What's a traditional / archaic concept that actually happens to be right, just not for the reason originally thought? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 week ago by Apytele@sh.itjust.works to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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I've been looking into feng shui lately, specifically the concepts about what makes a person feel more safe or at ease in a space, such as relaxing or sleeping facing the entrance / exit.

While reading, I came across the guidance that you should always shut your toilet seat to prevent your good fortune from being flushed. The real reason you should keep it shut is so it can't mist shit-water all over your toothbrush every time you flush. Also so your pets don't drink out of it.

What other things did humans throughout history accidentally get right?

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[-] frankPodmore@slrpnk.net 33 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Sort of tangential, but Democritus was right about atoms, but obviously he worked it out in a very different way to how modern scientists did — though we don't know his exact reasoning.

Even more tangential: Aristotle (and others) were wrong about the four elements making all matter, but they do correspond to the four basic states of matter, which is kind of fun: earth=solid, water=liquid, air=gas, fire=plasma.

this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2024

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