appreciate). The majority of this image is a black and white photographs of nurses, all women, in uniform, as well as perhaps some clergy with a sister/nun and a vicar/priest. There is also a man in a dark suit with a moustache and a man in a white uniform also with a moustache. It’s from the early 20th century, taken outside. The photo is cut off at the right side. To the left is the rest of the screen shot that says (ournal.) and (1910.)

6 Text: And that fact that it still stained the skin yellow? Well, this was actually good thing, as it meant you could easily confirm that a patient had been treated with the antiseptic pre-surgery and during post-operative care. It was simple, efficient, and effective! The rest of the black and white photograph is seen here on the left, with three nurses in uniform and two men in suits, both with moustaches.* Behind some of the text are splotches of transluscent yellow. There is a green bottle of tincture of iodine u.s.p. that says ‘caution poison’ and an effect of green gas behind it. To the right is a cotton ball with a dark orange liquid on it (iodine).

7 Text: Standardising the formulation and use of tincture of iodine BP saved innumerable lives throughout history, especially before the discovery of antibiotics; from soldiers on the battlefronts of World War I to children with a common scraped knee. Behind the text is torn paper. Then below are crossed modern fabric plasters to form an X, a green bottle of tincture of iodine B.P., and a cardboard tube of (Io)dine Ampoule for External Use, with a small glass bulb filled with a dark reddish brown liquid.

1 Text: Some of you may have experienced the sting of iodine yourself. Ouch - indeed! But did you know about its significant link to British medical history? Part of a collage image that joins together as you scroll left to right. A scrapbook effect with a green background under the text. A photo of a young white boy and his mother in a 1960s kitchen having a plaster applied to his knee, there are graphic red ‘zaps’ above his head. At the right is most of a glass bottle labelled Tincture of Iodine that crosses over into the next image.*

2 Text: We were very interested to learn more about Dr J Lionel Stretton of Kidderminster, who was instrumental in the development of tincture of iodine, when his great grandson Chris visited Sick to Death last month. Continuing the scrapbook feel, a black and white sepia photograph of a middle aged white man with a large moustache, in a suit and tie, is framed in old fashioned photo album corner.* From the left the iodine bottle is visible and to the right is the handle of a scalpel.

3 Text: Humans have been performing surgeries for thousands of years, but one of the main causes of death and complications over that time wasn’t necessarily the surgery itself, but the infections that could set in afterwards. Underneath the text is a brown piece of card and some masking tape. The blade of a scalpel is seen on the left. There is a black and white woodcut image of a man having his leg amputated by three other men, it’s been frames with an over the top gilded ornate frame. To the right are some green oversized bacteria and part of an orange high vis bag.

4 Text: In the early 1900s, at a time when many doctors and surgeons were working to improve upon early antiseptics to reduce infections post-surgery, Dr Stretton was focused on the refinement of tincture of iodine. His 2.5% solution, tincture of iodine BP (British Pharmacopoeia), was first published in 1909 in the British Medical Journal and soon became the standard used around the world – it can still be found in many first aid kits and emergency survival kits today! The top of this image shows a piece of white card with some tape in the corners. The text on the bottom half is backed by green paper. To the left the other half of the bacteria graphic and the orange high vis bag can be seen (it is now obviously a first aid kit). In between the paragraphs of text is half of a screenshot for the British Medical Jo(the rest carries on in the next image). London: Saturday October 15th, (the rest carries on in the next image).

We love when our visitors share medical history stories with us - and this one, about a family connection to the history of iodine was so interesting we just had to share it with you! Do you have an interesting story or a link to medical history in your past? Let us know in the replies!

Hey look! It's us! We'll never tire of the stunning surrounds and sense of heritage that St Michael's Church offers us here at Sick to Death. 🖤