๐Ÿ—๏ธ Sanity classics: How touch shaped the world

๐Ÿ—๏ธ Sanity classics: How touch shaped the world

A fascinating cultural history of our biggest sense organ.

Tanmoy Goswami
๐Ÿ‘‹๐Ÿพ
Welcome to story 2 of Sanity's second season for 2023. The theme for this season is Happy Things. Today's story is different from what you usually read here. It's a celebration of human touch โ€“ but it isn't about how touch produces the 'love hormone' oxytocin, which, scientists are now saying, may not be all that it has been touted to be. Rather, I bring you a deep dive into the powerful, surprising, and underrated role touch has played in shaping science, technology, healthcare, and popular culture. If unexpected discoveries about humanity's past, present, and future make you happy, you'll find this piece happy-making. Enjoy.

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In the 1730s, a live entertainment act called the 'flying boy' became a big hit in Europe. A young boy would be suspended mid-air by silk cords, and a machine that generated electricity would be placed near his feet. The boyโ€™s body would soon get charged with static electricity, at which point heโ€™d perform various magical feats, such as turning the pages of a book kept under him without touching it, or attracting small pieces of paper to his hands and face. Ladies in the audience would be asked to touch the boyโ€™s nose; their approaching fingers would trigger a big spark, further shocking the audience.

The flying boy was part of a long list of 18th-century amusements โ€“ including 'jumping monks' and, my favourite, the 'electrifying kiss' โ€“ based on interactions between the human body and the newly discovered rage: electricity. Iโ€™d have remained clueless about this chapter from history had I not chanced upon US cultural historian David Parisiโ€™s sprawling book, The Archaeologies of Touch: Interfacing with Haptics from Electricity to Computing.

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