Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/05/15/why-did-beethoven-go-deaf-dna-testing-solves-200-year-old-mystery.html
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DNA testing
[citation needed]
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I followed the link to the NYT article. The DNA testing was only to verify that the hair was Beethoven’s. The headline is definitely misleading, but there was DNA testing involved.
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Yup!
I, in fact already knew, as I followed the thing on the (extremely good) “Ci vuole una scienza” podcast (Lit. “A Science is needed” - in Italian only).
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He played the piano too loudly.
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Yeah. Isn’t that the mystery?
I mean not everyone was caning the wine like Ludwig van obviously, I’m sure the beer in pottery was actually much healthier, but still. Lead everywhere.
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As to the “IQ over 10” surprise, one conjecture could be made that Beethoven’s consumption of the lead acetate containing wine (variety) didn’t start (in earnest?) until Beethoven was at least a young adult. And most studies support general, as opposed to peripheral (e.g. hearing loss), neurotoxicity occurs mainly in the developing brain; that is, lead impairs cognition primarily only when exposed to it as a child. (another good general study)
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And now he’s just a de-composer.
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There’s less of him every day.
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I thought the recent research concluded that it wasn’t the lead that killed him.
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So too much heavy metal. Got it.
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Wasn’t the lead initially identified something like 25 years ago at this point? I remember some commenter saying, “Aye, he must have been nibbling on pencils!” (Pencil lead does not contain actual lead.)
ETA: Here we go.
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Thanks for the tip! I’m always looking for ways to increase my immersion into Italian.
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