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Blog archive

August 2026

Triumph Over Tragedy
08/31/2026

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained/Lost
08/30/2026

A Gallery of Neighbors: The Village Art Group’s Group Show
08/28/2026

A New and Improved Way to Stay Safer Online
08/28/2026

A Trip to The Geffen Galleries
08/28/2026

Barrier Free Living - A Path to Living a More Independent Lifestyle
08/28/2026

Conversations with Art
08/28/2026

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
08/28/2026

Member Connections with Music Conductor Bill Bing
08/28/2026

Pasadena Heritage Walking Tour
08/28/2026

In Their Hands
08/23/2026

Ease of Being: Managing the stuff of everyday life
08/20/2026

A Tribute to Fire Debris Remediators and Their Super-Sized Dump Trucks
08/18/2026

Really Irene?
08/15/2026

There Is A Risk
08/09/2026

2026 Year in Review
08/03/2026

A Message From Your Newly Elected President
08/03/2026

Neighborhoods Within the Village
08/03/2026

Reflection from PUSD Intern Isabella "Izzy" Roberts
08/03/2026

Reflection on Service & Joy from 2025/26 President Dick Myers
08/03/2026

The Villager Engagement Team Welcomed 54 New Villagers
08/03/2026

Treasurer’s Report
08/03/2026

What Activity! The Cultural Activities Team Report
08/03/2026

An Even Exchange
08/01/2026

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January 2026

Science: Telescopes, Columbian Exchange

By Bob Snodgrass
Posted: 10/16/2021
Tags:
I also get the Wilson center emails and have attended two of their webinars, which were policy focused. Tonight I will zoom into the von Karman lecture at CalTech which relates to the advantages of infra-red telescopes, a subject very interesting to me.

There’s also a very interesting article about evidence for human tobacco use 12,000 yrs ago in what is now Utah, . The second may require a subscription- for those wanting it I can email a copy of the original paper.

This inevitably brings up the question which was more important for prehistoric humans, tobacco or cannabis? It’s interesting to me to think of the so-called Columbian exchange:  Tomatoes, potatoes, corn, chocolate and many other foods changed the European diet forever. Asia had no spicy peppers before Columbus, and they became important. Tobacco was a commercially important import to Europe. It's use was initially frowned on but it soon grew in use and importance.    Spaniards brought cannabis plants to South America.


The oldest real evidence for cannabis use is in ancient china, 6-8,000 years ago. It probably originated in China where hemp was used extensively for rope, clothing, shoes and sometimes parts of walls. Hindu culture acquired cannabis from China and soon incorporated its use into religious rituals. In the Atharva Veda, for instance, cannabis is lauded for being a cure to illnesses, and also for fighting off demons.


So the Americas gave potatoes, chocolate and tobacco to the old world and got diseases, cannabis and sugar in return.


European diseases were acquired from hogs, cattle, and chickens. These diseases passed back and forth between Europeans and animals, because they lived close to each other. Both developed immunities. Amerindians had no immunities. They had no similar diseases that developed with animals, because Native Americans had no similar relationship with animals.

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