Thursday, January 8, 2026

My favorite of van Leeuwenhoek's letters, with a surprise ending

"Concerning the Worms in Sheeps Livers, Gnats, and Animalcula in the Excrements of Frogs" (van Leeuwenhoek, 1700)

In this letter, he describes finding microscopic life in frog poop. I especially like the surprise ending in the last 3 paragraphs – starting, "On the fifth day the Frog had dung'd again...." on the bottom of page 517. Scientific papers never end like this.

Google on van Leeuwenhoek's 384th birthday