blerg1234 t1_j9idy1u wrote on February 22, 2023 at 4:35 AM

Reply to TIL - English physician William Harvey was a prominent skeptic regarding allegations of witchcraft. He was one of the examiners of four women from Lancashire accused of witchcraft in 1634, and as a consequence of his report, all of them were acquitted. by wendalltwolf

His trick was that he had very accurate scales, so when he weighed the accused against a duck, he could actually tell which ones were heavier, and which ones were witches.